Travellers on holiday or business in the Schengen area occasionally hear the name FRONTEX. Many travellers do not have a clear idea of what FRONTEX means. FRONTEX is an acronym for the French term "frontières extéruers". Founded in 2004, FRONTEX is responsible for securing the external borders in the Schengen area. The number of employees is currently 1,200, although the number is to be increased to 10,000 in the next few years. This is also necessary, because with ETIAS, FRONTEX will have many new tasks.
FRONTEX has these tasks
As the name suggests, FRONTEX officers are deployed to deal with problems at the Schengen external borders. The time span between the occurrence of a problem and the deployment is very short. However, for this to happen, there must be enough officers. Their number is not always sufficient for a large-scale operation. A well-known example is the refugee crisis in 2015, where the number of staff was increased. In addition, there was an expansion of competencies. This allows the staff to react more quickly to certain problems. Among other things, they can order material independently.
FRONTEX checks ETIAS applications
Travellers to the USA already fill out an ESTA application before they go on holiday. Now this also applies to visitors who want to enter the Schengen area. At first, this may be a bit of a nuisance, and some people may get annoyed. But it will soon become clear what advantages this will bring.
At first, the effort is minimal. The form can be filled out easily via the computer. It only takes a few minutes. Within a few hours, there is usually a positive reply in the e-mail box, if the connected databases do not report a hit.
Otherwise, the application is forwarded to the national authorities. This is where FRONTEX comes into play. The authority checks the application by hand. Of course, this takes some time, so approval or rejection is delayed a little. If the application is rejected, the traveller can appeal.
FRONTEX officials finally meet the holidaymaker or business traveller at the point of entry. They check the validity of ETIAS and the travel documents. Officers have the right to turn back a traveller at the border, even if he or she has a valid ETIAS and the appropriate identity documents. They will always do this if they believe that the traveller poses a threat to the internal security of the Schengen area.
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Travellers on holiday or business in the Schengen area occasionally hear the name FRONTEX. Many travellers do not have a clear idea of what FRONTEX means. FRONTEX is an acronym for the French term "frontières extéruers". Founded in 2004, FRONTEX is responsible for securing the external borders in the Schengen area. The number of employees is currently 1,200, although the number is to be increased to 10,000 in the next few years. This is also necessary, because with ETIAS, FRONTEX will have many new tasks.
FRONTEX has these tasks
As the name suggests, FRONTEX officers are deployed to deal with problems at the Schengen external borders. The time span between the occurrence of a problem and the deployment is very short. However, for this to happen, there must be enough officers. Their number is not always sufficient for a large-scale operation. A well-known example is the refugee crisis in 2015, where the number of staff was increased. In addition, there was an expansion of competencies. This allows the staff to react more quickly to certain problems. Among other things, they can order material independently.
FRONTEX checks ETIAS applications
Travellers to the USA already fill out an ESTA application before they go on holiday. Now this also applies to visitors who want to enter the Schengen area. At first, this may be a bit of a nuisance, and some people may get annoyed. But it will soon become clear what advantages this will bring.
At first, the effort is minimal. The form can be filled out easily via the computer. It only takes a few minutes. Within a few hours, there is usually a positive reply in the e-mail box, if the connected databases do not report a hit.
Otherwise, the application is forwarded to the national authorities. This is where FRONTEX comes into play. The authority checks the application by hand. Of course, this takes some time, so approval or rejection is delayed a little. If the application is rejected, the traveller can appeal.
FRONTEX officials finally meet the holidaymaker or business traveller at the point of entry. They check the validity of ETIAS and the travel documents. Officers have the right to turn back a traveller at the border, even if he or she has a valid ETIAS and the appropriate identity documents. They will always do this if they believe that the traveller poses a threat to the internal security of the Schengen area.