Denmark has begun implementing the new EES biometric border checks, with non-EU travellers arriving in the country from outside the Schengen Area fingerprinted at border control. Here are the key details.
It’s been more than 12 years in development and has been delayed time and time again, but at 11am on Sunday, the EU’s new Entry and Exit System (EES) finally came into effect, with travellers arriving and leaving Denmark encompassed by the new system.
The aim of the new system is to eventually replace the manual stamp on passports and secure better information-sharing between the bloc’s 27 states.
The first phase began on Sunday October 12th and means that non-EU nationals arriving for short stays in all EU countries except for Cyprus and Ireland will be asked for their passport number, to provide fingerprints and have their photo taken at automated kiosks.
The system means that when a third-country national crosses an external Schengen border, the border authorities create or update an individual file in the EES containing the information outlined above.
READ ALSO: Europe launches long-awaited EES biometric border checks
Where is the system in place in Denmark?
Some countries, including Sweden, implemented the system in full from Sunday, but this is not the case in Denmark, where it is being phased in gradually at Copenhagen Airport.
However, it has been fully implemented throughout the rest of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration states on its website. This means all other Danish airports and ports will use it, as will police districts in Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Gradual implementation in the EU means that the registration of third-country nationals’ data in the EES will not initially take place at all border crossing points, and there may be locations where biometric data is not yet collected.
Physical passport stamping will continue during the gradual implementation, so third-country nationals’ entries to and exits from the Schengen Area will also be recorded in their passports during this period.
You can therefore expect this to continue in some cases at Copenhagen Airport during the implementation period, while EES will also be in use in Copenhagen.
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What will travellers be required to do?
Travellers will be required to provide fingerprints and a facial photo if they are either arriving from or leaving the Schengen area, which includes all EU countries except Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Children under the age of twelve are exempt from the requirement to provide fingerprints, but must be registered.
You only need to be photographed the first time you enter or leave the EU/Schengen area. A file will then be created for you in the system’s digital system. When you leave or reenter the Schengen area in future, the border guard will compare your photo and finger prints to those in your file.
The data will be deleted normally after three years.
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Who is covered by the requirement?
It covers citizens of non-EU countries who are not resident in Denmark or another Schengen country.
Citizens of the EU and of the four additional Schengen countries are not required to use the new border crossing system, nor are non-EU citizens who have a residence permit or right of residence in Denmark (although you will need a residence card).
The system is only for travellers coming to a European country for a short stay of less than 90 days. If you have a long stay Schengen visa, you do not need to leave information.
If a third-country national is granted a residence permit in Denmark (or in another Schengen country) after an EES file has been created for them, that EES file will be deleted by the authority that has issued the residence permit, Denmark’s immigration ministry states.
In Denmark, the EES file will in general be deleted either by the Danish Immigration Service or the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).
What if my residence permit expires while in Denmark?
If you are a third-country national with a Danish residence permit, but that residence permit expires while you are in Denmark, immigration authorities recommend you have an EES file created if you want to stay or travel in the Schengen area for a short period after your residence permit has expired.
As a general rule, this will be possible for nationals of third-countries which are visa-free, according to the Danish immigration ministry.
You can contact Danish immigration authorities to do this, the ministry says. The benefit of taking this step is to prevent an EES file being created when you depart Denmark (or the Schengen area), because the time taken to submit biometric data could delay you.