Border control at Germany airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Non-EU nationals arriving from outside the Schengen area need a recognised passport. It must be valid for at least three months after the planned departure from the Schengen states and must have been issued within the previous ten years ¹.

Visitors must show the purpose and conditions of their stay. They must have enough money for the stay and for the trip home. Fingerprints stored when a visa was issued are checked electronically at the entry check ¹.

The Federal Police says the Entry/Exit System (EES) records personal details, photos, fingerprints and the dates of entry and exit of non-EU nationals. It replaces the manual stamping of travel documents. Entry is not possible without storing the data in the EES. Travellers can check their own record to see how long they may still stay in the Schengen area ².

Entry permission: visa or visa-free travel

Germany applies the EU visa list in Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. Nationals of visa-exempt countries need no visa for visits of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The Federal Foreign Office publishes an overview of who needs a visa ¹.

A Schengen visa is lodged at the consulate of the main destination. As checked on 19 October 2026, the fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 12. Applicants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus pay €35 and applicants from Cabo Verde pay €67.50. Processing normally takes 15 days and can take up to 45 ³.

Biometrics and eGates: EasyPASS

EasyPASS is the Federal Police system of automated border lanes. As of a page dated 16 April 2026, it runs at Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Berlin Brandenburg, Stuttgart, Hannover and Hamburg airports, with 255 eGates in total. Use is free and voluntary ⁵.

Every user needs a valid electronic passport. German citizens can use their electronic identity card instead. The gate checks automatically whether the traveller belongs to one of three user groups ⁴.

At the gate the traveller places the passport on the reader, steps in and removes any hat, sunglasses or face mask. A camera takes a face image and compares it with the image stored on the chip. The Federal Police watches the process. An officer may call a traveller to a follow-up desk, for example out of a duty of care for minors ⁶.

The registered traveller scheme, EasyPASS-RTP, is free. Travellers register in person at a Federal Police service office. The check at registration is similar to a normal border check and includes police information systems ⁷.

With the full start of the EES on 10 April 2026, RTP membership can last up to six years. It ends earlier if the passport, visa or residence permit expires first. A first registration lasts up to one year, and eligibility is reviewed every year. RTP members no longer have to prove the purpose of the trip and their means at the border. Membership is stored in the traveller's EES record ⁷.

Passenger data: API and PNR

The Passenger Data Act (Fluggastdatengesetz) transposes Directive (EU) 2016/681 into German law ⁸. Airlines must send passenger name records for scheduled, charter and air taxi flights that leave Germany for another state or arrive from another state. Transfer and transit passengers are included ⁸.

The records include names, booking code, contact details, payment details, full itinerary, baggage, frequent flyer data and any advance passenger information collected, such as document number, nationality and date of birth ⁸.

Airlines send the data 48 to 24 hours before departure and again right after boarding closes ⁸. The BKA is the passenger information unit. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) receives and processes the data on behalf of the BKA ^11,12.

Six months after receipt, the BKA masks the data that could identify a person, such as names, contact details, payment data and frequent flyer entries. Lifting the masking needs a court's approval. In urgent cases the BKA president can approve it, and a court decision must follow without delay ⁹.

The BKA deletes the records five years after receipt. Data on racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, union membership, health or sex life is deleted as soon as it arrives ¹⁰.

Watch lists and checks

The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) says PNR data in Germany is matched against databases of wanted persons and against so-called patterns. The aim is to identify wanted persons and potentially dangerous persons. Searches back through stored data are allowed to prevent and prosecute terrorism and other serious crime ¹².

Fingerprints taken for a visa are checked at entry ¹. Registration for EasyPASS-RTP includes a check of police information systems ⁷.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

To find out what is stored about you in the PNR system, the BfDI says to write to the BKA at Bundeskriminalamt, Petentensachbearbeitung, 65173 Wiesbaden, or by email to [email protected] ¹².

If you doubt the answer is complete or suspect a breach, you can contact the BfDI. Send a copy of your ID with your handwritten signature. You may black out the photo and ID number. Replies go by post only ¹².

The BfDI does not supervise how airlines transfer data. The data protection commissioners of the federal states do, based on where the company has its registered office ¹².

The BfDI says it has criticised the German PNR law on several occasions, including in its opinion on the draft act and in its 31st activity report ¹². For the EES, travellers can check their own record of stays ².

Who runs the systems

The Federal Police runs border checks and EasyPASS at the airports ^5,6. The BKA runs the passenger information unit, with the BVA processing the data on its behalf ¹¹. Visa policy information comes from the Federal Foreign Office ¹.

The Federal Police carries out aviation security tasks at 13 airports: Berlin Brandenburg, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hannover-Langenhagen, Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Saarbrücken and Stuttgart. At Munich this excludes passenger and baggage screening ¹⁴.

Security screening on departure

The Aviation Security Act (Luftsicherheitsgesetz) lets the aviation security authority search people who enter or want to enter the airport security area, and search or X-ray their belongings. People who refuse a search, or who will not leave prohibited items outside the security area, can be stopped and sent out of that area ¹³.

The Federal Police says it screens passengers and their cabin and hold baggage using specially trained screening staff and modern equipment. It works to stop dangerous and prohibited items entering security areas or aircraft, and it deploys in-flight security officers on German aircraft ¹⁴.

The Lufthansa Group said in March 2023 that responsibility for security checks at Frankfurt had passed to the airport operator Fraport at the start of that year. It said the Federal Police buys screening equipment at most other airports ¹⁵.