Study: ‘Processing the biometric data of migrants from non-EU/EFTA countries (third country nationals)’

EMN study on national and European laws and regulations that EU Member States and EMN Observer Countries apply when collecting, storing and using biometric data of migrants from outside the EU/EFTA.

Study period – Up to March 2024
Participating EU Member States – Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Cyprus (CY), Czechia (CZ), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), Croatia (HR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), the Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK)
Participating EMN Observer Countries – Norway (NO), Serbia (RS), Ukraine (UA)

Background and scope

• An increasing number of technological systems are able to identify people on the basis of biometric data, i.e. physical or physiological characteristics (for example through fingerprints, voice prints or iris scans).
• Both the EU and individual countries may deploy such IT systems in migration management. As this concerns sensitive and personal information, the study touches upon various legal frameworks, such as data protection and universal human rights.
• The study covers the collection and processing of biometric data in the migration process, the original purpose of collecting these data, their storage, processing for other purposes and their international transfer.

EMN publications

• EMN Inform, ‘Processing the biometric data of third-country nationals’, December 2024
• EMN press release, ‘New EMN inform explores the processing of biometric data of third-country nationals in accordance with national and European law’, 18 December 2024

EMN Netherlands publications

• News item, 'Biometric data of migrants in the EU mainly used for identification', 23 January 2025

*EFTA: European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Countries: Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland.