NEWS FLASH
Citizens of 21 countries, which include select European Union and ECAA members, the United Kingdom and the United States, will be eligible to use automated self-service passport control registration at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport as of midnight, April 4. The passport eGates, which were only available to Serbian citizens up until now, can now be utilised by passport holders from states which are part of the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) master list. This is a central repository for exchanging information required to authenticate electronic Machine Readable Travel Documents. As a result, those holding passports from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States can use the eGates both on arrival and departure. The use of the eGate takes several seconds. It involves the passenger scanning their passport, after which the first gate is opened. The traveller's photo is then taken, followed by the opening of the second gate.
Can we use Identical Paper instead of Passport ?
ReplyDeleteIf you mean ID, no.
DeleteGreat, any reciprocity on the EU side?
ReplyDeleteThere definitely won't be any reciprocity from the UK and US side.
DeleteThat's why this move by Serbia makes no sense
DeleteYes, no sense
Deletepartly. If you have a serbian biometric passport and a german residency then in Frankfurt yes. I have it vice versa and couldn’t use BEG eGates until tomorrow.
Deletehttps://www.easypass.de/EasyPass/EN/Who_can_use_EasyPass/Who_can_use_EasyPASS_node.html
DeleteI can't help but notice that no ex-yu country has egates available
ReplyDeleteThis is not even whole EU or Shengen, not nearby countries like Montenegro, BiH, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia. Hopefully join soon
ReplyDeleteThey need to join ICAO PKD.
DeleteCroatia and Bosnia are, but never mind, we are not privileged at their borders either..
Delete+1
DeleteWhat about stamping passports on arrivals?
ReplyDeleteThere is no passport stamping on arrival.
Delete@anon 14:36
DeleteThere is for non-Serbian citizens.
For the US you don't get it stamped. There obviously will no longer be for these countries.
DeleteDisgusting. This needs to be suspended ASAP until reciprocity is achieved.
ReplyDeleteActually, I don’t mind while it reduces passport queues and speed up process. It benefits to all and Serbian tourism generally
DeleteBullshit! Do not give those Europeans any ease of access that is not reciprocated.
ReplyDeleteA part of me is glad that we have more functional/advanced eGates than most so-called "developed" Western nations, but another part of me is mad that we're constantly providing benefits to foreigners without reciprocal treatment in return. Even as a long-time EU resident, I still don't get access to eGates or even the EU/EEA passport queue at Schengen points of entry, so why extend the same courtesy to their citizens on the Serbian border?
ReplyDeleteThe same story is for British(UK)coming to Spain… airport workers(usually latinos) saying to them that they are not European not able to use eGates :)
DeleteThat's true
Delete@Anon 16:17: same in Frankfurt. Auxiliary staff is navigating the passenger flow by shouting “European Passports” and then the europen Non-EEA passport holders stuck in front of the eGates.
DeleteSecond class citizens in our own country, we can’t get faster processing time at our own border.
ReplyDeleteWhat you described is not being a second-class citizen, but the expectation that you are privileged, not merely equal.
DeleteSerbian passport holders were actually priviledged as they were first to be allowed to use those gates. Those eGates are the fastest possible way, there is nothing faster available in the world.
DeleteLike eu citizens at their border are priviliged
Delete@Anon 16:36: agreed for airports. In Röszke it’s a different story.
DeleteСве већ написано од стране колега који су патриотски настојени. ОДВРАТНО шта ми као држава дозвољавамо и коме се додворавамо...
ReplyDeleteWhat is the minimum age?
ReplyDelete18.
DeleteIt makes sense to use available, legal technology to reduce queues and wait times for as many passengers as possible. This will also benefit citizens of countries not included in the list such as Bosnia or Australia as they will have to wait less for regular passport checks. Overall passengers will be happier will less wait times than at some other airports where they may have to spend more than 30 minutes in the queue for passport control.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad my tax money goes so Europeans can travel more freely. Wonderful, ill make sure to thank them next time they are looking down on me and questioning me on the border for doing a weekend trip to Germany. Just everyone wants to move there cause its so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYour tax money already paid for this when it was available only for Serbian passport holders. There was no additional gates installed for Europeans to use it.
DeleteGerman border guard looking down on you is not something your tax money can fix. Creating separate queue at Belgrade airport just for passport holders from countries where borders guards "are looking down on you" as a retailation is immature, wrong and will hurt also Serbia's image. For more info, search for news under "tarrifs".
^tariffs
DeleteNot retaliation at all, but reciprocity. It’s perfectly reasonable for EEA passport holders to talk to our border guard like we talk to theirs.
Delete@Anon 17:01: I sometimes see the different behavior of FedPol staff when they do an apron pre check on JU flights, depending on which country issued the passport/ID.
DeleteBut some of them have other type of trouble now:
https://www.hessenschau.de/panorama/bundespolizisten-sollen-drogen-ueber-frankfurter-flughafen-geschmuggelt-haben-v1,festnahmen-bundespolizisten-100.html
My tax money paid so its gonna be more convenient for me and my fellow citizens, ans EU citizens should absolutely have the same treatment coming here just like Serbs have when crossimg EU border. They should be prone to being asked questions relarive to their visit to Serbia, and not get a free pass. Reciprocity or nothing, otherwise this is discriminatory.
Delete@Anon 18:23:
DeleteI understand you from an empathic point of view. But rational and from a economic perspective the eGates are good for attracting tourists. By the way: mandatory MUP registration (Obrazac 1) could be simplified for non-hotel-stays. The grumpy way Germany is “welcoming” foreigners is one reason for the problem to attract high skilled work force from abroad.
That's why I lost any interest of visiting those Eu airports/ countries. Going only where I feel welcome like anyone else.
DeleteReciprocity is just a dumb, emotional response instead of rational, interest-based decisions. It is in Serbia's interests to allow faster and smoother passport processing for as many passengers as possible.
DeleteUS and Canada passport holders are being processed when exiting EU countries, I even got my passport manually stamped by an officer after eGate in Italy. Should US/Canada impose same retaliatory measures? Not at all, EU citizens (just like every other passport holder in the world) experience absolutely no passport controls when departing US/Canada. Not even eGates. Check in, clear the security and go straight to the gate.
No one is talking about exiting, we are talking about entering a country. Every governments wants you to exit but few want you to enter. If i can expect to be grilled at the border just cause i have a different passport and my country is looked at by the EU as if it were Mordor, so should they, its not like we are Croatia that is reliant on tourism and need to do all in its power to attract and streamline the visitors experience.
DeleteOne way Serbia can be treated better is to reduce fradulent use of passports. Too many people travel with Serbian passports claiming tourist travel, only to abuse it for work or to say permanently. Reportedly this is one of the reasons US still has visa requirements for Serbian citizens.
Delete"I am so glad my tax money goes so Europeans can travel more freely."
DeleteYou are European too mate, just your country is not.
Well, how many Serbs come to Germany and do criminal things or ask for asylum in Germany? How many deportation flights with Serbian nationals on board fly from Germany to Serbia every months/year? I can understand your thoughts and feelings as a Serb, but take a look the reality and at the different risks.
DeleteFew years ago i did a masters degree in the UK. I am a dual US SRB citizen, but had my student visa stamped in my SRB passport. Upon arriving to the UK i was greeted by a customs officer who upon questioning me what im studing, made a snarky comment how he cannot believe Serbs are studing ecconomics considering the state of our country.
ReplyDeleteI came to his country, paid big money to study and live for a year, and he profilied me based on my country of origin. And now that dude can enter my country just by scanning his passport and without ever explaining what he is doing here? Yeah i am pissed.