The EES Arrives at Palma Airport: What Travellers Need to Know

Friday, November 14th, 2025

The Arrival of the EES at Palma Airport

A New Way to Clear Border Control at PMI

From the 19th of November 2025, Palma de Mallorca Airport is due to join the growing list of Spanish airports operating the EU Entry/Exit System (EES). This new, EU-wide border system replaces the manual passport stamping process for non-EU, non-Schengen visitors, including travellers from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and many more countries.

If you’re flying to Mallorca from outside the EU/Schengen Area, here’s a quick summary of what the new procedure will look like, and how it may affect your journey.

How the New EES Process Works

First-time registration

On your first trip to Mallorca (or any other Schengen country) after the EES begins, you will need to complete a one-off registration. This is usually done at a self-service kiosk placed before the staffed border booths. No prior online form is needed; biometrics are taken on arrival at the kiosk/booth.

You will be asked to:

Scan your passport
Have a facial photograph taken
Provide four fingerprints

This creates an electronic record, replacing the physical stamp previously applied to your passport. A border control officer remains available to supervise the process and intervene if needed.

Future trips

On later visits, provided you use the same passport and your registration is still valid (see below*), the system will simply verify your identity and log your entry or exit. This means you will still pass through the EES-equipped lane or kiosk, but you won’t need to give fingerprints again unless:

Your passport has changed, or
Your previous EES record has expired (see below*).

Facial matching and passport scanning will still occur to confirm that it is indeed you.

*Entry/exit records are stored for 3 years from the date of the exit/record.

Leaving Mallorca

On departure, you will again scan your passport so that the system can record your exit from the Schengen Area. This replaces the exit stamp that officers previously applied. During the transition period, passports may still be stamped manually at some borders, but the EES exit record will be the official record once fully implemented by the 10th of April 2026.

Do I Still Need to Carry My Passport?

Yes, absolutely. Some online articles have suggested that, once registered, travellers might be able to pass the border without presenting their passport. However, all official guidance confirms that your passport must still be carried and presented for scanning, and border officers may request it at any time.

What does change is that checks will become quicker and more automated once you’re registered, but the passport remains essential.

Proving Purpose of Travel

As before, Schengen rules require that non-EU visitors must be able to:

Show evidence of a return or onward journey
Confirm their accommodation address
Demonstrate sufficient funds for their stay

These checks may be carried out by a border control officer, either routinely or, more likely, on a spot-check basis. This is unchanged from the current system.

The EES Experience at Other Spanish Airports

Airports including Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Alicante and Menorca have already begun phased rollouts. Early reports show that:

Kiosks work reliably once installed
Some airports experienced longer queues during the first weeks
Staff were deployed to guide passengers through the new process
Passengers quickly adapted once familiar with the procedure

Palma Airport is expected to follow a similar model, with officers available to assist and manual booths open during the transition.

What to Bring / Top Tips for Travelling Through Palma Airport Under EES

✔ Bring your biometric passport
Even after registration, it must still be scanned every time. (Passengers without a biometric passport cannot use the EES self-service kiosks and must go through a manual border control channel.)

✔ Allow extra time
Especially during the first months of operation.

✔ Be patient with first-time registration
Fingerprints and a facial photo are only taken once every three years (or when your passport changes).

✔ Know your accommodation details
Border officers may ask for your hotel name or holiday address (same as before).

✔ Keep proof of onward travel handy
A printed or digital return ticket may be requested (same as before).