With the rollout of the new system, Greece is taking a relaxed approach to British visitors in a bid to ease holiday flows ahead of the busy summer.
Planning a holiday in Europe but not sold on the idea of having your fingerprints and facial image being logged under the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES)? Brits looking for smooth sailing abroad may want to set their sights on the Mediterranean’s Hellenic Republic.
Greece will be going against the grain of the biometric registration system by exempting British passport holders travelling to its borders.
In a statement on its website, the Embassy of Greece in London said: “We would like to inform you that within the framework of the implementation of the new Entry/Exit System (ESS) as of April 10th 2026, British passport holders are excluded from biometric registration at Greek border crossing points.”
Euronews has reached out to the Greek Embassy in London for clarification on whether this exemption also applies to other third-country nationals.
For Eleni Skarveli, the director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation in the UK, the move aims to ensure a “smoother and more efficient arrival experience in Greece”, The Independent newspaper reported.
She also expects the exemption to “significantly reduce waiting times and ease congestion at airports”.
The EES, which is aimed at helping prevent identity theft and other serious crimes, came into full effect on 10 April across 29 European countries.
After the official rollout, Milan's Linate airport experienced hours-long queues that resulted in just 34 passengers out of 156 boarding a Manchester-bound flight. This left scores behind who “watched their plane depart without them”, said The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder.
He also said that Greece would fare better to avoid travel chaos for Brits, especially during peak summer months, when the island's airports can sometimes receive as many as 2,000 UK travellers arriving and departing in a single day.
In 2025, international arrivals to the Mediterranean country rose by 5.6% year-on-year to 37.98 million visitors.
Tourists from the UK also increased by nearly 8% with 4.89 million visitors, who contributed €3.74 billion in tourist spending. Olga Kefalogianni, Greece’s Minister for Tourism, dubbed 2025 the “best year ever" for the sector.
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