Checks on non-EU citizens entering the Schengen area will be subject to the European Union’s extry-exit (EES) checks from today.
The long-delayed roll out of the system was soft launched last year.
Today the system is supposed to be “fully operational” across all Schengen countries.
Non-EU nationals travelling to 29 European countries for short stays will have their photos and fingerprints taken on arrival in the Schengen zone.
For Eurostar passengers and car passengers on Eurotunnel and at the port of Dover, the checks will be done before they leave the UK for France.
The European Commission says that the EES digitalises border crossings “replacing the previous system of passport stamping.
It provides reliable data on border crossings, systematically detecting overstayers as well as cases of document and identity fraud.”
The first phase of the roll-out began in October last year.
The European Commission says the system has already registered more than 52 million entries and exits.
More than 27,000 people were refused entry. Close to 700 people were identified as “posing a security threat to the Union.”
There has been some criticism about airport and port waiting times increasing, but the EU says it takes an average of 70 seconds to compete the checks.
European Commissioner for Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said the system reflects “Europe’s commitment to ensuring strong protection of our external borders and overall security.”
“It will enable authorities to identify risks in real time, tackle overstays more effectively and reinforce trust in the Schengen area”, she added.
EU citizens, including Irish nationals, are not required to undergo the EES checks and can pass through border security in the usual way.
The countries in the Schengen area are:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are not within the Schengen area, and therefore EES is not applicable when travelling to either of these countries.