Starting from autumn, a new automatic entry and exit system will start working in the EU .jpg” alt=”Schengen entry procedures to change soon” />
In just a few months, entry procedures to Schengen countries will change. Two innovations will be operational: the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) and its accompanying Entry-Exit System (EES).
According to the European Commission ( EC), the goals of both programs are “strengthening internal security”, countering illegal migration, preventing cross-border crime and terrorism.
The deployment of the EES system in the EC has been described as unprecedented. The automated biometric information collection program will not only capture digitized fingerprints and facial images of all arriving foreign guests, but also collect this data upon departure at all air and sea ports, airports and land border points with subsequent transmission to the relevant government authorities.
The EES system will be used to register travelers from third countries every time they cross an external EU border. The system will register the person's name, type of travel document, biometric data (fingerprints and facial image), and the date and place of entry and exit.
In addition, the system will also capture denials of entry, more effectively detect overstayers, as well as document and identity fraud cases.
The ETIAS and EES databases will “interact” with each other. In addition, these extensive EU biographical and biometric holdings, including all visa records, will be available for real-time use by the border authorities of all Schengen countries.
Those. if a person has overstayed the validity of a visa of one country and leaves any other country, this will be immediately recorded and sent to the border guard of the Schengen state that issued the visa.
As conceived by the EC, the EES system will make it easier for bona fide travelers from third countries to cross the borders of the Schengen area, as it will expand the possibilities of self-service when passing through border control.
For example, it will make it possible to scan a passport and fingerprints at biometric kiosks, thereby avoiding a meeting with a border guard officer. The devices will scan each traveler's passport, face, and four fingerprints.
Land-based border crossings will also be equipped with these biometric gates: travelers themselves will be able to scan documents and fingerprints. Permission to enter or exit will be given automatically – after the analysis of the electronic “dossier” of the visitor.
Recall that today travelers traveling to the Schengen area must pass a face-to-face check and receive a “man-made” stamp when passing through passport control.
However, such a scheme is called obsolete in the EU: it creates queues, does not fully provide reliable data on crossing the borders of EU countries and does not allow systematic identification of persons who violate the terms of permitted stay.
