What travelers should expect from European Union's new Entry/Exit System
A person has their fingerprints scanned at a kiosk during a press preview on the rollout of the EU's new Entry-Exit System at Eurotunnel, southeast England, on Tuesday. Credit: AFP via Getty Images / Justin Tallis
The European Union recently announced it was planning to gradually roll out a new Entry/Exit System, dubbed EES, that will require the collection of biometric data from international travelers, beginning next month, with full implementation by April, affecting 29 EU nations.
According to the EU's EES website, the program will facilitate border crossings by reducing lines, improving security, making it easier to identify people and supporting "the identification of terrorists, criminals, suspects and victims of crimes."
Matthew Rickman, of Oceanside, whose travel company, LevelUp Travel LLC, specializes in international travel, particularly to Europe, said travelers are likely to see more such efforts as part of the "modernization of border control."
Rickman added, though, that a U.S. citizen with "a valid passport has a biometric chip in it already. ... The U.S., along with a bunch of other countries have the e-passport."
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the State Department has only issued e-passports since August 2007. The Homeland Security website stated: "An e-Passport contains an electronic chip. The chip holds the same information that is printed on the passport's data page: the holder's name, date of birth, and other biographic information. An e-Passport also contains a biometric identifier. The United States requires that the chip contain a digital photograph of the holder. All e-Passports issued by Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries and the United States have security features to prevent the unauthorized reading or 'skimming' of data stored on the e-Passport chip."
Rickman said, "The biometric passport contains your personal information already. Right now, if you entered the EU, the U.K. and Australia, they’re already getting your biometric data. This is just another step to tie into their EES system coming out, that gets rid of the visa system. It just makes things more modernized. There's less time in queues to talk to a border control agent."
Rickman said he had no problem with the biometric data that will be collected by the EU's new system.
"The EU has very strict data privacy laws. If there’s any place in the world I trust with my data, it's the EU." Besides, he said, "You have to give your personal data everywhere."
What is EES?
The Entry/Exit System is an information technology system to register non-Europeans traveling to 29 EU nations for a short stay, which is a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days.
When does the EES start?
The program will roll out Oct. 12, with full implementation by April 10.
What data is collected by the system?
Biometric data — facial image and fingerprints; as well as biographical data on travel documents, such as name and date of birth, and date and place of entry into a country, whether or not you were refused entry. It will eventually replace manual passport stamps when it is fully implemented.
What are the benefits of EES?
The EES website says the system will modernize border management; improve security; combat terrorism and organized crime and human trafficking; give non-Europeans "precise information on the maximum duration of their stays"; make it easier to identify people who have exceeded their authorized stays; and make it easier to identify people who are using fake identification on their passports. The website also said EES was a "reliable method" to accurately identify people and deter "discrimination or racial profiling."
