The Schengen Information System ban of entry or stay is called SIS ALERT. It is a file in which people can be registered when a decision of non-return, prohibition of residence or non-admission has been taken against them. This report is accessible to all countries in the Schengen area, in order to ensure good border management.
This file is notably used by national authorities when a foreign national from a third country arrives at the border. By consulting it, they will have access to all information relating to the stay and/or criminal proceedings concerning him.
The consequence of this registration in the file is that the person flagged for the purpose of non-admission or prohibition of return, when he or she presents himself at the border of the country or countries concerned, will be placed in a waiting area and sent back to a third State likely to receive him or her.
I. Nature and Scope of the Prohibition Measure
Reporting a foreign national in the Schengen Information System (SIS) Registration for the purpose of refusal of admission constitutes an administrative or judicial police measure restricting liberty. This registration not only prevents access to the national territory, but also entails, by application of the principle of mutual recognition, a ban on movement throughout the Schengen Area.
This system aims to prevent breaches of public order and national security. It relies on the centralization of data shared between Member States, primarily targeting:
- Individuals who have been the subject of criminal convictions definitively or suspected of serious criminal activities.
- People with clear threat for the security of the State (terrorism, extremism).
- Foreign nationals in an irregular situation who have been subject to a removal measure (OQTF with IRTF, expulsion).
- More marginally, situations presenting an imminent health risk to public health.
These reports must be considered as personal data, that is, information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (Article 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Consequently, this information is subject to a special and protective regime. In particular, the individuals concerned may request its deletion, in accordance with Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation.
According to this article, erasure is possible in six different situations. One of these situations applies to registrations related to residency and re-entry bans. This involves the possibility of erasure when personal data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
Indeed, registration in the Schengen Information System file is, most of the time, ordered for a specific period of time.
For example, in the case of a three-year re-entry ban, the authorities are entitled to supplement it with an entry in the database for the same period. If the individual concerned arrives at the border, their name will appear in the Schengen Information System database for three years.
In this way, at the end of the period during which the mention in the file is requested, the registration must disappear, as it is no longer necessary to achieve the initial objective.
In this case, the person concerned is able to use Article 17 of the GDPR in order to request the removal of their registration from this file.
II. Erasure Procedure and Recourse Means
Registration in the SIS is not irrevocable, but its removal requires formal legal action. Maintaining a report must comply with the principles of proportionality and need Once the reasons justifying the initial registration have ceased to exist, the person concerned is entitled to request its cancellation.
The appeals process generally revolves around two main points:
- The informal or hierarchical appeal: A request to update or delete data from the supervisory authorities (Ministry of the Interior).
- Legal recourse: Referral to the competent administrative courts in order to request the annulment of the reporting decision or the suspension of its effects.
To request erasure, the request must be addressed to the data controller, which, in the context of registration in the Schengen file, is the Directorate of the Judicial Police, under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior. The erasure request must therefore be addressed to the Minister of the Interior.
This procedure does not require compliance with formal rules and can therefore be carried out on different media such as an email, a letter or a form.
In the request, it is imperative to specify precisely which data you wish to have erased (here the reference to the Schengen Information System file).
Once the request has been made, the Minister of the Interior has one month to respond. He may respond favorably, refuse, or remain silent.
In this case, and in the event of a refusal, you may appeal to the National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms (CNIL), which is responsible for ensuring compliance with and proper application of the GDPR. It will then verify the reasons given by the Minister of the Interior in the event of a refusal and check them, or examine the request itself in the event of no response.
To succeed, this request must be supported by evidence: proof of rehabilitation, evidence of compliance with previous removal measures, or the invocation of new circumstances that infringe the right to a normal private and family life (Article 8 of the ECHR).
III. Need for Advisory Assistance
The complexity of the regulatory framework — at the intersection of domestic law, the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Asylum Law (CESEDA) and community regulations — makes the assistance of a specialist advisor indispensable.
The lawyer’s role is to:
- To exercise the right of access to identify the exact origin and reason for the report.
- Analyze the legality of the underlying administrative act.
- Structure a supplementary memorandum aimed at demonstrating the unfounded or disproportionate nature of the measure.
The restoration of freedom of movement is conditional upon a rigorous procedural strategy aimed at clearing the alert within the central file.
This is the stage at which you need to define the appropriate strategy with your lawyer.