National facilitation programmes

Non-EU nationals who travel frequently to Europe may benefit from derogations from thorough checks upon arrival under national facilitation programmes. These programmes will facilitate border crossings by providing passport control officers with information about a non-EU national’s prior stays in the European countries using the EES, and/or refusals of entry.

These derogations are privileges - no European country using the EES is obligated to grant them. They are also country-specific – a derogation in one European country is not valid in another European country unless an agreement exists between the two countries.

If you are granted access to a national facilitation programme, passport control officers in the respective territory may not need to verify:

• your point of departure and destination;
• the purpose of your intended stay and the corresponding supporting documents, if necessary; and
• whether you possess sufficient means of subsistence for the duration and purpose of your intended stay, your return to the country of origin, or transit to a third country (or whether you are in a position to acquire such means lawfully).

These programmes do not apply if you enjoy the right of free movement under Union law. According to the relevant legislation (Article 2 (5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399) persons enjoying the right of free movement under EU law are:

• EU citizens;
• non-EU nationals who are members of the family of an EU citizen exercising his or her right to free movement and
• non-EU nationals and their family members who, under agreements between the EU and its Member States and those non-EU countries, enjoy rights of free movement equivalent to those of EU citizens.

To be able to take advantage of a national facilitation programme, you must:

• meet the entry requirements of the country you wish to travel to;
• possess a valid travel document and, where applicable, a valid visa or residence permit;
• be able to justify frequent travel to the European countries using the EES;
• show evidence of your lawful use of visas, economic status in your country of residence, and intention to leave the European country in question before the end of your authorised stay; and
• prove you have (or can lawfully acquire) the financial means to cover the entire duration of your intended stays in the European country in question.

You can find out whether or not you are eligible for a national facilitation programme (this will be made available at a later stage).

If you prove eligibility, you are granted access to a national facilitation programme for maximum 1 year.

Renewals are subject to yearly eligibility reassessments and are valid:

• for a maximum of 5 years; or
• until your travel document, multiple-entry visa, long-stay visa, or residence permit expires, whichever happens first.

If it becomes evident that you no longer meet the eligibility criteria, your national facilitation programme access can be revoked.

If a European country responsible for examining an application for a national facilitation programme has doubts about the information you provided, your statements, or your supporting documents, it may consult other European countries before issuing a final decision.

Following international agreements, you may in certain cases be able to benefit from national facilitation programmes in more than one European country using the EES. Information regarding such agreements can be found here. (This will be made available at a later stage).