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

Arriving: the steps at the border

Non-EU nationals on a short stay are registered in the Entry/Exit System (EES) at the external border. It records name, travel document data, fingerprints, facial images and the date and place of entry and exit. Since 10 April 2026 it has replaced passport stamping ¹.

The Polizia di Stato lists the conditions for entry from outside Schengen. A traveller must present at a border crossing with a valid passport, hold a visa where required, show documents on the purpose of the trip and have enough money for the stay and the return. The traveller must not be flagged for refusal of entry in the Schengen area, must not be a threat to public order or state security, and must not have used up 90 days in the Schengen area in the same half year ³.

A traveller who does not meet these conditions is refused at the border, even with a valid visa. Arriving foreigners face border, customs, currency and health checks ³. A Foreign Ministry notice for visa holders says border authorities can ask again for proof of the visa conditions on arrival ⁵.

Entry permission: visas and the declaration of presence

Italy issues three kinds of short-stay visa: a uniform Schengen visa valid in all Schengen states, a visa with limited territorial validity, and an airport transit visa ⁵.

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 ².

Visitors staying up to 90 days for business, tourism, visits, study or similar purposes do not need a residence permit, but they must make a declaration of presence. Those arriving from another Schengen country must declare at the local police headquarters (questura) within eight days, or sign the guest form at their hotel ^3,4.

Police pages from 2013 and 2014 say that for arrivals from outside Schengen, the Schengen entry stamp counted as the declaration ^3,4. Those pages predate the EES. A Foreign Ministry notice from 2026 tells visa holders to ask for a residence permit or declare their presence within eight working days of entry ⁵.

Missing the declaration can lead to expulsion. Since 8 August 2009, illegal entry or stay has been an offence punishable by a fine of €5,000 to €10,000 ⁴.

Biometrics and eGates

Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) says e-gates are open to passengers aged 14 and over with a chip passport. At Fiumicino they serve EU and Italian citizens and citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Taiwan, Singapore and the United Kingdom, on departure, arrival and transit ⁶.

ADR says the opening to non-EU passengers came from a project with the Polizia di Stato and the United States Embassy in Italy. Italian citizens aged 14 and over can use an electronic identity card (CIE) issued after 7 February 2018 on departure to a limited set of destinations. A traveller the gate does not clear goes to a manual check with a border officer ⁶.

A Polizia di Stato article from June 2016 described automated gates that read passports at Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Venice, Italy's three main airports ⁹.

Passenger data: API and PNR

Legislative Decree no. 53 of 21 May 2018 set up the information system for PNR and API data and transposes Directive (EU) 2016/681. The controller is the Department of Public Security of the Interior Ministry ⁷.

The passenger information unit (UIP) receives, processes and shares PNR data. It is a joint unit staffed by officers of Italy's four police forces, set up within the Central Directorate of Criminal Police ⁸.

The rules cover flights between Italy and countries outside the EU and flights between Italy and other EU states, both scheduled and non-scheduled. Airlines send PNR between 24 and 48 hours before departure and again right after the flight closes. The UIP can ask for data earlier if there is a real and imminent danger of terrorism or serious crime ⁸.

API data, such as document number, nationality, full name and date of birth, goes to the offices running border police checks. It is used to improve external border checks and prevent illegal immigration. If internal border checks are brought back, API processing extends to flights within the EU ^7,8.

After six months, PNR data is pseudonymised. Full data can then be shared only on a reasoned need, with approval from a judicial authority or the Deputy Chief of Police who heads the Central Directorate of Criminal Police. PNR data is deleted five years after receipt ⁸.

Watch lists and checks

The police FAQ says PNR data is analysed with pre-set criteria that are updated regularly, including by comparing it with other national police databases. Every hit from automated processing gets an individual check by a person ⁸.

National police forces cannot search PNR data directly. They get it only through the UIP, on a reasoned need. Data goes to foreign authorities only after a hit or a reasoned request. Countries outside the EU receive it only on a reasoned request and a promise to respect the purpose and safeguards ⁸.

At the border, a traveller flagged for refusal of entry in the Schengen area is turned away ³.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

Article 23 of Legislative Decree 53/2018 gives a right to confirm whether PNR data about you exists and to receive it in a clear form. You can ask for unlawfully processed data to be erased or made anonymous, and for errors to be corrected. Information can be withheld under Article 10(4) of Law 121 of 1 April 1981 ⁷.

Send the request form with a signed copy of a valid ID to the Interior Ministry, Department of Public Security, Central Directorate of Criminal Police, Via Torre di Mezzavia 9, 00173 Rome. Holders of certified email (PEC) can write to [email protected]. Requests can be in English, French, German or Italian ⁷.

The Garante per la protezione dei dati personali is the national supervisory authority for the PNR system. It gives opinions on request and takes complaints at Piazza Venezia 11, 00187 Rome. A person can ask the court where the controller is based to order corrections or erasure ⁷.

The unit's data protection officer can be reached at [email protected] ⁸.

Who runs the systems

The border police of the Polizia di Stato runs airport border checks. In 2016 its national office was the Border and Immigration Police Service ⁹. ADR manages the e-gate infrastructure at Rome, and the police runs the checks ⁶.

The Department of Public Security controls the PNR system, and the UIP sits in its Central Directorate of Criminal Police ^7,8. Local police headquarters take declarations of presence ⁴. ENAC, the civil aviation authority, coordinates and monitors aviation security rules ¹⁰.

Security screening on departure

A ministerial decree of 29 January 1999 (no. 85) allows screening of departing and transit passengers, of cabin baggage and of hold baggage to be granted in concession. These checks take place under the supervision of the Polizia di Stato office at the airport, which handles any action that needs public powers ¹¹.

A ministerial decree of 21 July 2009 designated ENAC as the sole authority for coordinating and monitoring common basic aviation security standards. ENAC writes and updates the National Civil Aviation Security Programme and the national quality control programme. It chairs the interministerial committee on air transport and airport security (CISA) ¹⁰.

Inspections at national level are done by a central team of ENAC inspectors and Polizia di Stato staff. At each airport, ENAC inspectors carry out checks with support from the local border police office where needed. ENAC regional offices oversee the airport operator, the airlines and the approved security firms ¹⁰.