Finland is the first to try something new with immigration and border control this week—and the change marks the official beginning of a shift towards a digital passport process. The Finnish Border Guard announced that all Finnish people on Finnair flights to and from the UK will be able to test a new digital travel document starting on Monday.

The border guard released a statement announcing that Finnair customers traveling between the Helsinki Airport and London, Manchester, and Edinburgh will be able to use a voluntary Digital Travel Credentials (referred to as the DTC in communications from the border guard) program and use it to leave and enter Finland. Finnish citizens can register for the digital travel document at the Helsinki Airport—more details are available on the Finnish Border Guard website.

"The DTC is a digital version of the physical passport and is equally reliable. It allows smooth and fast border crossings without compromising security," the announcement from border guard states. "The European Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, is developing the DTC as part of a broad digital identity policy package that includes a number of digital services."

The DTC is a partnership between Finland and Croatia. The digital passport will be tested at the Zagreb International Airport later this fall. The opportunity for Finnish citizens to test the passport will be between now and February 2024.

The digital passport should be an opportunity for passengers to get through checkpoints quicker than when using traditional passport documents.