Smartphone passports: EU pledges faster, smoother border checks

Digital travel credentials will be free, voluntary and less hassle, offering a more seamless and secure experience, the European Commission says.

Travellers to and from the EU’s Schengen zone will be able to store their travel credentials digitally, under plans unveiled by the European Commission on Tuesday.  
Data currently stored on the chip of a passport or ID card can be transferred to a smartphone to allow a swifter border crossing, the European Commission said.  
“Today’s proposal to digitalise passports and identity cards paves the way for a more seamless and secure travel experience,” Věra Jourová, the Commission’s Vice-President for values and transparency, said in a statement.  
Submitting travel plans and documents to the authorities in advance will cut times at border crossings, allowing them to verity authenticity and focus on more troubling cases like migrant smugglers, the Commission argues.
The plans have to be agreed by the EU’s Council, which represents member states, as well as lawmakers at the European Parliament – and comes as the bloc prepares to introduce a separate new system to check entries to and exits from the EU’s Schengen Area.
The entry-exit system is due to come into operation in November, though recent reports suggest it could face further delays.
It would mean non-EU travelers have to go through scanners when entering Schengen, the internal passport-free zone that covers most of the EU plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, but excludes Ireland and Cyprus. 
The digital passport service will be voluntary and free for travellers, the Commission said, and could take effect by 2030.