As India rolls out a digital border and e-gates, the United Kingdom phases out passport stamps, and the European Union rolls out its Entry/Exit Scheme (EES), the importance of allowing travellers to access their travel history readily and efficiently becomes essential.
Globally, a host of countries have begun using e-gates and other types of biometric checks to manage arrivals and departures. EU citizens can enter the Schengen Zone and the UK through e-gates, and do not require a physical check by an immigration officer.
United States citizens, Green Card holders and those pre-cleared through Global Entry do not get their passports stamped anymore. India is rolling out an electronic clearance system, which will be fully operational by 2025. These steps are commendable to facilitate seamless travel and arrival processes.
However, the back-end systems that support these processes—such as tracking, accessing and updating travel history—remain manual and fairly antiquated as well as inefficient. For digital and physical systems to work seamlessly, they need to be integrated and communicate with each other.
These observations, drawn from personal experience and informal interviews, underscore the inefficiencies caused by fragmented data systems. As highlighted in Platformland: An Anatomy of Next-Generation Public Services, hierarchical data structures often restrict the ability to repurpose information across applications, amplifying these challenges.
The UK’s eVisa scheme is a step forward in automating border control. Yet, its reliance on manual Freedom of Information Requests for travel history undermines its efficiency and accessibility. To obtain a UK visa, one must provide one’s travel history going back 10 years, which cannot be readily accessed.
In fact, one must submit a freedom of information request to the Home Office while applying for residency, a counterintuitive move, given the importance of individual data protection and accessibility.
This issue plays out in Canada as well where travellers must request and then wait for up to a month to access their travel history. This is where a passport plays an important role as it acts as an aggregator of travel histories from multiple countries.
Unlike the US, which has an I-94 that is readily accessible to all travellers regardless of the visa type/passport they enter the US on, travellers must request their travel history from the UK government.
Such a move sometimes also requires a Freedom of Information Request to the Home Office, undermining data protection principles which calls for easy access to personal data.
Similarly, the EU’s proposed Entry/Exit System (EES) and European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) plans to replace physical stamps in passports for all travellers, including non-EU citizens.
The intention is similar to the UK’s E-visa process: digitally record entries/exits to ensure people do not violate their visa status, and smoothen the immigration process. However, the issue of readily and easily accessing traveller data is a challenge.
For instance, EU citizens living abroad face a challenge tracking their travel history in and out of the EU for taxation or employment purposes. This disconnect highlights a broader issue with digital systems, as described in Platformland.
They promise efficiency at the front end, but often fail to integrate with other use cases, such as employment verification or visa applications, where travel history is essential, and usually required by entities not intrinsically linked to immigration.
Until there is a global compact for a framework that allows countries to recognise movements between countries through a digital passport/wallet, it will be challenging to make border crossings and movement smooth.
Seamless travel might not be an essential aim, given national security concerns, but such protocols exist with Interpol’s red alert system, albeit with its own limitations.
Nonetheless, an immediate and practical solution is essential to enable travelers to access their information without relying on inaccurate manual tracking.
The world is becoming increasingly digital and integrated. By focusing on secure and limited data sharing frameworks and by emphasising user accessibility, nations can protect borders while empowering travellers to retain control over their personal data.
This is already happening at the front end of global migration, but it needs to expand its scope to back-end processes as well.
The author is an independent researcher. He tweets @VibhavMariwala.
#Seamless #border #crossings #crucial #wellintegrated #world #economy
