By 2030, the EU plans to introduce digital passports on smartphones, promising faster and more secure border checks for Schengen zone travellers. Learn more about this upcoming innovation.
Credit: Pexels, Connor Danylenko
A passport on your smartphone: EU takes digital leap. Brussels calls for virtual passports to make travel a breeze.
The European Commission has unveiled a plan to let travellers store their passport and ID details digitally on their smartphones, offering quicker and more secure border crossings by 2030.
Brussels is on a mission to drag the humble passport and ID card into the 21st century with a shiny new digital version that promises to make EU travel as smooth as a pint down the local. That’s right, EU nationals can forget rifling through their bag at border control- soon they could be breezing past with nothing more than a swipe on their phone.
European Commission is pushing for introduction of digital passports
The European Commission has thrown its weight behind the idea, pushing for all EU citizens to be able to flash digital versions of their passports and ID when jetting in and out of the Schengen area. The goal? To make travel “more fluid and secure” according to Brussels, by cutting down on the dreaded airport queues.
The new digital passport system would be voluntary and would take the data currently stored on your passport’s chip and transfer it to your phone. The user would then be able to store their passport on their phone like a digital boarding pass.
Digital passports will speed up security check process
No more worrying about losing that all-important little book for EU passport holders. The European Commission reckons this move will slash the red tape and speed up security checks, making those holiday queues a thing of the past. Well, that’s the plan anyway. They still need to get everyone on board before these high-tech IDs take off. The scheme still needs the go-ahead from the European Parliament and the member states in the EU Council.
The European Commission are pinning their hopes on this idea to shrink the queues and waiting times at borders. Travellers would need to send their documents and travel plans to authorities beforehand, giving officers more time to verify the information before arrival. This means border agents would be able to concentrate on more important issues like illegal immigration and human trafficking.
Looks like the future of travel could soon be just a tap away for some. Let’s just hope they don’t run out of battery.
