entering Croatia on a non-EU passport: what EES means at the border
No more passport stamps. If you are not an EU citizen, you will be registered in the EU Entry/Exit System at the border, and ETIAS is expected to follow in late 2026.
If you're coming to Croatia on a non-EU passport, the border works a little differently now. There are no more passport stamps. Instead, border police register you once in the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES).
what ees is
EES is a digital record of Schengen border crossings for non-EU citizens on short stays. It logs the date and place of every entry and exit and automatically calculates how many days you have left.
It started on 12 October 2025 and has been fully in force since 10 April 2026, when passport stamping ended. Until 7 September 2026 border police could relax the procedure when queues got long. Since then the system has applied every day, with no exceptions.
who has to register
You register if you're a non-EU citizen visiting for a short stay. That includes, for example, guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the UK or the US.
You don't if you're an EU citizen or from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, or if you hold a residence permit or long-stay visa.
On your first entry they take a facial photo and fingerprints from four fingers. Children under 12 don't give fingerprints. The registration is valid for three years, so later crossings are quicker.
what about etias
ETIAS is a separate system: an online travel authorisation that visa-exempt travellers will fill in before the trip. It's expected to launch in the last quarter of 2026, but at the time of writing no exact date has been announced. It's expected to cost €20, and people under 18 or over 70 won't have to pay.
tips for the trip
- Expect a longer wait on your first entry. Taking biometrics takes time, especially at road crossings from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
- Avoid peak days like Saturdays and the start of holidays if you can.
- Keep a passport ready for everyone in the car, children included.
- Check the official EU pages for EES and ETIAS before you travel. The exact ETIAS start date will be announced there first.
If you're an EU citizen, nothing changes for you. Your national ID card is still enough.