I527-290 ESRIF Final Report (WEB).indd - European Commission

At border of destination country: these checks are the only ones currently done. However, thanks to the first
level of checks before or during travel, and by giving the police mobile devices to check and control identities at the gate of
the plane, this new scheme gives a real proactive and discrete dimension to the police’s action and gives more satisfaction to
all the people who are no longer obliged to take their place in the queue at the border. The checks at the border also should
be carried out not only to record the entry of the travellers but also their exit (Entry/Exit scheme).
Within the destination country: to have a complete control over the individuals entering and leaving the country, it is
crucial to also perform identity control within the borders. With the control of entries and exits at the border, the authorities will
have a precise knowledge of the people who should be within the territory at any given time. Therefore it is important to be
able to perform checks anywhere in the country (with the help of mobile devices) in order to be able to fi nd the people who
did not leave the country when they were supposed to or the ones who entered the countries through illegal channels.
Coping with increasing numbers of travellers
Increasing movement of people is a further challenge 5 : “Migratory pressure, as well as the prevention of entry of persons
seeking to enter the EU for illegitimate reasons, are obvious challenges facing the Union and, therefore, also its policies on
borders and visas.”
Technology developments and scientifi c progress in areas such as biometrics are paving the way for new solutions to meet these
challenges. Biometrics help strengthen identity solutions by integrating physical or behavioural characteristics (for example,
fi ngerprints, facial structure, iris structure, signature and gait) with biographic identity information. Biometric technology is
also being integrated into identity credentials such as travel documents (for example e-passports), visas and smart cards to
reduce the threat of a criminal or terrorist assuming a fake identity or committing identity theft—a much simpler process if
mere biographic information is required for validation.
The combination of biometric technology, high storage capacity chips, secure transmission technology and new authentication
tools supports border management agencies in making decisions about identity and risk and strengthens the processes to
rapidly facilitate known, low-risk travellers while improving security.
It is notably possible to perform automatic identity verifi cation using electronic passport and automated gates: in such
scenarios the gate has the ability to read the passport biometric information, capture the biometrics of the traveller, perform
the identity verifi cation, check the authenticity of the document and connect to watch list databases.
Coping with increasing numbers of unknown immigrants
Many non-EU citizens enter EU borders not only with temporary authorisations, like those for business or tourism, but also
reach EU coasts by boat to Southern Europe without any identifi cation documents and cannot be stopped in crowded
illegal immigrant detention centres. Inevitably, the result is that a multitude of unknown immigrants move inside EU
without any knowledge about them, representing a large gap in the overall security system related to border control. This
could be partly addressed by issuing on arrival a temporary biometric e-ID, allowing them to move inside the EU territory,
carrying out periodic checks while waiting to reconcile their identity with valid ID documents from their origin state. This
can also allow following them in their process toward legal naturalisation in one the EU member states avoiding any gap
from their fi rst entry into the EU territory. In fact, in most known cases, their fi rst request is to apply for asylum.
Benefi ts for the border control agencies
The benefi ts of a new traveller identifi cation scheme as mentioned in this section are multiple:
Increased capacity: the time required for each transaction is reduced while the level of security is increased. With the
usage of automated gates the fl oor space required is also reduced.
Increased predictability: with proactive management the variability in terms of the workforce required to perform the
control can be better handled.
Increased security: by using biometrics and automation the level of checks is kept the same. Border guards can focus on
higher value-added activities.
5 “Preparing the next steps in border management in the EU” - Commission communication
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