It's been more than 12 years in development and has been delayed time and time again, but at 11am on Sunday, the EU’s new Entry and Exit System (EES) finally came into effect, with travellers arriving and leaving Sweden photographed and required to leave fingerprints.
READ ALSO: Europe launches long-awaited EES biometric border checks
Where is the system in place in Sweden?
The controls began taking place at 11am on Sunday at all airports and ports in Sweden where travellers are departing to or arriving from countries outside the Schengen area. Sweden is one of the few countries implementing the system in full from Sunday.
"As far as we've heard it went well, and was implemented without any problems both in Sweden and across Europe," Mattias Rutegård, a press officer from the Swedish police, told The Local. "There may have been issues for individual travellers, but at the system level, there have been none reported."
A spokesperson for Swedavia, which runs airports in Sweden, told The Local that some non-Schengen citizens faced "longer process times" on Sunday, but that there had been no major disruption, with "all handled without delays or missed connections".
What will travellers be required to do?
Travellers will be required to provide fingerprints and a facial photo if they are either arriving from or leaving the Schengen area, which includes all EU countries but Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Children under the age of twelve are exempt from the requirement to provide fingerprints, but must be registered.
You only need to be photographed the first time you enter or leave the EU/Schengen area. A file will then be created for you in the system's digital system. When you leave or reenter the Schengen area in future, the border guard will compare your photo and finger prints to those in your file.
The data will be deleted normally after three years.
READ ALSO: How the new EES app will make it quicker to enter Sweden
Who is covered by the requirement?
It covers citizens of non-EU countries who are not resident in Sweden or of another Schengen country.
Citizens of the EU and of the four additional Schengen countries, are not required to use the new border crossing system, nor are non-EU citizens who have residence permit or right of residence in Sweden (although you will need a residence card).
The system is only for travellers coming to a European country for a short stay of less than 90 days. If you have a long stay Schengen visa, you do not need to leave information.
How will it impact your journey?
Christina Stenbäck, who is operationally responsible for the introduction of the Entry Exit System in the Stockholm region, said that the biggest disruptions were expected at Stockholm Arlanda airport, and warned of an "initial risk of queues at border control".
If you are from an EU or Schengen country you should be sure to use the EU passport queue to avoid delays.
At 8.20am on Monday, there were no additional queues according to the "waiting time" section on the Arlanda website.
What can you do to speed up border control?
If you are covered by the new border system, you can speed up your passage through border control by downloading the new Travel to Europe app, which was launched on Google Play and on the Apple App store on Sunday. To use the app you will need a biometric passport.
Sweden is the only country where the app can be used from Sunday, and it will be accepted at Arlanda, Bromma, Landvetter, Malmö Sturup and Skavsta airports.
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