MySwissAlps.com includes Schengen Entry/Exit System EES did not check me out at Zurich airport
-
I recently flew to Zurich on Dec 6 and left on Dec 10
On arrival I successfully went through the new registration.A few days ago I visited Venice from Feb 6 to Feb 9
On leaving via the e-gate it informed me that I had only 25 days left despite only having spent the above days in Schengen.Calculating the numbers it appears to me that I was not checked out of the system when I left Zurich on Dec 10 and it has assumed I have been in Schengen area ever since. The same applies to my wife too. I have the passport stamps to prove my dates.
i am being told I have to raise this with relevant country authority. But I don’t know where.
Can you advise me who I should contact as this would seem to be a problem with Zurich airport or Swiss authorityIf this is not corrected it could lead to problems in the future
-
Hi lioner!
As far as I know, the EES is currently being implemented in Switzerland, but this is a transitional phase in which the system is not fully operational yet. It’s planned to work 100% by next April. So it doesn’t strike me as unusual that you haven’t been checked yet. Please see “About EES and your arrival in Switzerland (from October 2025)” at https://www.myswissalps.com/planning/practical/visa/
Having said that: we’re no experts when it comes to this. To be sure, you could ask your question to the EES organization directly. You’ll find the link to the official EES website under “Other websites of interest” at the page I mentioned above.
I hope this helps you out!
Hello Lioner and Annika, and all other readers who from outside the Schengen area.
The Worrying News
Lioner tells us ‘On arrival I successfully went through the new registration.’ So Lioner (and his wife) have been entered on the EES system.
Their worry is that when they left Zurich on Dec 10th Lioner (and his wife) were not properly ‘checked out’; and that in consequence the EES system is assuming that they have been in Schengenland continuously since December 6th. The message Lioner got at Venice on February 6th is certainly a matter of concern., at least for him and his wife.
Better News -My experience on 22nd December
I am British, resident in Britain, which is outside Schengenland.On 22nd December I travelled from my home in Nottingham (Britain) to Zurich. I caught a train which arrived at London St Pancras International at 07 35. Walking to the Piccadilly Line for the underground train to Heathrow I had to pass the entrance to the platforms used by the Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. There were enormous queues stretching well into the concourse. I believe these queues were caused by the fact that the EES checks for passengers using Eurostar are done in LONDON., not at the destination.
Happily, when I arrived at Zurich Airport at about 15 00, the scene was very different. The arrivals hall was fairly busy, but there was neither chaos nor delay. It appears that additional booths have been installed in the immigration area to deal with people like me (and Lioner) who are not Schengenland nationals. I went to one of these new booths. There were just two people in front of me…..It was taking less than a minute per person. My god was I relieved that the process was so simple AND QUICK!
From what I saw, I concluded that Switzerland has the EES system in full operation, well ahead of the April 1st 202 deadline.
Best wishes to everyone, but especially to people from outside Schengenland visiting Switzerland during 2026.
Roger
Thank you Annika for the links. I will try them and see if I can get an answer.
My recollection on leaving Zurich was that we were told to not use the E-Gate and were manually checked out.
arriving in Venice we went through the e-gate but it errored (possibly because it thought we hadn’t left) and had to be processed manually. We were not the only people this happened to.
leaving Venice we successfully used the e-gate and the machine told us we had 25 days left. I don’t recall being told anything in Zurich
My concern is one day arriving at an airport and being denied entry as our days are reported incorrectly. There is no online access to check this as far as I can tell.
just to add, we are both UK passport holders
I see, lioner. I hope that the EES organization can answer your question!
It would seem that Swiss Border Control at Zurich Airport is at fault in bypassing the E-gate for non-Schengen passengers which is, as Roger Sexton says, “a matter of concern” and worrying.
We will shortly be making our winter visit to Switzerland and I shall be watching carefully to see what happens at both entry and exit to Switzerland. I’ve no wish to be refused entry in the summer.
Good to learn that the EES registration system at Zurich Airport is working well.
Andrew
The EES Transition Period October 12 2025 to April 9 2026 – Haphazard operation of the EES system.
We are currently in the ‘transition period’ for EES, a period which expires on April 9 THIS YEAR (2026).
Currently, reports in the media indicate that not all entries into Schengenland by non-Schengenlanders are being recorded on the EES system.
I strongly suspect that not all EXITS are being recorded, and that is even happening to non-Schengenlanders who, like Lioner and his wife, have been entered on to the EES system. Hence the message they got at Venice on Feb 9.
Currently, because we are in this ‘hit and miss’ transition period, it is not possible for Schengen countries (even efficient ones who have recorded all entries and exits) to tell from the EES system whether a person seeking entry has used up their 90 days in the past 180 allowance.
Full operation from April 10 2026
For the 90 in 180 rule to be enforceable through the EES system, every Schengen country MUST record ALL entries and exits of non-Schengenlanders. That is supposed to happen from April 10 onwards.
If that does indeed happen, then ONLY from July 7 2026 (90 days after April 9) will it be possible for Schengenland countries to confidently identify from the EES system non-Schengenlanders who have used up their 90 days in the last 180 allowance.
Until July 7 there is the problem of people whose entry BEFORE April 10 was recorded but whose exit BEFORE April 10 was not.
There is also a problem with people who entered before April 10, were not registered on to the EES system on entry, and leave after April 9. Given that a lot of people will be on their Easter holidays in early April, there could be s significant number in this category.
Electronic Gates
Now this is where I must respectfully differ from Andrew. I suspect that Electronic gates at Schengenland Airports (eg Zurich) are not yet properly programmed to deal with non-Schengenlanders. OR they have have already been programmed on the assumption that all entries to and exits from Schengenland by non-Schengenlanders have been recorded and entered on the EES system.
Either way, that would explain the Lioners’ problems when they used electronic gates both on entry to (6 Feb) and exit from (9 Feb) Venice.
Hence, too, the advice given on leaving Zurich (Dec 10) NOT to use the electronic gates.
(For what it is worth, I cannot remember what I was told when leaving Zurich on January 5th, but I certainly used a staffed exit point. I have no idea whether my exit was ‘manually’ recorded.)
Thank You Lioner for Starting a Very Important Thread
Thank you for uncovering a possible problem for non-Schengenland visitors this SUMMER to Europe, including Switzerland. Non-Schengenlanders who visit Europe fairly regularly will surely echo Andrew when he says ‘I’ve no wish to be refused entry in the summer.’
I personally would welcome reading on this thread other people’s opinions and experiences. I would respectfully suggest to the moderators that they keep this thread open at least until the autumn.
Kind regards
Roger
Thank you Roger for that information
My efforts to get this rectified have hit a blank wall. My initial email to EU-Lisa was met with a reply that they only deal with technical issues. Data inaccuracy is handled by individual country authorities.
sem.admin.ch said they could not answer individual queries and referred me to the FAQs. I did then send a direct email to [email protected] but have yet to receive a reply.The only possible solution I have found is a form for correcting inaccurate personal data (probably more to do with name or birthdate) which you have to printout and send by post!
Another thing I read somewhere was that this could only be investigated at the actual border.
I am on the verge of giving up as 25 days will cover my next 2 trips but if this happens again then it may cause problems
Hello Lioner
Many thanks for keeping us posted. I am not surprised that you have hit ‘a blank wall’.
The only possible solution I have found is a form for correcting inaccurate personal data (probably more to do with name or birthdate) which you have to printout and send by post!
I found this form too. But it does seem to be about correcting things like name and birthday. Not about correcting the dates of your entries and exits into Schengenland.
Very best wishes
Roger
The experience of Lioner is quite disturbing, more so since there does not as yet appear to be any viable channel for redressal of the issue. The resolution may become more difficult when the entry and exit points are not in the same Schengen country (assuming that each country uses its own immigration server which in turn links to a central server covering the entire Schengen domain). I am unable to appreciate why data that has been manually entered at either entry or exit points (due to any reason) cannot be subsequently updated in the EES database, of course, through another manual process. I wonder whether there is any email address of the Immigration Office (or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) of a given country where such problems can be reported. Another way, perhaps, could be to write to the Tourism Department in this regard with a request to intervene keeping the best interest of tourists visiting the particular country in mind.
Regards
Subrata
Thank you, Roger. What you write is beautifully stated and I agree wholeheartedly.
I shall make doubly sure that our passports are stamped on entry to Switzerland next week and on exit in March. It seems to be the only sure way of guaranteeing successful entry/exit in the summer.
Andrew
This is the reply I have received from my email to SEM. Not sure if I will do anything unless I have issues during my next trip in April.
With your submission, you are applying to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) to adjust the permitted short stay in the Schengen area stored in the Entry Exit System (EES).
In order to process your application, the SEM requires the following additional information:
– a clearly legible copy of your passport
– your residential address
The information must be sent by post to the following address:
State Secretariat for Migration SEM
1ZGR-Korp
Quellenweg 6
3003 Bern-Wabern
Switzerland
Kind regards
State Secretariat for Migration SEM / Korp
Hello Lioner,
It may be a good idea to follow through the issue with SEM right away as there is still plenty of time available between now & your next schedule of travel in April. This will insure you against any surprises at Passport Control on your next trip to the Schengen area.Regards
Subrata
Hi everyone on this thread or interested in it.
Yesterday (23/2/26) we flew into Zurich Airport from Birmingham and, having landed 30 minutes early at about 11:20, had the fastest transit through all the entry procedures that we have experienced for several years.
As for EES, we spotted a row of unused EES registration booths on the left as we entered the Passport Control hall. A sign pointing roughly in their direction said something like “Self Service”. That was all.
If you didn’t know what to look for or weren’t expecting them you would walk straight by. They all had a rectangular green light flashing around what turned out to be where you place your passport for scanning.
After the scanning process the machine shows your passport photograph and a few of your details and asks if you are you! Once you’ve done that and the machine is satisfied another similar green light starts flashing.
This is when your fingerprints are read. NB fingers only: keep your thumb well out of the way as instructed. It all took less than a couple of minutes for two of us.
At Passport Control all was normal except no queue. No questions were asked about whether we had registered for EES or even where we were going and our passports where stamped as usual, so at least we have proof of entry.
I hope all that is helpful if you’ve been wondering or worrying about it.
I’ll report next week how we get on in the reverse direction.
Andrew
Andrew
Very may thanks for this very useful information..
When I flew into Zurich on 22nd December, it was definitely was not ‘self-service’ for the EES process. I was ‘done’ by a manual procedure.
Best wishes for your holiday
Roger
Hi everyone interested in this thread,
In contrast to our recent rapid entry to Switzerland at Zurich Airport, which I reported here, our exit experience at the same airport was not so relaxed.
When arriving by train, Check-in 3 is particularly handy especially when luggage includes skis or similar bulky items. In the past we have dropped bags there including skis. This time, because of the skis, we had to take it all to Check-in One where we were promptly dealt with.
A bigger problem lay ahead in the form of a long queue for passport control at D & B terminal.
Passengers who were not already registered for EES were being registered at the control points with fingerprints and photograph taken. Those, like us, who were already registered still had to use the fingerprint machine, have our passports scanned and the details carefully examined. The minimum time for each pre-registered person was between 30 and 40 seconds and much longer for those who had their photograph taken. Timing the proceedings at least gave me something to do!
30 seconds is not a long time and there were, I think, 7 passport control points. Unfortunately, at any one time only 2 or 3 were staffed so the queue grew steadily.
We joined the passport queue at 16:10 for a 17:10 scheduled departure but it took about 40 minutes to cover the short distance to the departure gate where boarding had already started. The aircraft left late as we waited for stragglers who, an on-board announcement told us, had been delayed at passport control.
Thankfully, we landed on time but, it seems, EES delays can still occur at Zurich and especially when passport control is not adequately staffed.
Andrew
Hello Andrew,
Thanks for sharing this latest experience of yours. As I am flying out of Zurich on 9th April, I will make it a point to arrive at the airport much earlier than what I would have otherwise done.
Since I am going to enter the Schengen area at Milano Malpensa Airport on the 22nd of this month, I would be much obliged if any member of this forum has any recent experience to share vis-a-vis the time taken at Passport Control at this airport for travellers like me who need to register for EES.
Regards
Subrata
Hello Andrew
Many thanks for this latest report regarding the operation of EES. I was particularly surprised by your fingerprints point. That certainly did not happen to me when I left through Zurich Airport on 5th January.
Hello Subrata
Thanks for your advice to turn up at the airport ‘much earlier’ than originally planned! Very sorry, but I cannot help you on the Milan Malpensa point.
Very best wishes to you both.
Roger
Hello Roger,
I was also somewhat surprised when asked to use the fingerprint scanner. I suppose it demonstrates that the system is still not fully up and running and/or not yet fully trusted by Swiss border control. Our passports were stamped in and out.
What I found difficult to accept was the apparent lack of staff to operate the system as it stands at present. I shall be interested to see what happens if/when we return in the summer.
Andrew
Hello Andrew and everyone.
Thanks Andrew. I note with some concern your remarks ‘I was also somewhat surprised when asked to use the fingerprint scanner. ‘I suppose it demonstrates that the system is still not fully up and running and/or not yet fully trusted by Swiss border control. Our passports were stamped in and out.’ [my emphasis].
I have booked flights from London to Zurich on 18th June, and back on 30th. I will report to this forum on what happens to me in respect of the EES.
Kind regards
Roger.
My thanks to everyone giving updates to this post. I’m traveling to and from Zurich in May and again in September. Your updates have given me welcomed information so that I can prepare adequately and be watchful for errors. It is what it is but it’s so helpful to be forewarned.
Laura E
- You must be logged in to reply. Please log in, or create an account.
