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EUROPE

How will the EU’s ‘Covid passports’ work for travellers?

The European Parliament and the 27 member states reached agreement this week on a digital Covid certificate that should pave the way for frictionless summer travel across the European Union. But what will the passes mean for tourists and visitors in practice?

Published: 21 May 2021 15:44 CEST
Updated: 31 May 2021 16:50 CEST
A picture taken on March 3, 2021 in Paris shows a vaccine vial reading
A picture taken on March 3, 2021 in Paris shows a vaccine vial reading "Covid-19 vaccine" on an European passport. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

The provisional agreement between the European Parliament and member states on the EU Digital Covid Certificate means that the scheme is well on track to be ready by the end of June, says the EU Commission.

“European citizens are looking forward to travelling again, and today’s agreement means they will be able to do so safely very soon,” said Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU hopes the certificates, which they insist are not “vaccine passports”, will make travel easier and safer, and boost the economies of tourism-dependent nations.

So what are these certificates?

The EU Digital Covid Certificate, whose final name appears to be settled on – it was previously called the Digital Green Certificate – will be used by all EU as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway as well as Switzerland.

They have been touted for some time. In March, the head of the European Commission vaccines task force Thierry Breton unveiled the first European “health passport” (see tweet below), claiming he hoped Europe will have a summer season “comparable to last year”.

The idea is that the document – which can be on paper or stored electronically – will carry proof that the holder has either;

  • been fully vaccinated
  • recently recovered from the virus (meaning the holder has antibodies in their system)
  • recently tested negative for Covid 

Ursula von der Leyen said: “The EU Digital Covid Certificate is free of charge, secure and accessible to all. It will cover vaccination, test and recovery offering different options to citizens. 

“All EU citizens have a fundamental right to free movement in the EU. The EU Digital Covid Certificate, available in paper or digital format, will make it easier for Europeans to travel – whether to see their families and loved ones or to get some well-deserved rest.”

It will also be available to non-EU citizens who are permanent residents in an EU or Schengen zone country.

So what will this mean for travel in reality?

The EU’s hope is that the certificates will help smooth travel around the Bloc, which up until now has depended on the measures brought in by individual member states.

The EU parliament is urging member states not to impose additional travel restrictions such as having to get tested before travel or quarantine on arrival.

“Member States shall refrain from imposing additional travel restrictions on the holders of an EU Digital Covid Certificate, unless they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard public health,” says the EU.

But given that anything related to borders is decided on at a national level, we’ll have to wait and see whether this certificate really does herald a unified approach to frictionless travel this summer. Much of course will depend on Covid infection rates in countries.

In a short video on the subject, France’s Europe minister Clément Beaune said that travel within the EU/Schengen zone with the vaccine passport would “be in place across Europe from July 1st”.

So will I need to download a new phone app?

No, well, at least not an EU app but you’ll likely need the app developed in your country of residence if there is one.

The Commission has made it clear to The Local that there won’t be a new EU app.

“The Commission will not develop an EU app, neither for citizens, nor for authorities to check the certificates. This is for the Member States to do,” a spokesperson said.

They added: “Every member state will need to develop their national implementation for the EU Digital Covid Certificate. National wallet apps could be developed, but are not the only option. Integration in existing tracing or other apps, commercial solutions, digital storage of PDFs and of course paper certificates are also possible.”

So in other words the EU Digital Covid certificate is more of an agreement between member states rather than anything tangible Brussels will produce.

It is down to each member state to produce the paper certificates and apps, that will carry proof, in the form of a QR code, of vaccination, a negative test or full recovery from Covid. 

The EU insists the certificates will be “free of charge, obtained easily and also available to people vaccinated before the EU Digital Covid Certificate Regulation has entered into force.”

So it’s down to individual countries?

Apparently so. While some countries are well advanced in developing their “green passes”, “health passports” or “Covid passes” others are lagging behind.

The EU told The Local that is offering help to those member states who need it.

“To facilitate the work at national level, the Commission has provided a reference app to support Member States to develop their national solution to scan and check the QR codes, a template software for Member States to issue EU Digital COVID Certificate and a reference wallet app for governments to offer to citizens to store EU Digital Covid Certificate,” a spokesperson said.

Individual states are creating their own domestic apps. It makes sense to repurpose them to allow for international travel.

According to Reuters, EU countries link their national vaccine records to a central system using a template provided by German developers.

This centralised “Gateway” system basically lets all these different national apps to “talk” to each other and therefor enable travel between EU countries.

If that works, holders of the French app – for example – can travel into Germany or Italy easily. 

France’s Europe minister Clément Beaune told radio station Europe 1: “You will have the same code to go from Paris to Athens, from Berlin to Madrid. “It will be recognised by the security and health authorities of different European countries.”

So will it happen by summer?

The EU insists the scheme is “well on track to be ready end of June, as planned.”

But it says: “The political agreement will now have to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. The regulation will enter into force on July 1st, with a phasing-in period of six weeks for the issuance of certificates for those Member States that need additional time.”

A six-week phasing in period takes us to mid-August.

Somethings have been resolved: Both antigen (lateral flow) and PCR tests will be accepted and while the passes would be limited to vaccines that have received EU-wide authorisation, Member States can decide to accept other vaccines in addition.

Where do I get the QR codes from?

The codes will normally be issued by a doctor, testing laboratory and vaccination centre. Or failing that they will be issued by the centralised health systems in each country.

Again much will probably be down to individual states – from whether passes will be available at vaccination or test centres, to if you will need to book an appointment with your GP. Some people have reported returning to vaccination centres weeks after their jabs to get their certificates and QR codes.

Millions of people who have already been vaccinated will also need to get hold of one. 

The EU says no one will be forced to use the EU certificate.

What about non-EU countries?

Good question. The European Commission has been in talks with US officials on mutual recognition for some time. And European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted in a recent Stateside interview that fully vaccinated Americans would be able to visit Europe this summer.

While France’s Europe Minister sounded very certain on travel within the EU, when it came to travel outside the Bloc, he was a little more equivocal, saying it “will doubtless be possible in certain countries with whom we are in the process of negotiating over opening up travel this summer”. 

The EU says it has been working closely to inform the United States, the World Health Organization and others about its progress to allow the certificate to be used on a wider scale. But it is not clear how this will work in practice for travellers from the United States, who mostly don’t have vaccine certificates with QR codes on them.

Brussels has also been in negotiations with near non-EU nation the UK. It was reported on Friday that the EU has delayed its decision to exempt vaccinated UK travellers from travel restrictions into the EU due to concerns over the so-called Indian variant.

Meanwhile, the country’s Transport Secretary Grant Schapps said recently that the UK is modifying its NHS app so it can be used as a Covid-19 passport and allow foreign travel.

But the BBC reported that the app would not be ready “imminently”, while the Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement that it was “being considered as part of the digital route”.

Nor has it been confirmed how it would work in connection with the EU Gateway system.

EU nationals and legal residents of member states are eligible to use them, but you may need to carry proof of residency, too, to avoid awkward questions about having, for example, a Spanish Covid-passport and a British standard passport.

What about personal data? 

Another good question. The EU has been hot on protecting personal data for a long time. The Commission has said the QR code-based system will be safe and secure. 

Things may change during the development of the system, but it has been suggested that sensitive personal data would be stored locally on smartphones and kept separate from information the EU Gateway system (that still doesn’t exist) would be able to access.

There’s understandable concern that such a system may be vulnerable to fraud – something developers and the Commission will have to work on to protect users.

And for those who don’t have a smartphone?

If you either don’t have a smartphone or are not a fan of fiddling around with apps, you will also be able to present a paper certificate at the border. Any certificate that meets EU standards and has a QR code can be scanned from a paper certificate as well as an app.

Member comments

  1. I live in Paris, but plan to get vaccinated in US since it’s available sooner. Is there any information on how French residents will be able to take advantage of the QR code system if they have been vaccinated outside of France or the EU?

  2. I have the same question as Sunita, I have EU citizenship and was vaccinated in the US how or what is needed to show the EU to travel openly between the EU.

    1. Not exactly. After the trials, they were no longer experimental, but have only been approved for emergency use. Most of the process is paperwork and funding, not testing and data. Remember, there was a SARS vaccine nearly ready to go when that pandemic fizzled out. They just picked up where they left off and that was nearly the same virus. In essence, there have been trials and data of the various COVID vaccines since 2002 and 2006 respectively.

  5. I’m a vaccinated American citizen planning to travel to France in July. Any idea what I will need in order to prove I’ve been vaccinated. The only documentation we were given is a paper card.

  6. I was vaccinated in Germany, but at the American hospital in Landstuhl. We were given CDC cards with our names, vaccine, batch, and date. Will this be enough? Also:

    There’s another problem. As we’ve said, individual states are creating their own domestic apps. It makes sense to repurpose them to allow for international travel.

    If you’ve brought a phone from the USA, it can’t access apps available in the EU because of licensing issues with Apple. I hope a paper version will be allowed and I hope I can get my CDC card translated to a more recognizable and accepted card here in the EU.

    1. There is a way around the ‘this app is not avaliable in your country’. Sign out of your apple account, than create a new account stating the country where you want to buy the app from, you get an email to confirm, than go to the new app store and download the app. Sign out and sign into your previous account again. If you want to buy an app than use a gift card as you can not use a credit card from a different country than the shop. Gift cards you can buy online.

      1. Or buy a local Android phone and do it all with that, you don’t need any payment details whatsoever, if you have an android phone from another market you can also download the apk file for the app online and install it irrespective of where your app store is based thus avoiding the Apple issue entirely.

  7. and what about the enormous number of Brits in Spain stuck in a huge backlog of residence applications . So not “officially “ resident yet with no card as yet . I know people here who have been in the residence application machine for well over 6 months now

    1. AFAIK they should be OK Like Denmark don’t be surprised if they extend the period for Application, DK did it well before it even started as they knew 6 months was way too short, DK is pretty efficient, being fully didgital and we can all guess how Spain fares on that front

  8. The UK NHS app has now been updated to show the dates, dosage and type of vaccine given although it officially goes LIVE on May 17th.
    I would like to know whether/when the Swedish government will be removing the ban on travel from the UK to Sweden.

    1. I want to know this as well. Under the current regulations I cannot enter Sweden even though I own a small house, which I pay tax on and all my family of cousins are Swedish my mother having been born and grown up in Sweden

  9. I am a resident of Spain and have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. I have proof on my Spanish gov. app including a QR code. Will this be recognised in France?

    1. I shall need this information when I travel back from UK to Spain through France at the end of September.

  10. I hope to fly to Switzerland the first week in July from the US. I have been vaccinated and have my CDC card. I can also access my vaccination status via my on-line hospital record which shows when and where I was vaccinated and with what vaccine. I am hoping this will be enough. Am also planning on carrying a letter from my doctor on hospital letterhead attesting to the fact that I have been vaccinated – again, when, where and what.

  11. I hope to travel to Italy from Canada in August. I will receive my second dose of Moderna in June. Just wondering if it’s realistic to plan a trip there.

  12. I had covid, I have copies of the positive test result. Only had a phone consultation with my DR., so I presume I need to get some documentation from them.

  13. I had covide, have an email re my positive test result and admonishment notification from my county. Had only a phone consultation with my Dr, presume I’ll need to get some sort of documentation from their office.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Europe’s new EES passport checks: Your questions answered

The EU's new passport control Entry & Exit System (EES) is scheduled to come into force later this year and is already causing anxiety for many travellers. We've answered your questions on the new system and how it will work.

Published: 16 April 2024 12:13 CEST
Europe's new EES passport checks: Your questions answered

Two big changes are coming for travel in and out of the EU and Schengen zone – EES and ETIAS.

You can find an overview HERE on what they mean, but broadly EES is an enhanced passport check at the border including biometric information while ETIAS is a visa waiver required for tourists making short visits.

Despite being scheduled to begin later this year, many aspects of how EES will actually work on the ground are still unclear – while much of the available information is for people who are travelling as tourists (rather than foreigners living in an EU or Schengen zone country).

So we asked readers of The Local to send us your questions.

Here we take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions – including the situation for dual-nationals, for non-EU citizens resident in Europe, for second-home owners and the situation at the UK-France border.

Some answers are still unclear – either because they have not yet been finalised or because the available information is not very specific. Where we have had to answer “we don’t know”, we will continue to badger the European Commission plus national and port authorities on your behalf. We will update this article when we know more. 

When is this coming into effect?

Good question. Believe it or not, discussions on the Entry & Exit System began in 2011. At that time the UK was part of the EU and was reportedly enthusiastic about EES. Things changed and now the border between France and the UK – an external EU border since Brexit – is a major worry. More on that below.

Anyway, it’s been a long term project and the start dates have been postponed multiple times, first because of Covid and then because infrastructure was not ready. The most recent postponement came at the request of France, which wanted to get the Paris Olympics over with before any border changes were made.

The EU now says that the start date for EES is the “second half of 2024” – UK media have reported October 6th as a possible start date while European airports have reportedly told to be ready by November. Meanwhile the French interior ministry says that the start is envisaged  “between the final part of 2024 and the beginning of 2025”.

We’ll see. 

Who does it affect?

EES is aimed at non-EU travellers who are a crossing an EU/Schengen external border.

EU citizens will not have to complete EES registration.

Neither will non-EU citizens who have residency in an EU or Schengen zone country – they will need to produce proof of residency such as a residency permit or long-stay visa.

Neither will non-EU residents who have a valid short-stay visa for a country in the EU. This could include second-home owners who have obtained a short-stay (under six months) visa in order to allow them unlimited visits to their holiday home.

However citizens from countries which do not benefit from the 90-day rule and who therefore need a visa even for short visits (eg Indians) will have to complete EES registration.

It does not apply when travelling between Schengen zone countries (more on that below).

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. 

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES. 

What is EES pre-registration?

You’ll soon be hearing a lot about EES “pre-registration”. EES itself is basically an enhanced passport check – travellers will need to register their biometric details (fingerprints and facial scans) to enhance the security of passport checks.

Automated passport checks will also start to calculate how long you have been in the EU, and therefore automatically detect over-stayers (eg people who have over-stayed their visa or who have over-stayed their 90-day allowance). EES does not change any of the rules regarding length of stay, it just toughens up enforcement of them. 

The first time that you cross an external Schengen border you will need to register additional details including fingerprints and a facial scan, and have them electronically linked to your passport. This takes place in a special zone at the airport/port/station that is your departure point.

Once you have completed the pre-registration, you then proceed to passport scanning. 

The pre-registration only needs to be done once and then lasts for three years. Those three years renew every time you cross an external border, so regular travellers shouldn’t need to renew it until they get a new passport – at which point the pre-registration must be done again.

Does pre-registration have to be done at the airport/port/station? Can’t I do it on a website or app?

Advance registration is what many travel operators, especially in the UK, are calling for. They say that getting everyone to complete pre-registration in person on site will cause chaos.

However, the EU at the moment seems to be sticking to the original idea of in-person registration. There are a number of practical problems with trying to pre-register fingerprints, but a solution could yet be found.

What can I do now?

Many of our readers want to get organised now and register their details in advance to avoid border delays. Unfortunately this is not possible and at the moment all you can do is wait until the system comes into effect. Frustrating, we know.

What about dual nationals?

People who have dual nationality of an EU and non-EU nation (eg British and Irish passports or American and Italian passports) will not be required to complete EES checks if they are travelling on their EU passport.

If, however, they are travelling on their non-EU passport they would need to complete EES registration.

EES does not change any of the rules relating to dual nationality or to travelling as a dual national – full details HERE.

What’s the situation for non-EU citizens resident in the EU/Schengen area?

The European Commission is clear about one point: EES does not apply to people who have residency in an EU country. This is because a major part of EES is catching over-stayers – which of course does not apply to people who are resident here.

What the Commission is a lot less clear about is how this will work in practice.

Most airports/port/stations have two queues: EU passports and non-EU passports. It’s not clear which queue non-EU citizens resident in the EU should use, how they can avoid automated passport checks entirely and use a manned booth (so that they can show both a passport and proof of residency) or even whether manned booths will be available at all departure points. 

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit? 

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle. 

How does this affect the 90-day rule?

Citizens of certain non-EU countries – including the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia – are entitled to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without the need for a visa.

EES does not change this rule, so all the current regulations and restrictions continue to apply.

READ ALSO: How does the 90-day rule work?

What EES does change is the enforcement of the rule – at present non-EU nationals have their passports manually stamped on entry and exit, and border guards use these stamps to calculate whether people are sticking to their 90-day allowance.

It’s a bit of a hit-and-miss system, passports don’t always get stamped when they should, sometimes border guards misread the stamps and sometimes passports get stamped in error. EES should solve all of these problems by using an electronic scan of the passport and automatically calculating the 90-day allowance.

It will make it much harder for people to over-stay (indeed, this is one of its stated aims) but for people sticking to the rules it should actually be easier and more efficient. Should. If it works as advertised, that is…

What’s the deal for second-home owners?

For non-EU citizens who own property in the EU, it all depends on whether they have a visa or limit their visits to 90 days in every 180, as described above.

People who use the 90-day allowance will be subject to EES and use the system in the same way as short-stay tourists.

People who have a visa are exempt and need to show their visa at the border. As described in the “non-EU residents in the EU” section, however, it’s far from clear how this will actually work in practice at the border.

Why is the UK-France border such a problem?

As discussed above, EES will apply to all EU/Schengen external borders, but the biggest fears so far are about the UK-France border.

So is this just the Brits whining about the easily foreseeable consequences of Brexit? Actually no, there are genuine reasons why this border is likely to be a problem, mostly relating to volume of traffic and infrastructure.

Although it is true that EES wouldn’t have affected the UK-France border if it hadn’t been for Brexit, the current reasons for the worries are more practical.

Put simply, the UK-France border is one of the busiest EU external borders that there is, with around 60 million people crossing per year. Of those travellers, around 70 percent are UK citizens, meaning they will have to complete EES formalities.

Add to that the limitations of space: several UK destination points, including the Port of Dover and Eurostar’s London St Pancras terminal, are already in cramped areas with very little expansion room, meaning that creating the new infrastructure to deal with EES checks is very difficult.

For context, the newly completed EES pre-registration area at Coquelles (Calais) covers 7,000 square metres, in order to accommodate up to 60 passenger vehicles simultaneously.

The final factor is the Le Touquet agreement – the 2003 bilateral agreement between France and the UK means that passport checks for people entering France are done on UK soil, and vice versa. This creates a unique situation where people travelling from Eurostar Gare du Nord or St Pancras, the ports of Dover or Calais or the Channel Tunnel terminals of Folkestone and Coquelles go through two sets of passport checks on departure, and none on arrival.

READ ALSO: What is the Le Touquet agreement?

The double passport checks mean that delays at one area can have severe knock-on effects.

Since Brexit, the Port of Dover has reported long delays at several peak times such as the start of the school holidays while Eurostar has been forced to cut the number of trains it runs per day.

EES implementation problems won’t be limited to the UK-France border, but the volume of people crossing the border means that even slight delays to one system can easily lead to hours-long queues.

What about Nato staff or people with diplomatic passports?

People who have a special status such as diplomatic passports will not have to complete pre-registration. However, as with other exempt groups such as non-EU residents of the EU or visa holders, it is unclear how this will actually work on the ground and which passport queue they should join.

Will I need an extra visa to enter the EU as a tourist?

EES does not change anything with regards to visas – in essence all the current visa rules stay the same, only the enforcement changes.

However there is another change coming down the track – ETIAS, which will affect non-EU citizens entering the EU as tourists or visitors.

You can find an overview of how it works HERE, but one thing we do know is that it won’t be introduced until after EES is up and running and (hopefully) most of the problems ironed out.

One unholy mess at a time.

Will it really be an unholy mess?

The European Commission says: “The main advantage of the EES is saving time. The EES replaces passport stamping and automates border control procedures, making travelling to European countries using the EES more efficient for the traveller.”

Hmm.

As outlined above, there could be infrastructure problems at several departure points, there is as yet little clarity on certain import details and of course all new systems take time to bed in.

After the first year of operation things are likely to get smoother – by this time most regular travellers will have already completed the pre-registration and will therefore by able to move straight into getting their passport scanned, leaving only new travellers to complete the pre-registration formalities.

That first year, however, looks like it could be a little chaotic at certain borders, especially the UK-France one, at peak travel times such as the start of school holidays. 

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