Border checks

Article 77 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union requires the European Union (EU) to develop a policy on border checks of persons and the efficient monitoring of the external borders, the absence of controls on persons at the internal borders and the gradual introduction of an integrated border-management system for the external borders.

22 EU Member States are members of the Schengen area, an area comprising those Member States along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. There are no internal border controls between these countries. Together, they seek to attain the objective of improving security through efficient external border controls, while still facilitating the access of persons who have a legitimate reason to enter the EU. Border checks of persons still remain between those EU Member States which are not members of the Schengen area (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania) and those which are (for example, for an individual travelling from Ireland, which is not part of the Schengen area, to France, which is).

European integrated border management is underpinned in Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 on the European Border and Coast Guard. Member States have drafted national strategies to ensure and facilitate the practical application of this concept. One of its central components aims at supporting Member States’ implementation of efficient border controls at the EU’s external borders.

Rules on crossing EU borders — both internal and external — are set out in the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399), which also defines the main terms relating to this subject, including border control, border checks and border surveillance.

When crossing external borders, non-EU nationals are subject to thorough checks in accordance with the conditions of entry into the country, including the systematic consultation of relevant databases, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), and a check of the Visa Information System, if the person is subject to the visa obligation. EU nationals are also subject to border checks in the SIS for security purposes. The legal framework on the SIS was upgraded in 2018. The changes to the system, including new functionalities and data, will come into operation in early 2022.

An automated centralised electronic Entry/Exit System (EES) for non-EU nationals crossing the EU’s external borders for a short stay was introduced under Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 on smart borders. The EES records and stores the person’s name, type of travel document, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) and the date and place of entry and exit, in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection. It will also record refusals of entry, and generate alerts to Schengen countries when the authorised stay has expired.

The EU has created an automated IT system called the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which is designed to identify security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors travelling to the Schengen states for short-term stays prior to their trip. At the same time, ETIAS will facilitate border crossings for the vast majority of travellers who do not pose such risks. When ETIAS comes into force, nationals of over 60 countries will be eligible to apply for a travel authorisation.

Operational cooperation between EU Member States to ensure the integrated management of the EU’s borders takes place within the European Border and Coast Guard (comprising the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the Member States’ border management authorities).

A short-stay visa may be issued by one of the Schengen states. It entitles its holder to travel throughout the Schengen states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. A list of countries whose citizens require a visa is annexed to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806.

The EU’s borders policy is part of the Schengen acquis (agreement and convention) and applies to Member States and the Schengen-associated countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) in accordance with Protocol 19. Ireland does not participate in measures of the Schengen acquis relating to borders.