Border management is a high priority for the European Union. The Schengen Area allows the free movement of people between participating countries. The standardisation of controls at border control points will ensure that all countries in the Schengen area follow the same security guidelines with regard to the movements in and out of all persons enjoying the right of free movement of the European Union. Third-country nationals shall be registered, and the corresponding biometric data shall be stored in a unified automated IT system.

The Schengen Zone has more than 1,800 land, air and sea border crossing points. Without a fixed flow of passengers or infrastructure, capturing biometrics is no easy task. The Traveller Registration Kit allows border agents to respond quickly to needs arising at border points or use it in low-traffic locations, such as small airports.A complete yet compact solutionIt is estimated that around one billion people worldwide lack proof of identity or access to a national identification system. In addition, many do not have secure, reliable or useful identification. The lack of identification, and therefore verification, harms both individuals and governments.

The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that 3.400 billion people have some form of identification but cannot use it in the digital world and miss out on opportunities for economic growth. A paper document may not be enough to open a digital bank account.

Biometric technology has taken a central position in the implementation of identification systems in developing countries and has expanded the capabilities of existing identification programs. During registration, the determination of a person’s identity is done through a biometric identification process.

The first step is to capture multimodal biometric data, such as a facial image, fingerprint, and iris scan. This data can establish unique identities in large populations in a matter of seconds. Duplicate registrations can be manually identified and examined to ensure that people’s data is entered into the database only once.Biometric Voter Registration and VerificationAn up-to-date voter register is crucial to reducing election fraud and creating the overall integrity of free and fair elections. However, it starts with accurate identification of eligible voters.

Before election day, citizens should be able to register voters. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 35% of the 130 countries surveyed capture fingerprints for their voter registration process. On Election Day, the captured data is compared with references stored in the voter registry, so that the person can be securely verified and marked as eligible to vote.

Creating these records can be an organizational challenge, especially in remote areas without internet or electricity. Technical skills are also not the same among all registration officers, and the registration process should be simple and ergonomic.

Robust biometric voter registration kits are ideal for registering large numbers of people, as the devices are integrated into a secure, easy-to-carry box. A user-friendly system will mean that a registration officer can operate the equipment with basic training.Biometrics improve border control and law enforcementMovement between countries is steadily increasing and identification checks are essential to ensure public safety. Border guards and law enforcement personnel are continually faced with the challenge of reducing staff and increasing rapid identification and verification tasks.

The focus on digital technological innovations in this field should be to create a fast and seamless process at land, sea and airport borders without compromising border security.