Finland will become the first country in the European Union to test the use of digital travel documents at a cross-border level. SchengenVisaInfo.com reports that the willingness of Finland to practice digital travel documents tracks the European Commission(s) wish for the pilot project held by some member states to gather experiences that would enable presenting a proposal for implementing such a project in all EU countries.

The commencing plan is to test digital travel documents between Finland and Croatia. The project will be funded by EU Commission, but the funding still needs to be sanctioned. The usage of digital travel documents will be tested at Helsinki Airport as soon as financing is approved.

Helsingin Sanomat, the Finnish newspaper, describes that an inspector at the Finnish Border Guard, Mikko Väisänen, stated that the usage of digital travel documents, border checks, and the travel procedure, in general, will run smoother and faster. According to Väisänen, the Finnish management is presently drafting a funding application for the EU Commission, which is to be submitted by the end of August. He also highlighted that the final decision would be taken after the submission of the funding application if the project will be carried out or not. He further explained that if the Commission approves the project, the management will offer a group of volunteers with a phone application that comprises a digital travel document. The passengers or travelers can send the information in their travel documents electronically to the border authorities before their trip via the application on their phone. Regardless, passengers will still carry their original passports during the pilot project.

Väisänen reported that this might not sit right with some in terms of privacy. That is why the information, verified in advance, will be deleted after the trip. During the border control, a photograph of the traveler would be taken. He claimed that if this project succeeds, the passengers will not be required to carry physical documents in the future, and the travel process will become much more straightforward and smoother.

Finland is now eagerly waiting for the green light (approval) from the EU Commission. If the Commission approves the funding for the pilot project, the country will start this experiment with digital documents at the end of the year.