Exit System - Main contents

Summary of Legislation
Legislative text

1. Summary of Legislation

Smart borders: EU Entry/Exit System

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register the data of non-EU nationals crossing the EU’s external borders

Regulation (EU) 2017/2225 amending the Schengen Borders Code as regards the use of the Entry/Exit System

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATIONS?

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of controls at the external borders of the Schengen Area by creating a centralised Entry/Exit System (EES) for non-EU nationals crossing the EU’s external borders for a short stay.

The EES will be an automated IT system for registering entries and exits of travellers from non-EU countries at the external borders. It will apply both to those that need a short-stay visa and to those that are from visa-exempt non-EU countries. In full respect of fundamental rights and data protection, the system will register:

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the name,
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type of travel document,
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biometric data (fingerprints and facial image), and
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the date and place of entry and exit.

It will also record refusals of entry.

The EES will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports which is time-consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings and does not allow the detection of over-stayers or address cases of lost or destroyed travel documents. The system will also contribute to the fight against terrorism and serious crime.

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 amends several EU laws:

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the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement;
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the regulations on the Visa Information System (VIS) and on the European Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale Information Systems (eu-LISA);
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the Schengen Borders Code which lays down the conditions, criteria and detailed rules for the crossing of the EU’s external borders.

The amendment of the Schengen border code as regards the use of the Entry/Exit System is a separate legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2017/2225.

KEY POINTS

Subject matter

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 creates the EES, a common electronic system which:

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records and stores the date, time and place of entry and exit of non-EU nationals crossing the EU’s borders;
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automatically calculates the duration of authorised stay of such non-EU nationals, and generates alerts to EU countries when the authorised stay has expired.

The system replaces the requirement to stamp the passport of non-EU nationals, which is applicable by all EU countries.

Scope

The EES applies to travellers subject to a visa requirement as well as those exempted from it and admitted for a short stay of up to 90 days in a 180-day period, who cross the external borders of the Schengen area. The EES will also record data on non-EU nationals whose entry for a short stay has been refused.

The EES will operate at the external borders of the EU countries which apply the Schengen acquis in full and at the borders of EU countries which — at the time the system will start its operations — will not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full, but will have successfully gone through the Schengen evaluation procedure and have obtained passive access to the VIS and full access to the Schengen Information System.

Data storage and accessibility

The EES will store data on identity, travel documents as well as biometric data. The data will be kept for 3 years for those travellers who respect the short stay rules, and 5 years for those who exceed their authorised period of stay.

The data stored will be accessible to border authorities, visa-issuing authorities and authorities responsible for monitoring whether a non-EU national fulfils the conditions of entry or residence. For the purposes of preventing, detecting or investigating terrorist offences or other serious criminal offences designated law enforcement authorities and Europol may request the consultation of EES data.

Technical architecture

The EES comprises:

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a central system which will operate a computerised central database of biometric and alphanumeric data (a mix of letters and numbers);
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a national uniform interface in each participating country;
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a secure communication channel between the EES central system and the central system of the VIS;
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a secure and encrypted communication infrastructure between the EES central system and the national uniform interfaces (identical interfaces for all EU countries connect their border infrastructures to the EES central system);
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a data repository to obtain customisable reports and statistics;
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a web service to enable non-EU nationals to verify their remaining authorised stay.

The eu-LISA agency has the responsibility for developing and operating the system, including for adapting the VIS so as to ensure the interoperability between the EES central system and the VIS central system.

Amendment of the Schengen Borders Code

Regulation (EU) 2017/2225 makes changes to the Schengen Borders Code as regards the use of the EES at the EU’s external borders. These changes are:

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the entry and exit of non-EU nationals is recorded directly in the EES;
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where provided expressly by its national law, an EU country may continue to stamp non-EU nationals’ travel documents if they hold a residence permit or long-stay visa issued by that EU country;
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non-EU nationals must provide biometric data to create their individual EES file or for the carrying out border checks;
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the identity and nationality and the authenticity and validity of the non-EU nationals’ travel document for crossing the border are verified;
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EU countries may establish national entry facilitation programmes on a voluntary basis for pre-vetted non-EU nationals;
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EU countries may decide whether and to what extent to make use of technologies such as self-service systems for non-EU nationals to pre-enrol or update data in the EES, e-gates and automated border control systems, as long as an appropriate level of security is ensured, that their use is supervised and that border guards have access to the result of such border checks.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

Both the regulations have applied since 29 December 2017.

BACKGROUND

The EU Entry/Exit System is a priority initiative to modernise the EU’s external border management and to contribute to combating terrorism and serious crime, alongside other important border management and security files.

For further information, see:

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The Entry/Exit System — Factsheet (European Commission)
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EU Information systems — Factsheet (European Commission)
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A Europe that protects — Factsheet (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes, and amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulations (EC) No 767/2008 and (EU) No 1077/2011 (OJ L 327, 9.12.2017, pp. 20-82)

Regulation (EU) 2017/2225 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the use of the Entry/Exit System (OJ L 327, 9.12.2017, pp. 1-19)

2. Legislative text

Regulation (EU) 2017/2225 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the use of the Entry/Exit System

Contents

1.

Summary of Legislation

2.

Legislative text