The Algorithm at the Border

Travel is becoming less human—and far less forgiving…

Our flight from Addis Ababa arrived in Rome at 5:00 AM. Given the early hour, Fiumicino Airport was largely deserted.

So, too, were rows of kiosks intended to implement the Schengen Zone’s Electronic Entry/Exit System (EES). We’d been warned to expect long delays as passengers encountered the system for the first time.

Under the EES procedure, all visitors must register photographic and biometric information when entering the Zone for the first time. Once in the system, a facial scan or fingerprints is enough to gain entry into Europe for the next three years.

Our trip to Rome coincided with a final push to implement this new system across Europe. The EES kiosks in Rome, however, were closed. Ten days later, my wife and I departed Rome—and therefore the Schengen Zone—with our passports, the old-fashioned way.

Others haven’t been so lucky with EES. The EES tracks hundreds of data points that, with the “wrong” values, can lead to exclusion from the Schengen Zone. If one of them pops up on the system, the traveller is put on the next flight home. Thousands of travellers have reportedly been denied entry to the Schengen Zone after registering for EES on arrival. The most common reason is having overstayed previous Schengen visits.

Systems like EES—such as the United States’ Global Entry Program—aren’t new. But they’ve typically been voluntary and aimed at smaller groups of travellers, like frequent flyers. The EES is meant to cover everyone who visits the Schengen Zone, with no exceptions.

Later this year, the EES will be augmented by the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). All travellers—even visa-free Americans and Canadians—must complete an ETIAS submission before they travel. When they arrive in Europe, the EES system will do one final check.

This marks a fundamental shift in international travel. A passport and an in-person encounter with a border control official has been the norm for decades. Unless your passport has been flagged, however, the border control official won’t know whether you should be denied entry. That’s almost impossible in a 27-nation bloc like the Schengen Zone. Italy, for example, has no way to know whether a traveller was flagged as having overstayed in another country.

Systems like ETIAS/EES  consolidate all entry and exit records in one Zone-wide database. Instead of officials, an algorithm will decide whether to admit you.

That algorithm will brook no argument. If “the computer says no,” you’re not getting in.

The rationale behind systems like ETIAS is obvious. In most aspects of life, algorithmic decision-making is the norm. Human judgment is rapidly taking a back seat to the unmovable logic of binary code. Letting computers decide is supposedly cheaper and more accurate.

Other regions are also computerizing border control. Southeast Asian destinations popular with the backpacker set are using algorithms to weed out people doing visa runs. If their systems detect multiple recent exits and entries, they turn you away.

This turn to automation could be a problem. We all know the frustration of incorrect information on file somewhere. Sometimes it’s innocuous, like an outstanding parking ticket preventing you from renewing your car registration. Imagine all the opportunities for snafus in a multi-country network of databases—especially when the result is being refused entry after a long flight. How the system works in practice depends on how well the underlying databases are maintained.

One encouraging factor is that, in theory, the ETIAS system will draw on the same information as the EES. So, if you complete an ETIAS submission before departure, there shouldn’t be any problems on arrival. Nevertheless, automated border control does have big implications for two types of travellers.

First, visa runs will become a thing of the past. Being readmitted to a country won’t be up to the judgment of a border control official. If the algorithm says you’ve been abusing the system, that’s it.

Second, people using the “Schengen Hop” to spend extended periods in Europe will have to pay close attention to their time in the Zone. Under a manual system, border control officials don’t always catch overstayers. But the EES algorithm will spot you immediately, every time.

Systems like EES and ETIAS won’t just change how we cross borders. They change who gets the benefit of the doubt. For decades, travel has relied on a mix of documents and human judgment, imperfect but flexible. Now that discretion is being replaced by code that is consistent, fast, and often unforgiving.

For most people, the shift will be invisible, maybe even convenient. But when something goes wrong, there may be no conversation, no explanation, and no easy fix. The question is no longer just whether you have the right passport. It’s whether the system agrees—and what recourse you have if it doesn’t.