Guide · updated 19 October 2026
Who controls passenger data in border systems?
The answer depends on the programme's documented roles. Australia's Home Affairs department describes its collection and disclosure safeguards for PNR 1. MIGA says Indonesian government immigration staff operate border controls under the proposed project 2. SITA describes an adjacent data centre for Angola but does not identify the contractual controller 3. These statements are not interchangeable. An operator, a storage location and a legal data controller answer different questions. Unpublished terms stay marked as unknown.
- Australia
- Government PNR collection and safeguards described by Home Affairs 1.
- Indonesia
- Government staff operate border controls in MIGA's project description 2.
- Angola
- Data-centre location described by the vendor. Controller and retention not stated 3.
Australia: legal access and safeguards
Home Affairs cites section 64AF of the Customs Act 1901. Its PNR page describes privacy protections, conditions for disclosure, and requests for access or correction 1.
Indonesia: operation is not a guarantee of every data term
MIGA describes two planned data centres and government operation. Its disclosure is for a proposed guarantee and does not establish guarantee issuance or publish the full contract's retention rules 2.
Angola: storage is only one field
SITA's 11 December 2025 statement places a dedicated data centre beside the passenger information centre in Luanda. It does not state the contractual controller or a retention period 3.
Data terms recorded across the register
These are the register's recorded terms, not a current-payment calculator. Each row links to its dated contract record and source list. A proposal, historical charge and charge in operation are distinct. Missing terms are not evidence that no fee or data restriction exists.
| Programme | Recorded status | Recorded terms |
|---|---|---|
| Angola: National API and PNR passenger information programme | In operation As of 11 December 2025 | SITA said a dedicated data centre next to the national Passenger Information Monitoring and Management centre provides processing and storage capacity. The source does not state the contractual controller, retention period or access rules 1. Contract record and sources |
| Australia: Digital Passenger Declaration and Permissions Capability | Terminated As of 12 August 2022 | The announced scope included collecting vaccination and travel information and sharing approved information with state and territory public-health authorities. Retention terms not published in the cited release. 2 Contract record and sources |
| Australia: Passenger Name Record collection and risk assessment | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | Home Affairs applies the Privacy Act and, where relevant, the Australia-EU PNR Agreement. Disclosure to other authorities requires equivalent safeguards. Access and correction requests are available 1. Contract record and sources |
| Bahamas: Integrated immigration management system | In operation As of 21 June 2017 | Scope includes biometric identification, watchlists and immigration records. Contractual retention and access terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Bangladesh: Integrated border management network proposal | Under review As of 19 October 2026 | Domestic data hosting and full government data ownership were in the initial proposal, as reported. Senior Secretary Manzur Morshed wrote that any agreement must guarantee government ownership of all data. Contract record and sources |
| Barbados: Electronic passports and recovery issuance site | Awarded As of 15 February 2022 | Company describes application-data encryption in transit and at rest. Contractual retention and access terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Belgium: Digital wallet electronic-signature certificates | Awarded As of 30 June 2026 | Zetes says it will host the signature environment and certificates. Full access, retention and exit clauses are not published 1. Contract record and sources |
| Belgium: Electronic identity cards and certificate contracts | Awarded As of 8 October 2018 | Authentication and signature certificates are supplied for the identity documents. Contractual data storage, control and retention terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Benin: Civil aviation and immigration security system (CAISS) at Cotonou and Tourou airports | Disputed As of 31 December 2020 | Not published. On 9 April 2016 an interim court order required Securiport to stop processing data on one named individual. Contract record and sources |
| Cameroon: Biometric passport build-operate-transfer programme | In operation As of 1 July 2021 | PassCam terms name AUGENTIC as responsible for application-data processing, permit transfers to DGSN and service partners, and say DGSN retains and processes data separately. No fixed retention period is stated in that section 2 Contract record and sources |
| Chile: Metropolitan biometric identification tender | Tender As of 25 September 2024 | The ministry described planned fingerprint, facial and voice matching against Civil Registry, PDI and Interpol databases. Retention and contractual access terms: Not published 1. Contract record and sources |
| Colombia: Civil registry biometric platform upgrade | Awarded As of 16 October 2017 | The company describes a repository of citizens' biometric and alphanumeric data, with facial recognition to be added. Retention and contractual controller terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Colombia: Passport production and technology-transfer cooperation | Disputed As of 28 July 2026 | Government says Imprenta Nacional de Colombia will have exclusive access to personalisation data under the new model. This is the announced allocation, not an independent compliance finding 1 Contract record and sources |
| Comoros: Biometric identity documents BOT programme | In operation As of 28 December 2017 | Commission reported the central server in Brussels. Contractual retention and access provisions are not reproduced 1 Contract record and sources |
| Costa Rica: Bicentenary biometric passport programme | In operation As of March 2022 | The company says the Costa Rican government stores captured fingerprints and facial images. Contractual retention and access rules are not published 1. Contract record and sources |
| Côte d'Ivoire: Electoral-roll and biometric tablet services | In operation As of 18 December 2016 | Biometric collection and polling-day identity verification described. Contractual terms not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo: Integrated security and immigration management system | Awarded As of 19 October 2026 | The system centralises migration data. Storage location and control terms Not published. Contract record and sources |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo: UNDP biometric voter registration and card kits | In operation As of 27 October 2005 | The supplier describes collecting administrative information, fingerprints and photographs on mobile registration workstations. Contractual custody and retention terms are not published in the cited sections 1 Contract record and sources |
| European Union: Entry/Exit System (EES) | In operation As of 10 April 2026 | The system records name, travel document data, fingerprints, facial images, date and place of entry and exit, and refusals of entry. Managed centrally by eu-LISA (European Commission, 10 April 2026) Contract record and sources |
| European Union: Shared Biometric Matching System (sBMS) | Awarded As of 19 October 2026 | A database of over 400 million third-country nationals with fingerprints and facial images, serving the Entry/Exit System first and later SIS, VIS, Eurodac and ECRIS-TCN (company statement, 3 June 2020) Contract record and sources |
| France: France Identité Numérique authentication programme | Awarded As of 8 September 2021 | Company statement describes consent before authentication and reading identity-card chip data through a smartphone. Full controller, retention and subcontractor clauses are not published 1. Contract record and sources |
| Georgia: Kutaisi airport automated arrival border gates | In operation As of 19 September 2025 | SITA says biometric matching connects with national databases. Storage location, controller allocation and retention terms are not published in the cited case study. 2 Contract record and sources |
| Hong Kong: Contactless e-Channel immigration clearance | In operation As of 20 July 2023 | Encrypted application QR code or smart identity card combined with facial verification. Hosting and retention terms not published in the cited releases. 1,2 Contract record and sources |
| India: Aadhaar core biometric identification awards | Awarded As of 29 July 2010 | Scope includes biometric deduplication, enrolment software, manual adjudication and monitoring. Contractual retention and access provisions are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| India: Digi Yatra facial recognition boarding | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | No central store of passenger personal data. Data stays in the passenger's smartphone wallet and is shared with the origin airport for ID validation, then purged from the airport system 24 hours after departure (Lok Sabha answer, 8 February 2024) Contract record and sources |
| Indonesia: Immigration Control System at seven international airports | Awarded As of 14 February 2023 | MIGA describes two planned data centres and says government immigration staff, not the project enterprise, operate border controls 2. Contract record and sources |
| Indonesia: Jakarta and Bali automated immigration gates | In operation As of 2 April 2024 | Passport and facial verification connected to border-control management, retention and hosting terms not published. 1 Contract record and sources |
| Japan: Automated facial recognition gates at airports | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | Gates compare the face image in the passport chip with a live image, with no prior biometric registration (company statement, 30 August 2019). Storage terms not published Contract record and sources |
| Japan: Joint immigration and customs kiosks | In operation As of 14 May 2025 | NEC says kiosk information links to immigration and customs systems. It captures faces and fingerprints, with Japanese citizens excluded from fingerprint capture. Contractual retention and hosting provisions are not published. 1 Contract record and sources |
| Japan: Narita and Haneda Face Express passenger processing | In operation As of 16 July 2021 | Facial information is enrolled with passport and boarding-pass information, the cited releases do not publish the contractual retention schedule. 1 Contract record and sources |
| Kenya: NIIMS Huduma Namba biometric enrolment kits | Under review As of 4 March 2022 | Government testimony described government-developed software and 31,000 supplier kits, cleaned in April 2019. This does not establish supplier access to the national database or contractual retention terms 1 Contract record and sources |
| Libya: Diplomatic and special electronic passports | In operation As of 10 March 2021 | Company describes management of country-signing keys and certificates. Contractual access and retention terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Malaysia: National Integrated Immigration System original IRIS contract | Disputed As of 28 July 2025 | NEC described a biometric identification system and e-gates in its subcontract scope. Contractual controller, retention and onward-access terms are not published 2. Contract record and sources |
| Maldives: IMUGA immigration-services and traveller-declaration portal | In operation As of 9 July 2023 | The April 2025 policy places permanent personal and biometric records under Maldives Immigration's ownership and control. Temporary facial-recognition copies are deleted after verification. Authority-held records are retained, with no deletion requests accepted. Sharing with law-enforcement and other relevant entities is described 3. Contract record and sources |
| Mozambique: Identity documents and border management PPP | In operation As of 12 March 2019 | The company describes four interoperable databases for separate authorities covering citizens, foreigners, travel documents and border management. Retention and contractual control provisions are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Nepal: Electronic passports and issuance infrastructure | In operation As of July 2022 | Passport chip holds photograph and fingerprint biometrics. Contractual access and retention provisions are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Nepal: National electronic identity-card programme | In operation As of November 2018, as reported in the company case study | Initial enrolment captured photographs, personal information and ten fingerprints. Expanded scope adds iris capture. Contractual retention and access terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Netherlands: Passport and identity-card production | In operation As of 6 May 2025 | The Interior Minister controls the biographic travel-document register. In May 2025, government described planned migration of biometrics to a government data centre, with separate compartments and continued responsibility of each issuing authority. This is programme policy, not supplier contract wording 2 Contract record and sources |
| Netherlands: Schiphol biometric passenger trial and framework | In operation As of 18 February 2019 | The trial scanned the passport, boarding pass and face at enrolment, then compared a boarding-gate face scan with the enrolment scan. Storage and retention terms are not published in the cited release. 1 Contract record and sources |
| Nigeria: Japan-funded land-border MIDAS expansion | Awarded As of 12 April 2016 | Announced functions include traveller checks against national and international watchlists and registration of foreign nationals. Detailed contractual controls are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Oman: Unified identity-document registration system | Awarded As of 17 March 2015 | The announced system reuses personal data from the national identity registry for passport enrolment and cross-references identity cards and passports. Contractual access and retention terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Pakistan: Airport biometrics and passenger data proposal | Proposed As of 19 October 2026 | Pakistan would keep ownership of all biometric and travel data, as reported. Contract record and sources |
| Philippines: eGovPH mobile identity software | In operation As of 12 September 2024 | Wallet access can use face, fingerprint or PIN authentication. Contractual retention and access terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Portugal: ANA airport biometric passenger-processing programme | In operation As of 15 January 2024 | Company describes enrolment through the ANA app or airport kiosks and facial matching at security-access and boarding gates. Controller, retention and exit clauses are not published 1. Contract record and sources |
| Qatar: Hamad Airport Fast Pass biometric passenger processing | In operation As of 6 July 2026 | Optional enrolment through the Qatar Airways application or an airport kiosk, contractual storage and retention provisions not published. 1 Contract record and sources |
| Saudi Arabia: Airport e-gates programme | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | Gates are integrated with visa, biometric and airline operations systems (SDAIA, as reported 11 March 2025). Storage terms not published Contract record and sources |
| Senegal: Integrated immigration control system at international airports | Under review As of 24 October 2025 | Not published. In November 2012 RESTIC said it had asked the personal data commission CDP to have Securiport explain passenger-data safeguards 1. Contract record and sources |
| Sierra Leone: Airport security fee and border security services at Freetown International Airport | Suspended As of 6 July 2026 | Not published. During the suspension Securiport was to keep logging inbound and outbound passenger data, except for diplomatic passport holders, as reported by Voyages Afriq. Contract record and sources |
| Singapore: BIKES automated motorcyclist immigration clearance | In operation As of February 2007 | Passport authentication followed by thumbprint verification, hosting and retention provisions not published. 2 Contract record and sources |
| Singapore: New Clearance Concept and passport-less clearance | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | Token-less clearance relies on facial and iris biometrics and on advance manifests submitted by airline and ship operators (ICA, 31 July 2024). Storage terms not published Contract record and sources |
| Sint Maarten: Princess Juliana automated border-control programme | Awarded As of 30 September 2024 | Government describes advance registration and future API/PNR. Its statement of intended GDPR compliance is not a regulator finding or a published retention clause 2. Contract record and sources |
| Somalia: MIDAS border information and capacity programme | In operation As of October 2021 | MIDAS registers passport details and biometric data. Specific access, transfer and retention provisions are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Sri Lanka: IVS-GBS and VFS electronic-visa services agreement | Suspended As of 2 August 2024 | VFS describes cloud hosting and deletion under a purging policy, without a retention interval 2. The Controller General asserted GDPR-based deletion after visa approval 3. These are stated arrangements, not an independent compliance finding. Contract record and sources |
| Sweden: Passport and electronic identity document renewal | Awarded As of 16 March 2011 | The announced service captures applicants' personal details, photographs, fingerprints and electronic signatures. Contractual retention and controller provisions are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Thailand: Ministry of Foreign Affairs electronic visa programme | In operation As of 17 December 2024 | The ministry's 2019 report records e-visa database sharing with immigration from 1 June 2019. Retention periods and supplier data rights are not given 1. Contract record and sources |
| The Gambia: Biometric passport and airport gate subcontract | Awarded As of 8 October 2013 | The scope includes biometric enrolment, duplicate removal and a central passport register. Retention and contractual control provisions are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| The Gambia: Civil aviation and immigration security services at Banjul International Airport | Under review As of 6 July 2026 | President Adama Barrow said in March 2023 that Securiport collects the data and the Gambia Immigration Department keeps all of it, as reported by The Point. Contract record and sources |
| Togo: Biometric voter registration for municipal elections | Completed As of 25 July 2019 | The company describes fingerprint and photograph comparison followed by human adjudication of suspected duplicates. Contractual control and retention terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| Uganda: Strengthening Border Security in Uganda | Completed As of April 2017 | MIDAS collects, processes and stores traveller information including biometrics. Detailed access and retention terms are not published 1 Contract record and sources |
| United Arab Emirates: Dubai airports smart gates and biometric passport control | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | Biometric information of travellers registered with GDRFA since 2019 is stored on the GDRFA system for future travel, as reported by Gulf News on 9 February 2023 Contract record and sources |
| United Kingdom: Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) | In operation As of 19 October 2026 | Home Office processes the information. Facial images are typically kept for three years, with grounds for longer retention. Biographic and personal data remain for 15 years after the last case action. The app retains no data after successful submission. Check-service input remains up to 30 minutes after activity, and access logs for 30 days 2 Contract record and sources |
| United States: Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) | In operation As of 3 August 2026 | CBP receives passenger and crew manifests before arrival and departure. Full contract ownership and retention terms are not published on the overview page 1. Contract record and sources |
| United States: CBP Biometric Entry-Exit (air exit facial recognition) | In operation As of 2 September 2020 | GAO reports that CBP requires commercial partners to follow its privacy requirements and can audit compliance. The tracker records a later audit plan addressing that recommendation. Full contractual retention clauses are not published here 2. Contract record and sources |
| Vietnam: Chip-based citizen identity and electronic identity programme | In operation As of 28 March 2023 | NEC describes fingerprint and facial matching and migration of 16 million legacy records. Contractual hosting and retention terms are not published in its release. 2 Contract record and sources |
Questions and answers
Does the supplier's name establish ownership of passenger data?
No such conclusion follows from these records. They describe government handling, operational roles or storage, with different levels of detail 1,23.
Does the Indonesia MIGA record confirm an issued guarantee?
No. The opened environmental and social review page marks the project Proposed and its board date estimated 2.