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Horizon Europe · European Union

Trusted, secure, quality future digital travel credentials

Opens 5 May 2027

The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 2 awards of €4 million each, from a total budget of €8 million. Applications close on 4 Nov 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.

Expected outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:

• Development, testing and integration of issuance, validation and sharing capabilities for possible future types (beyond Type 1) of Digital Travel Credentials (DTC);

• Integration of innovative, on-the-move, biometrics and remote biometric acquisition modalities to support the use of DTCs;

• Improved secure connectivity and interoperability for future DTCs;

• Improved capability of issuance of emergency travel documents and/or emergency DTCs.

Scope

Issuance, verification and management of digital travel credentials (DTCs) is relevant for border management, immigration and visa management. Furthermore, it could also be relevant to combat illicit activities such as terrorism, crime or frauds. This topic aims at supporting research and innovation that explore, develop and test enhanced capabilities for securely issuing, verify and manage (including sharing) possible future types of digital travel credentials (DTCs) for travel across the external borders of the EU.

The proposed solutions must be compatible with current, planned or foreseeable EU DTCs formats, and with applicable International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) schemes, but they should also push forward to possible further types of DTCs (“Type 2” and “Type 3”).

Additionally, the funded actions should also work on the integration of current and new biometrics, and/or new biometric acquisition modality, in support of DTCs. This includes but does not limit to biometrics such as fingermark, palmprint, palmmark, rolled fingerprint, contactless fingerphotos, and biometric acquisition modalities such as remote and on-the-move, including those modalities developed by previous projects funded by this Destination of Horizon Europe Cluster 3. The project should develop and/or contribute to reference biometric sample quality assessments standards for these biometric modalities included in the DTCs, compatibly with existing relevant tools such as the Open Source Face Image Quality (OFIQ), or improving forward-looking interoperability, for example between contact and contactless fingerprint data.

Who can apply

Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule).

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Border and coastguards Border and external security Ensure Identification and control of goods and people Security Borders biometrics capabilities digital travel credentials emergency DTCs security

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-11-04. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

1. Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
2. Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
3. Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries (Horizon Europe standard rule; Türkiye is associated). Confirm in the topic conditions.
4. Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
5. Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Company stage

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Single applicant or consortium

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where applicants must be based

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where to apply

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the official source and were last checked 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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