How will the EU’s new entry-exit border system work?

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Non-European Union citizens travelling to countries successful Europe’s Schengen country – wrong which carnal borders betwixt subordinate countries person been removed – volition soon person to usage a caller automated biometric strategy that is acceptable to regenerate accustomed passport procedures.

The EU’s caller Entry/Exit System (EES) volition beryllium rolled retired connected Sunday, October 12 and volition use to 29 countries successful the Schengen area. The EU expects EES to beryllium afloat functional by April 10 adjacent year.

What is the EES, and who volition it use to?

The EES is simply a integer borderline cheque strategy which volition support way of non-EU citizens who participate and exit Europe’s Schengen portion – an country composed of 25 EU members and 4 non-EU nations which guarantees state of question with nary interior borderline checks.

According to the EU, the EES volition use to those making short-stay journeys into the Schengen zone. A non-EU traveller is idiosyncratic who does not clasp EU nationality oregon the nationality of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway oregon Switzerland.

Short-stay Schengen visas are issued to radical staying successful the portion for up to 90 days wrong a 180-day period.

Citizens from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and others who usually bash not request a visa for abbreviated stays successful the Schengen portion will, however, besides beryllium taxable to EES.

The EES volition not use to:

Nationals of the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus arsenic they are portion of the EU adjacent though they are wrong the Schengen area
Holders of passports issued by the Vatican City State oregon the Holy See
Non-EU nationals who clasp residence permits successful EU countries, including Ireland and Cyprus
Non-EU nationals who are travelling for research, study, voluntary services oregon au brace services
Travellers who clasp residence permits successful oregon long-stay visas for Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, which are not members of the EU but tin lone beryllium accessed connected onshore via a Schengen-area country
People who clasp a valid section borderline postulation permit, unit members of rider and goods trains connected planetary connecting journeys and radical who person been granted definite privileges which exempt them from borderline checks

How volition the EES work?

A non-EU traveller entering immoderate of the Schengen countries volition beryllium directed to an migration booth oregon a kiosk successful the airport, bid oregon autobus presumption they person arrived at. There, their idiosyncratic information from their passport, including afloat name, nationality and biometric information specified arsenic a facial representation and fingerprints, volition beryllium recorded. Children beneath the property of 12 volition not person to supply fingerprints.

Bram Frouws, manager of the Mixed Migration Centre, a Geneva-based cognition centre, told Al Jazeera that the EES volition not beryllium utilized for interior borderline controls.

“Free question wrong Schengen remains successful place,” helium said. Therefore, once travellers are wrong the Schengen area, they volition not person to acquisition checks to question betwixt Schengen countries.

The EES strategy volition besides grounds the traveller’s exit from the Schengen zone.

A person’s details volition beryllium recorded the archetypal clip helium oregon she uses the system. The adjacent clip the idiosyncratic travels into the Schengen area, their idiosyncratic details volition beryllium verified against those held connected file. As agelong arsenic the strategy does not emblem immoderate caller issues, the traveller volition beryllium allowed to participate the Schengen country.

Biometric information is held connected record for 3 years pursuing immoderate introduction to the area, arsenic agelong arsenic travellers comply with short-stay visa rules. If you overstay, your details volition beryllium held for 5 years.

The EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems successful the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) volition negociate the EES.

The bloc’s borderline agency, Frontex, has besides announced the motorboat of an EES app done which travellers volition beryllium capable to pre-register their biometric details.

Chris Borowski, spokesperson for Frontex, told Al Jazeera: “The EES app volition assistance travellers registry their details much easy earlier they scope the border, redeeming clip and reducing queues. Each state decides however and wherever to usage the app – for illustration astatine airports oregon onshore borders – and indispensable guarantee it meets their nationalist requirements earlier going live.”

So far, 5 countries person indicated they whitethorn privation to usage the app: Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Hungary and Greece. Sweden is the archetypal to person confirmed it volition usage the app astatine selected borderline points, including Arlanda Airport, erstwhile EES starts operating.

Frontex said it is besides also moving with France, Germany and the Netherlands to organise aviator tests astatine cardinal question hubs adjacent year.

Why is EES being introduced?

The European Council announced the EES borderline absorption strategy successful July, with a presumption to “improving the effectiveness and ratio of controls astatine the EU’s outer borders”, it said.

It added that the strategy volition assistance to guarantee radical bash not overstay their visas, volition trim individuality fraud and volition trim irregular migration to the Schengen zone.

“Strong extortion of our outer borders is captious for the European Union. The caller Entry/Exit strategy volition assistance america guarantee that non-EU nationals travelling to Europe comply with our rules. That volition marque our borders safer and borderline checks much efficient,” Kaare Dybvad Bek, the EU’s curate for migration and integration, said successful a connection successful July.

Frouws added that the strategy is designed to place non-EU travellers who “enter the EU legally, but past overstay [their abbreviated enactment visa oregon permit] and effort to enactment and enactment successful the EU irregularly”.

“They volition beryllium flagged automatically and, for example, past look a prohibition connected re-entry successful the future. In principle, those with a short-term visa, whether migrants oregon refugees, tin inactive determination done the Schengen zone,” helium said.

What does this mean for radical seeking asylum?

Frouws pointed retired that EES should not initially contiguous difficulties for asylum seekers, arsenic their biometric information is recorded via a antithetic system, called the Eurodac. However, helium warned that determination could beryllium problems if the EES is utilized for asylum seekers successful the future.

“A refusal to supply biometric details into the EES could beryllium a crushed to beryllium denied entry,” Frouws said.

Taking biometric information enables the EU to way wherever an asylum seeker archetypal entered the bloc. Under the EU’s Dublin regulation, the state of accomplishment is liable for processing an asylum claim.

But Frouws explained that immoderate refugees bash not needfully privation to assertion asylum successful their state of accomplishment due to the fact that they whitethorn person household connections successful a antithetic EU country.

The instauration of EES has raised a fig of questions relating to asylum seekers and whether it volition marque them much vulnerable, therefore.

“Will this [EES] ever beryllium decently handled astatine outer borders? Could this beryllium utilized arsenic a mode to contradict asylum seekers entry? And volition asylum seekers cognize astir each their rights and obligations successful narration to these systems? These volition beryllium important things to ticker successful the coming months if it is utilized for asylum seekers,” Frouws said.

Will the EES infringe connected travellers’ privacy?

“Like with each specified [biometric-data] systems, determination is simply a hazard of over-use oregon abuse,” Frouws said. “For example, you could ideate a aboriginal wherever cameras connected streets volition beryllium linked with the facial designation accusation successful EES, and determination volition beryllium much automated crackdowns connected migrant overstayers. Right now, this is not allowed. But it’s imaginable technologically, determination is simply a hazard that this volition alteration successful the future.”

According to the EU, however, “Travellers’ information volition beryllium collected and stored successful afloat compliance with EU information extortion rules and rights.”

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into unit successful 2018, safeguards the privateness of individuals by levying fines connected individuals oregon organisations violating privateness and different information standards.

The EU has besides highlighted that a traveller’s details collected from EES volition lone beryllium accessible by border, visa and migration authorities, instrumentality enforcement authorities, Europol and transport companies specified arsenic airlines, which are required to study if they are alerted that radical person overstayed their short-stay visas.

In unspecified “special circumstances”, the EU said, it could transportation a traveller’s information to an planetary organisation oregon state extracurricular the EU, however.

Will determination beryllium a visa waiver strategy with EES?

Yes, but not immediately. Once the EES comes into unit decently successful 2026, the EU volition rotation retired a caller visa waiver strategy called the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for citizens of countries exempt from short-stay visas, including the UK, the US, Israel, Albania, Japan, Canada, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, among others.

British nationals surviving successful the EU and household members who are already beneficiaries of the UK’s withdrawal statement with the EU pursuing its withdrawal successful 2020 volition beryllium exempt from the strategy altogether. They volition question connected their EU oregon UK passport alongside their EU nonmigratory card, which shows they are beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement.

Those who bash request to use for ETIAS volition person to wage a interest of 20 euros ($23.48). Applicants who are aged beneath 18 years oregon much than 70, household members of EU citizens oregon of non-EU nationals who person the close to escaped question successful the EU, volition beryllium exempt from paying this fee.

Once an exertion is made, an ETIAS waiver volition beryllium issued wrong minutes for galore travellers. It whitethorn instrumentality longer if borderline cheque authorities necessitate much information. It volition beryllium digitally linked to a person’s question papers and volition beryllium valid for 3 years oregon until the question papers expires.

However, according to the EU, possessing an ETIAS waiver volition not warrant automatic entry. Border cheque officials volition inactive person the close to verify whether a traveller meets introduction requirements.

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