The EES was finally introduced on Sunday although very slowly. In Spain only Madrid airport launched on day one Britons flying to Mallorca will not have to pass through the biometric checks until next month, November. However, there are certain groups who will not have to register their biometric data on the new border control system and, according to the European Union, they are:
Non-EU nationals who holds a residence card or permit and are immediately related to a non-EU national who can travel through Europe like an EU citizen
People exempt from border checks due to certain privileges e.g. a head of state
Non-EU national who holds a residence card and are immediately related to an EU national
You hold a residence permit or long-stay visa
You are a non-EU national travelling to Europe as part of an intra-corporate transfer for the purpose of research, studies, training, pupil exchange, voluntary services, educational projects, or au-pairing
You are a national of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino and hold a passport issued by the Vatican City State or the Holy See
You are a diplomat on a short stay (under certain conditions)
You are a national of a European country using EES, such as Cyprus and Ireland
However, the European Union EES entry/exit scheme could prove to be a very nasty trap for British and other third-party (non-EU) second home owners in Mallorca and across the Schengen Area in general. The new EES biometic system will automatically track when non-EU passport holders enter and leave the Schengen zone. From April it will replace the stamping of passports.
And, Brussels has told members states that once strict new entry procedures come into force they should rigidly enforce an existing 90/180-day rule and issue fines and bans to those who breach it. Under the post-Brexit agreement, UK citizens without the right to work or reside in the EU or a member-state passport can only spend 90 days in a rolling 180-day period in the bloc.
Officials are said to have been “turning a blind eye” but are aware that some second-home owners are flouting the rules by overstaying - that is now going to stop. EES operations will start gradually. In the first few months, not all border points will collect data right away. Countries will slowly introduce biometric registration at airports, land borders, and seaports.