Barcelona becomes latest airport in Spain to have EES passport checks

Spain’s second busiest airport has started using the new EES system for non-EU residents.

That’s according to the British Embassy in Spain, which on Tuesday October 28th posted on its Facebook page ‘Brits in Spain’ to warn UK nationals that Barcelona’s main airport is now using the new biometric border system.

The new passport checks started being implemented in many European countries on October 12th and will be rolled out across much of the bloc for the next six months until April 10th 2026.

To be exact, this affects the 29 European countries that form part of the Schengen Area - all those in the European Union except Cyprus and Ireland, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

It essentially means more checks for those from third countries - such as having photographs and fingerprints taken - and will record entries and exits from the Schengen Area for third-country nationals.

It gathers and stores:

Details from your travel document (e.g. full name, nationality, date of birth, passport number).

The date, time, and location of your entry and exit.

Your facial image and fingerprints (“biometric data”).

Any record of refused entry, where applicable.

Once the process is complete, passport stamps will be eliminated.

Crucially, if you’re a non-EU citizen but are a resident in Spain, you will not have to register for EES, but you still have to queue in third-country national queue if flying in from outside of the Schengen Area.

The British Embassy in Spain recently told The Local that “British Residents in Spain should travel with a valid TIE, which will exempt them from registering in the EES”.

However, "those without a valid TIE should apply for a new TIE as soon as possible, and preferably before they travel.

"We do not recommend travelling on expired documentation", UK embassy representatives in Madrid stressed.

Madrid Barajas airport was the first to start trialling EES on October 12th.

This was followed by three other smaller airports - Seville, Tenerife North and Burgos.

Then Málaga airport started testing the new system on October 12th.

With the addition of Barcelona, there are now six airports in Spain which have started using the new passport checks.

Mallorca is scheduled to kickstart EES on November 19th.

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport was one of a handful of Spanish airports which had the e-gates needed for EES already installed at some of its passport controls.