The European Union’s Schengen area will soon implement a digital identity system for non-EU nationals, which could cause long arrival and departure delays at an early stage.
From October 12, those entering or leaving the 27-nation bloc will have their photos taken and fingerprints scanned by passport control officers.
If you refuse to hand over this data, officials may deny you entry to the Schengen area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smartraveller website warns.
Under the new Entry/Exit System (EES), this biometric data is collected alongside passport information such as your name and date of birth, date and place of entry and exit and whether you have previously been refused entry.
This personal data is used to create a digital record, which is linked to travelers as individuals, not their passports.
So if you overstay your visa, the EES can identify you using your digital data, even if you use a different passport, Smartraveller warns.
The Schengen area includes 29 European countries within which travelers can move freely without having to go through border controls or arrange individual visas. The Smartraveller website keeps track an updated list of countries in the Schengen area.
The EES will only apply to the borders between non-Schengen and Schengen countries, not to movements within the Schengen area.
According to Smartraveller, the system will be implemented gradually, with full implementation in April 2026.
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