The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) has electronically logged every non-EU entry and exit across all 29 participating Schengen countries since 10 April 2026, replacing the manual passport stamp with a biometric record. 1 It enforces the Schengen 90/180-day rule, the cap that allows non-EU visitors up to 90 days inside any rolling 180.
Nomads who reset the count by crossing to Georgia, the United Kingdom, or another non-Schengen state now meet precise electronic day-counting at re-entry. The binding constraint runs automatically at the perimeter rather than through a consulate, so no national nomad visa adds Schengen days and no consular discretion can stretch the ceiling.
Georgia, the favoured hop, keeps ordinary Schengen access only to about March 2027 after the 11 June EU-Georgia dialogue held that door open while flagging a member-state suspension vote . That narrows the reset options just as EES closes the tourist-day arbitrage. Bulgaria's nomad permit, at EUR 27,533 a year , becomes the practical alternative base. Holding a residence permit in one member state is now the only lawful route for a third-country national to exceed 90 days in 180.
ETIAS (the European Travel Information and Authorisation System), a paid pre-travel clearance, is confirmed by the European Commission at EUR 20, up from a planned EUR 7, with under-18s and over-70s exempt. 2 The Commission expects it in the last quarter of 2026, adding a pre-authorisation step before a nomad even reaches the biometric count.
