European Union begins gradual rollout of digital border system

European Union member nations started rolling out a brand new entry and exit system on Sunday on the bloc’s exterior borders, electronically registering non-EU nationals’ information.

The Entry/Exit System (EES), an automatic system that requires travellers to register on the border by scanning their passport and having their fingerprints and {photograph} taken, might be launched over six months.

The transfer is geared toward detecting overstayers, tackling id fraud and stopping unlawful migration amid political stress in some EU nations to take a more durable stance.

“The Entry/Exit System is the digital spine of our new widespread European migration and asylum framework,” European Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner stated in an announcement.

Six months to regulate

Non-EU residents must register their private particulars once they first enter the Schengen space – all EU member nations aside from Ireland and Cyprus, however together with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Subsequent journeys will solely require facial biometric verification.

The system needs to be absolutely operational, with passport stamping changed with digital data, on April 10, 2026.

“Every third nation nationwide who arrives at an exterior border will bear id verification, safety screening, and registration within the EU databases,” Mr. Brunner stated.

At the Bajakovo border crossing between Serbia and neighbouring Croatia, an EU member state, lots of of individuals, lots of them Serbians, queued of their automobiles on Sunday for round 20 minutes earlier than getting into cubicles for fingerprinting and face scanning.

“There are 5 lanes open, so it took us about 20 minutes in line and about two minutes (within the sales space) for every of the 5 of us from the automobile,” stated Dalibor Vranic, from Serbia.

For British travellers utilizing the Port of Dover, the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone or Eurostar terminal at London’s St Pancras International, the method takes place on the border earlier than they go away the U.Ok.

At Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal, solely freight and coach visitors was topic to EES checks from Sunday.

Passenger car checks will comply with in November at Dover and by the top of the 12 months at Eurotunnel, whereas the Eurostar at St Pancras was regularly introducing the brand new course of, beginning with some enterprise travellers from Sunday.

“The U.Ok. and EU have a shared goal of securing our borders and these modernisation measures will assist us defend our residents and stop unlawful migration,” British Minister for Border Security and Asylum Alex Norris stated.