Europe plans to introduce a new biometric passport system in November 2024, followed six months later by a new travel authorization for many of its visitors—here’s what travelers need to know.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson confirmed that the new Entry/Exit system would be deployed on Sunday, 10 November 2024 and that the new process is in the final testing stage.
The EES is a new scheme that uses biometric data to allow short-stay visa holders and visa-exempt travelers to pass through borders into a Schengen-area country. Fingerprints and faces will be scanned as travelers pass through electronic gates.
It is intended that it will replace passport stamps, which are currently used across European countries. However, stamps take time and do not allow countries to record overstayers (people who have stayed longer than they are allowed).
The system will register the person’s name, the type of travel document, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images), and the date and place of entry and exit.
The Commission calls the EES “the most advanced border management system in the world,” ensuring that travelers do not stay in the Schengen area for more than 90 days in any 180 days.
Johansson told reporters, “With the Entry/Exit System, we will know exactly who enters the Schengen area with a foreign passport. We will know if people stay too long, countering irregular migration. And the Entry/Exit System will make it harder for criminals, terrorists, or Russian spies to use fake passports thanks to biometric identification, photos, and fingerprints.”
Meanwhile, Traveling to Japan as a tourist has been a breeze for visitors from 71 visa-exempt countries and regions, as there’s no requirement to obtain a short-stay visa at a local embassy prior to travel.
However, that’s all set to change in the future, as the Japanese government has announced plans to introduce a new travel authorization system which will require visitors to declare personal information online in order to enter the country.
The new system is said to run in a similar way to ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) in the U.S., which was introduced as an anti-terrorism measure.
Just as ESTA determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, the Japanese version, which the government has tentatively named JESTA, will also screen visitors prior to entry, using a similar online system.
The government says the aim of the new system is to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who come to Japan from visa-exempt countries and regions and remain beyond the valid period of stay, which currently ranges from 14-90 days depending on the passport.
Under the current system, international airlines provide the government with passenger information for screening shortly after takeoff, which means travelers who don’t pass the screening still arrive in Japan, and although they are officially ordered to leave the country, many fail to do so.
According to the government, the number of people who abuse the system and stay illegally in the country is considerable — of the 49,801 illegal short-term visitors recorded in January 2016, more than 28,000 came from visa-exempt countries and regions.
