How will citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina enter the European Union from November 10?

The Agency for Identification Documents, Records and Data Exchange (IDDEEA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that the European Union has confirmed that from November 10 this year, a new system for entry and exit into the Schengen area countries will become operational, and that these changes will encompass around 60 countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose citizens will have a different way of crossing the border into EU countries.

IDDEEA states that travelers will be required to provide biometric data at the border, such as fingerprints and facial photographs.

The main changes include the introduction of the "Entry/Exit System (EES)" and the "European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)".

These systems represent online forms that holders of passports from non-EU countries will have to fill out and pay a fee before entering EU countries. The EES system relates to monitoring the duration and place of stay in the EU, to ensure that travelers do not stay longer than 90 days within a six-month period.

Upon the first border crossing, biometric data will be collected, eliminating the need for passport stamps at border crossings.

This reduces the risk of identity theft and allows holders of travel documents who frequently cross the border to avoid frequent passport replacements due to all pages being filled with stamps.

The ETIAS system is also an online form where data about the travel document and place of stay are entered, along with an additional fee of seven euros. This form will be valid for up to three years or until the travel document is replaced.

The European Union plans to establish the EES system by November 10 this year, while the ETIAS system will become operational in mid-2025.

Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who possess the latest generation travel documents with complete biometrics will be able to use the newly announced technologies.

Given that the forms are online, IDDEEA BiH expects an increased need for the use of qualified electronic signatures, which it made available to citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in July this year, the agency announced.