All air, sea and overland coach carriers are invited to register with eu-LISA by the end of February 2022 in order to query EES and ETIAS for the status of travellers arriving to the Schengen Area. Registration enables carriers to receive all the information necessary for a timely preparation of their respective systems and business processes required to consult the EU IT systems. Detailed information on the registration requirements and different options as well as step-by-step instructions are published on the following eu-LISA webpage.
From September 2022, all carriers will need to verify electronically whether a third country national travelling to the Schengen Area carrying a single or a double entry visa has already used the number of entries authorised by their visa. The carriers will no longer be able to manually verify visas after the entry into operation of EES next September.
Furthermore, from May 2023 carriers will have to verify the status of travel documents required for entering the Schengen Area, including the necessity to hold a valid ETIAS travel authorisation prior to boarding.
EES, the Entry/Exit System, replaces the manual stamping of passports with an electronic record of entries and exits, and carriers will verify if a third-country national travelling to the Schengen Area with a short-stay, single or double entry visa has already used the number of entries authorised by their visa. For ETIAS, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, carriers will have to verify, prior to boarding, that their visa-exempt passengers have a valid travel authorisation.
eu-LISA, the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale Information Systems in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice, is developing the EES and ETIAS Information Systems and ensuring its technical management. Among others, the Agency is responsible for the creation of a public website and a mobile app for ETIAS applications, where applicants will also be able to check the status of their application.
