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EES, ETIAS and the 90 days: what applies to you, and what to your partner without an EU passport

For Dutch citizens nothing changes at the border: the EES, ETIAS and the rule of 90 days in 180 do not apply to you. They do apply to a partner or child without an EU passport. If they travel with you as a family member, a more generous rule applies in other EU countries.

8 min read

Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.

With a Dutch passport you notice little of the new systems at the European border. The EES, ETIAS and the rule of 90 days in 180 do not apply to you. They do apply to your partner or child if they have no EU passport. For a family on the road, that is the difference between a free route and a trip that has to be planned around a counter.

Three things to know up front:

  • A partner or child without an EU passport is registered in the EES at the Schengen border, unless they hold a residence card.
  • If they travel with you as a family member, other EU countries do not apply the limit of 90 days in 180, but three months per country.
  • ETIAS is not yet in operation and has no start date. The EU announces the date several months in advance, and after that a transitional period of at least six months follows. If you leave in 2026 or early 2027, your partner has nothing to do with it yet.

What are EES and ETIAS?

They are two new European systems for travellers from outside the EU.

  • EES, the Entry/Exit System. A digital register of who crosses the Schengen border. It replaces the stamp in the passport. The first time, passport, facial image and fingerprints are recorded, and after that every date of entry and exit. It has been running in all Schengen countries since 10 April 2026.
  • ETIAS. A travel authorisation you apply for online in advance, for people who may travel to Europe without a visa. Think of an American or an Australian. It applies to 30 European countries: the Schengen area and Cyprus. It also applies to a partner or child of an EU citizen who travels without a visa, unless they hold a residence card or a residence permit.

The Schengen area is the 29 European countries without border checks between them. The rule of 90 days in 180 means: anyone from outside the EU may spend at most 90 days in that whole area together in any period of 180 days.

Do they apply to me as a Dutch citizen?

No. The Marechaussee (Dutch border police): the EES applies to travellers from outside the EU and the Schengen area "die voor een kort verblijf van maximaal 90 dagen (binnen een periode van 180 dagen) naar of via Nederland reizen. Valt u niet onder deze categorie? Dan hoeft u zich niet te registreren in het EES." (who travel to or via the Netherlands for a short stay of up to 90 days within 180; if you do not fall into this category, you do not have to register in the EES.) And: "Voor u verandert de reguliere grenscontrole niet" (for you the regular border check does not change).

ETIAS is for people who need no visa to travel to Europe but have no EU passport. That is not you either.

Outside Europe things can differ. The United Kingdom asks Dutch citizens too for an ETA, an electronic travel authorisation. It costs £ 20 and is valid for 2 years, or shorter if your passport expires earlier. Every family member needs one, babies included.

What does this mean for my partner or child?

That depends on two things: whether they hold a residence card, and whether they travel with you.

Situation EES at the Schengen border How long in the EU
With a residence card as the family member of an EU citizen not registered travelling with you: three months per EU country, with no overall time limit
Without a residence card, travelling with you or joining you registered at most three months per EU country, not the 90 days in 180
Without a residence card, travelling alone registered the ordinary rule: 90 days in 180 in the Schengen area

A residence card is the residence document an EU country issues to the family member of an EU citizen who lives there. The European Commission: holders of that card are not registered in the EES, "regardless of whether they are travelling with or without the family member". Without a card they are.

On the length of stay, Your Europe says: non-EU family members may accompany or join you "for consecutive periods of up to 3 months per EU country visited". And: they are not subject to the overall limit of up to 90 days in a 180-day period that applies in the Schengen area.

Three things to know about this:

  • Who counts as a family member? Your spouse, your children, and parents or grandparents who depend on you. A registered partner only if the destination country treats that partnership as equal to marriage. A partner you live with without marriage or partnership does not automatically count.
  • It applies in other EU countries. In the country of your own nationality, so for you the Netherlands, the Dutch rules apply.
  • Does your partner need a visa? Then an EU country must handle that visa free of charge and with priority, if your partner travels with you or joins you in another EU country.

If your partner travels part of the way alone, for example ahead to the next country or back to family, the ordinary rule of 90 days in 180 applies. So keep a list per person of country, date in and date out.

When does ETIAS start?

That is not fixed yet. The official EU ETIAS website says (as at 21 October 2026): "ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch." The Marechaussee says the same: ETIAS is currently not yet in operation.

In April 2026 the European Commission still named the end of 2026 as its goal. That sentence has disappeared from the official website since the summer, without a new date. According to the press the EU is counting on 2027, but that has not been officially confirmed.

Even when ETIAS starts, there is time. The EU announces the date several months in advance. Then comes a transitional period of at least six months: your partner should already apply for an ETIAS, but will not be refused without one. Then follows a grace period of another six months at least: only those entering for the first time since the end of the transitional period may still enter without one.

What is known:

ETIAS
For whom travellers without an EU passport who may come to Europe without a visa
Cost € 20; anyone under 18 or over 70 pays nothing
Family member of an EU citizen free, if your partner or child travels with you or joins you in an EU country other than the Netherlands
Valid 3 years, or until the passport expires
Applying online, before departure, through the official ETIAS website or app

For your partner or child without an EU passport, once ETIAS is in operation:

  • With a residence card as the family member of an EU citizen, or with a residence permit of an EU country (a Dutch one included): no ETIAS needed.
  • Without a card or permit, travelling with you or joining you in an EU country other than the Netherlands: an ETIAS is needed, but it is free. Your partner ticks "family member of an EU citizen" in the form and enters your details. At the border they must be able to show the family tie, so take the marriage or birth certificate. This free ETIAS is not valid for a trip to the Netherlands.
  • For a trip to the Netherlands, or if your partner travels alone: an ordinary ETIAS of € 20. That one is valid everywhere, also as a family member.

Who counts as a family member is the same circle as above: spouse, registered partner if the country treats that as equal to marriage, children under 21 or dependent, and dependent parents. A partner you live with without marriage or partnership falls outside it and pays € 20.

How do I plan the trip as a family?

  • Look at which passports you have between you, and who has no EU passport.
  • Find out whether a residence card is possible. Your partner can apply for one in an EU country other than the Netherlands, if they stay there for more than three months.
  • Plan the periods in which your partner travels alone separately, with the 90-day counter.
  • Take your marriage certificate, partnership certificate or your child's birth certificate with you. For a visa application, for a free ETIAS and at the border your partner or child has to show that they belong to your family.

For visas outside Europe, and whether you may work there, see working on a tourist visa or a nomad visa.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey for a life on the road or go straight to step 4.2 in the open plan.

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What this rests on

The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.

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