The electronic passport (ePassport) has been available in Germany since 1 November 2005. All passports issued from this date onwards are therefore electronic passports. You can easily recognise an ePassport from the following symbol:

The electronic identity card in credit card format was introduced by the Federal Government on 1 November 2010. It can be easily recognised by the following symbol:

A programme determines the digital data of the live image, compares it with the data of the chip image and can thus determine whether the faces in the images match in individual characteristics.

Electronic travel documents have a number of machine-verifiable safety features which are automatically checked by the eGates’ document reader. In addition, the automated border control system checks the digitally stored and signed data to determine whether it has also been signed by the authorities.

As an alternative to EasyPASS, you can still pass through the traditional manual border controls.

No. Participation in EasyPASS and EasyPASS-RTP is free of charge to you.

As with conventional border control, the reader only records the data of the travel document used in order to verify that it is valid for use:

• valid electronic travel document plus

  1. EU/EEA/CH citizenship + 12 years and older or
  2. USA, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Taiwan citizenship + 12 years and older or
  3. All nationalities + valid German residence permit/German visa for long-term stay (visa only for departure) - entered in the Central Register of Foreigners by the Immigration Office + 12 years and older,
• compare the information according to the Schengen Borders Code with police databases and
• compare the live image 1:1 with the biometric photo stored on the chip.

As part of the check with EasyPASS, the collected data is stored for 48 hours. In the context of police investigations, the storage period can be manually extended to a maximum of 30 days.

During registration with Easypass-RTP, the applicant's personal and passport-related data is stored.

No. Capturing the live image is the same as taking a photo with a digital camera and is therefore completely harmless.

The data collected during the check with EasyPASS is stored for 48 hours. In the context of police investigations, the storage period can be manually extended to a maximum of 30 days.

No. As stipulated in the Passport Act, the sole purpose of biometric facial recognition at passport control is to identify a person from their photograph stored on the passport chip.

Facial recognition has proven to be reliable. Moreover, the facial image is already stored in the chip of the biometric passport and the electronic identity card. Fingerprints have only been stored in the chip of passports since November 2007.

EasyPASS uses the process of biometric facial recognition. In this process, a camera records a person's face, calculates its characteristic features – and thus identifies it, distinguishing it from the faces of other people.

• Citizens of the European Union:
  Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
• Citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA states):
  Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
• Citizens of Switzerland
• Additionally third-country citizens who are in possession of a German residence permit or a German long-stay visa (visa for departure only)

• Additionally, the following third-country citizens (after successful registration in EasyPASS-RTP) can use the system:

  • United States of America
  • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
  • Republic of Korea
  • Taiwan

First check whether you meet the following requirements:

• Are you in possession of a valid German residence permit (e.g. settlement permit, residence permit) or a visa for longer-term residence (the latter is only possible for the exit check)?
• Did you place a valid electronic passport at the eGate? (It is only possible to check the access requirement on the basis of the electronic passport; do not show the residence permit/visa).
• Are you at least 12 years old?
• Did you lay on the electronic passport correctly?

Did you meet these requirements and were still rejected?
Please contact the Immigration Office responsible for you and have your data checked to see whether your personal data (first name, surname, date of birth, etc.), your current electronic passport and your current residence permit/visa have been entered correctly in the Central Register of Foreigners.

Other possible causes (depending on the issuing country):
Germany cannot or is not allowed to read out the chip integrated in the passport.
There is no biometric photo on the chip integrated in the passport.

Using EasyPASS is very simple: If you wear headgear, sunglasses or, for example, a face mask, please take them off beforehand. Place the electronic passport with the photo page on the document reader and press the lower half of the passport to the entry kiosk as well. EasyPASS then scans the data on the document and opens the gate door. As a German citizen, you can also use the electronic German identity card with a credit card format. Now enter the gate and proceed until the silhouettes depicted in the exit door roughly line up. While doing so, look straight ahead so that the camera located in the exit door can check and perform the facial image verification.

If only a green arrow appears, you can pass without further inspection. If a police officer is shown to you, please go to the follow-up check.

Access control to EasyPASS is carried out exclusively by requiring a valid electronic passport. The request for the respective residence permit is automated by passport requirement