Does anyone here have access to the Germany EasyPass-RTP for expedited entry into Germany?
If so, what was registration like, did you find the officers spoke English and has it saved you time entering Germany?
Posted by
Bay Area SF & Uppsala Sweden
1132 posts
Hi Frank, Yes I got it a few years ago. It saves quite a bit of time as you use the automated gantry for citizens rather than the 'other' Q which can sometimes be a lot longer. A red light will go off alerting the immigration officer that they need to check your entry/exit from Schengen, which makes sense as you're not an EU citizen. But there's no wait there.
The most difficult part of the exercise is actually finding the EasyPass office. (I did this in FRA). Even the border police didn't seem to know where it was. I assume they speak fluent English, but I speak German so that wasn't an issue. I downloaded the application ahead of time & filled it out on the plane. I was in & out of the office located outside security in 10 minutes max. I did it on a longer layover, just to be safe. There's nothing attached to your passport, the chip reads that you're enrolled. So it expires with your passport. I hope directions in my original thread help, just keep asking officials, and if the office hasn't moved, the first signage is right at the foot of the escalator to the correct office.
I found the responses to my original post lukewarm, "Gee why would we need that"?? Well now that we're still waiting for ESTAS, I've been through that gantry at least 9 times, so yes, it's totally worth it. Good luck!