| ▲ | bluGill a day ago |
| Does the EU really collect that, or only sometimes? I know the EU reserves the right to collect all that, but do they in practice? I haven't been to the EU in a decade, but last time I was there I was standing in the customs line for non-EU residents and someone official saw my US passport in hand and directed me to the much shorter/faster EU citizens line. I walked right through customs without being checked at all. |
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| ▲ | zamadatix a day ago | parent | next [-] |
| The last few trip I've taken through Europe this year have changed to the new fingerprinting system. |
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| ▲ | iso1631 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Its changed in the last year or so. Officially it started in October 2025, it's been a bit of a disaster in terms of implementation. It's called the Entry/Exit System (EES) I've had my fingerprints taken every time I've been to the US, although not always all the fingers every time, presumably on subsequent visits if you have passport + right hand matches, they don't bother scanning left hand or thumbs. I've certainly had the full scan on multiple occasions though. |
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| ▲ | artisinal a day ago | parent [-] | | Also good to know that EES is implemented by the private company Thales. | | |
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| ▲ | akdev1l a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Yes they have biometric collection stations now. |
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| ▲ | saturn8601 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| 10 years ago I walked right past the French immigration officer by accident because I didn't know where I was going. He yelled at me to get back in line, quickly stamped my passport and then shooed my along. EU has become a lot more like the US. I'd probably been detained if I had done that in the US. Last year visiting Switzerland they had these machines that auto adjust a camera to your height and there was no way you were going past the barriers by accident so you are getting your photo taken. Things have changed in the last 10 years. I recalled from 2016, while some countries like Sweden were super strict about entry/departure (lady manually counted number of days on passport) others had been so lax it was comical: France would take one quick glance at you and stamp the passport, Ireland would at least test if you could answer a simple question with the stamp already pre positioned on the passport upon answering said question. I presume this electronic system finally accounts for all of these differences and provides a minimum standard for exit/entry. Now it being digitized there is no wiggle room on exit/entry. Frankly with how lousy US exit/entry seems for foreigners, I don't mind the EU wanting to maintain strict standards for visitors to their borders as well. I wouldn't even mind them being extra rough on us Americans. Its totally understandable. Preferably take all the US diplomat passports to a back room as well while they are at it. |
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| ▲ | dizhn 21 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | About the same time ago I walked out of the airport in Tel Aviv and a military guy with an assault rifle asked to see my passport. This was after having gone through passport and customs checks inside of course. :) | |
| ▲ | traceroute66 a day ago | parent | prev [-] | | > Now it being digitized there is no wiggle room on exit/entry. Yes. Because the primary issue is it was too easy to fly under the radar once you were in the Schengen zone. Also in 2026 there are security threats which means tighter borders is a necessity. Clearly in 2026, the easiest way to achieve compliance at all Schengen borders accross 29 countries is to digitise it, including biometrics. Yes, to put it politely, there have been "teething issues" in its implementation. But given the sheer scale of the change, that is only to be expected. I think any of us working in tech would agree that it would be delusional to think such a thing would be perfect from day zero. | | |
| ▲ | saturn8601 20 hours ago | parent [-] | | Well just to clarify as I am not sure if you understood what I am saying but when I said wiggle room I was referring to the different standards of enforcement applied by different countries. This is why I gave personal anecdotes. Im sure all EU countries have days where enforcement is strict and other days where enforcement is more lax. The problems implementing the digital system are a problem but it is a separate issue from the intended design goals of the system. Namely now you have a minimum layer of immigration enforcement across the union given that it is a unified digitized system. It is still more fair and straightforward than the US system and I commend them for setting a minimum standard that I hope others can aspire to. I am unsure about the privacy implications. It is a tough subject to think about. It was nice not having to have any stress going through immigration a year ago. But that is my bias as a young person feeling anxious of first traveling to Europe and being excited for seeing the countries and meeting the unique people for the first time. |
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| ▲ | mothballed a day ago | parent | prev [-] |
| The EU is very sporadic. I walked straight into Sweden from a flight from Iraq and customs was not even there, and passport control waved everyone through with the most cursory of glances. |
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| ▲ | lp4v4n a day ago | parent | next [-] | | I'm not sure the customs official knows where you came from (unless they explicitly ask, of course), because in my experience normally you get off the airplane and join a common queue. I think your passport counts a lot more when it comes to how strict the scrutiny is going to be. I'm assuming you're American, if you had an Iraqi passport, maybe you would have to answer a few more questions. | |
| ▲ | bojan a day ago | parent | prev [-] | | Not the EU, but I once accidentally entered Switzerland in the Zürich airport. The passport counter was unmanned and the doorway next to it was open, so I assumed there is another checkpoint somewhere further. When a guy started chasing after me 30 seconds later I realized my assumption was wrong. But there really wasn't a way to know. |
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