Passports, residence permits and visas are used for travel purposes, to prove identity or to show a person’s right to stay in a country. To enhance trust in these documents, the EU has decided to equip them with advanced security features and biometrics, such as a facial image and fingerprints. These security features help to fight against the falsification and counterfeiting of documents, while biometric identifiers establish a reliable link between the document and its holder.
Passports
Passports issued by EU countries to their citizens have a common "recommended" lay out. They are burgundy in colour and have the words “European Union” printed on the cover, accompanied by the name of the issuing EU country.
According to EU law, passports must incorporate an electronic chip that contains the holder's facial image and fingerprints. This obligation does not apply to temporary passports and travel documents with a validity of one year or less. Ireland is not bound by these rules, whereas Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are.
Residence permits
The EU has established a common format for non-EU nationals' residence permits, which is used by all EU countries as well as by Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. These residence permit cards include the same biometric features as the EU passports (facial image and fingerprints).
A common Schengen visa
All EU countries - as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein use a uniform format for visas.
However, the visa holder's biometric data is not stored in the visa sticker itself, but in a database - the Visa Information System. Since November 2022, the visa sticker includes a digitally signed two-dimensional barcode (printed in field 16) as an additional security feature.
Recognition of travel documents
The EU established a list of non-EU countries’ travel documents which may be used to cross the external borders and may be endorsed with an EU visa. Visa officers and border authorities can verify whether the travel documents presented by holders are recognised and, if so, in which Member States.
Digitalisation of travel documents
In October 2024, the Commission adopted two proposals to establish digital travel credentials based on passports and identity cards for people travelling to and from the Schengen area. The new rules will introduce digital passports and ID cards, and a new ‘EU Digital Travel’ application, for travelers to create, store and use their digital travel credentials.
Digital travel credentials are a digital version of the data stored on passports and identity cards. They include the facial image of the holder but not their fingerprints. It will be voluntary and free of charge for travelers to ask for or use this digital version of their documents.
Digital travel credentials will help authorities verify travel documents more efficiently, making it harder for fraudsters to use false documents. It will also allow border authorities to focus their time and resources more efficiently on detecting cross-border criminals and migrant smuggling. Finally, it will speed up checks and reduce the amount of time spent at the airports and major transport hubs.