How to use the automated gate
- Get your passport out and take it out of its cover. Take off your glasses and hat.
- Walk up to an automated gate and place your passport in the reader. Do not remove your passport from the reader.
- Look at the screen. Your face will be compared with the information in your passport.
- At the end of the process, remove your passport from the reader. When the gates open, you are free to leave!
Video: Automated Border Control at Helsinki Airport (youtube.com)
Who can use the automated gate?
Citizens of EU countries should primarily use the automated border control gate when they travel outside the Schengen Area or when they travel back to the Schengen Area. You can use the automated gate if you have a biometric passport.
If you are travelling with a small child, you must go through border control in the traditional way. Independent wheelchair users may use the wider automated border control gates.
The automated gate recognises biometric passports
The automated border control system is based on the biometric identification of travellers. Biometric passports contain a microchip, and the gate reads the information stored on the chip. The automated gate compares the distinctive proportions of the picture of your face with the image stored on the passport’s chip in real time.
Aiming to speed up border crossings
The Finnish Border Guard has pioneered the utilisation of technology in border control. We are increasing our border control capacity with the help of automation.
Passenger volumes are constantly increasing. Automation enables us to speed up border crossings without compromising on security. The Finnish Border Guard carries out a border control on every person travelling to or arriving from a country outside the Schengen Area.
