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Travellers  >  At Schiphol  >  Privium  >  Iris scans

Iris scans at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Crossing the border quickly and safely without having to show your passport? This is possible with iris recognition technology. The scanning device recognises specific properties of your iris. As your iris is unique, we can recognise and identify you with 100% certainty.

How does the Privium iris scan work?

When you pick up your Privium Card at the Privium Lounge, we will take pictures of both your eyes. After the scan, the details of your iris are stored directly onto your Privium Card. At the border passage the details on your card are compared to your eye. If these correspond, you are permitted to pass. Your iris details are not stored on the scanning device. 

Safe and reliable

Gathering this information about your iris poses no risk to your eyes or health. The iris scan will still work even if you are wearing glasses or (coloured) contact lenses. It will not work if you are wearing sunglasses, however. The iris scan is a reliable and fast form of biometric identification.

Developed by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

The iris scan was developed by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol according to its own specifications. The software was developed in close cooperation with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and the Dutch Border Police (Koninlijke Marechausee) Schiphol.

Successful iris scanning

The iris scan does not always work perfectly the first time. This can have several causes. Follow these tips to ensure that the scan is successful:

Do's Do's
  • Maintain a distance of 10-15 cm between your eye and the iris scanner.
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  • Do not put your eye too close to the iris scanner.
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  • Ensure that you only put one eye in the mirror of the iris scanner during the scan. If you have trouble focusing, you may wish to put your hand over one eye.
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  • Ensure that you do not put both eyes in the mirror of the iris scanner at the same time.
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  • If you have problems more often with one of your eyes, use the other eye.
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  • Keep your eye still when in front of the scanner.
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  • Do not blink.
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  • Do not move until the computer gives the message 'identification is completed'.
  • Do not look away too quickly.
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    If you wear glasses:

    - Press your glasses frame firmly against your head and ensure that the frame is not in front of your iris.
    - Certain types of glasses can cause problems during scanning. We advise you to remove glasses with tinted/pastel-coloured lenses, special reflective layers, bifocal/multifocal lenses or very strong lenses.

    If after trying these tips you still experience problems with the iris scan, please contact the Privium ClubLounge on +31 (0)20 - 601 4222. Please bear in mind that the Dutch Border Police (Koninklijke Marechaussee) carries out random checks.


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