Sharing passenger data with foreign governments

Last checked: 21 October 2026 · Rules and oversight

Sharing passenger data with foreign governments means Passenger Name Record (PNR) data collected for flights is passed to another state's authorities under a binding agreement ¹. The EU has PNR agreements with the United States and Australia that set retention periods and limits on onward transfer ^1,3. The EU Court of Justice found in Opinion 1/15 of 26 July 2017 that a draft EU-Canada agreement could not be concluded in that form ². A new EU-Canada agreement was signed on 4 October 2024 ⁵.

EU-US agreement: Official Journal L 215, 11 August 2012 ¹
US active retention: Up to five years, masked after six months ¹
US dormant retention: Up to ten more years ¹
EU-Australia retention: Up to five and a half years, masked after three years ³
Opinion 1/15: 26 July 2017, draft EU-Canada agreement could not be concluded in its form ²
New EU-Canada agreement: Signed 4 October 2024 ⁵
UK rule: Delete PNR after departure, TCA Article 552(4) ⁷

What is shared and on what basis

The EU-US agreement governs PNR received by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ¹. The EU-Australia agreement governs PNR received by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service ³.

The UN Security Council decided in resolution 2396, adopted in December 2017, that member states shall develop the capability to collect, process and analyse PNR data in furtherance of ICAO standards ⁸. The resolution says PNR data is to be used by and shared with all competent national authorities, with full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms ⁸.

The US and Australia agreements each run for seven years and renew for further seven-year periods. A party can stop renewal by written notice at least 12 months ahead ^1,3.

Agreement by agreement

Main terms as each record states them ^1,3^5,7.

Agreement	Published or signed	Retention	Oversight or redress
EU-US ¹	Official Journal L 215, 11 August 2012 ¹	Up to five years active, masked after six months, then up to ten years dormant ¹	DHS TRIP for administrative redress and review in US federal court ¹
EU-Australia ³	Official Journal L 186, 14 July 2012 ³	Up to five and a half years, masked after three years ³	Australian Information Commissioner, with audits and claims open to any nationality ³
EU-Canada, new ⁵	Signed 4 October 2024 ⁵	Article 16(3) allows keeping data after departure for listed purposes ⁶	Joint reviews under Article 27(3) ⁶
EU-UK ⁷	Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Article 552 ⁷	Delete after departure, except where a risk assessment shows a need to keep it ⁷	Reports from an independent administrative body and the UK supervisory authority ⁷

Opinion 1/15 on the first EU-Canada draft

On 26 July 2017 the EU Court of Justice gave Opinion 1/15 on a draft EU-Canada PNR agreement (press release 84/17) ². The Court found that the draft could not be concluded in its current form. It held that the systematic transfer, retention and use of PNR data are in principle permissible ².

Sensitive data: provisions on transfer, processing and retention of sensitive data were incompatible with fundamental rights ².
Retention after departure: keeping all passengers' data after they leave Canada went beyond what is strictly necessary ².
Onward transfer: Canada may disclose PNR to a non-EU government only where an equivalent EU agreement or a European Commission decision covers that country ².
Oversight: an independent supervisory authority must oversee the protection of PNR data ².
Prior review: use of retained data during a stay needs, as a rule, prior review by a court or independent administrative body, except in validly established urgent cases ².

The new EU-Canada agreement

As reported by Thomas Wahl in eucrim on 30 October 2024, Commissioner Ylva Johansson and Canadian minister Dominic Leblanc signed a new EU-Canada PNR agreement on 4 October 2024 ⁵. The text was finalised in November 2023 ⁵.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) concluded that the draft contains the safeguards needed to be compatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, using Opinion 1/15 as its main reference ⁶. The EDPS asked that Article 16(3), which allows PNR to be kept after departure, be read strictly so it does not lead to mass retention.

A European Parliament Legislative Observatory summary dated 12 March 2025 records consent by 521 votes to 90, with 45 abstentions ⁴. The summary says disclosure outside Canada is limited to countries with a comparable EU agreement or a Commission adequacy decision ⁴.

Limits on onward transfer

Under Article 17 of the EU-US agreement, DHS may pass PNR to third-country authorities only on terms consistent with the agreement. Sharing must support cases under examination or investigation. Where a citizen or resident of an EU member state is affected, DHS informs that state's authorities at the earliest appropriate opportunity ¹.

Inside the US, Article 16 lets DHS share PNR only with domestic government authorities, under written understandings and for cases under examination or investigation ¹.

Article 19 of the EU-Australia agreement allows onward transfer only where the receiving authority agrees to the same safeguards and works on terrorist offences or serious transnational crime. Each transfer is case by case, limited to the minimum data, and the recipient must agree not to pass it on ³.

The United Kingdom after Brexit

PNR transfers from the EU to the UK fall under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Article 552(4) requires the UK to delete passengers' PNR after they leave the UK, except where a risk assessment shows the data needs to be kept ⁷.

Article 552(11) let the UK depart from that deletion duty for an interim period during technical changes to its systems ⁷. Partnership Council Decision No 2/2021 of 21 December 2021 extended that period to 31 December 2022 ⁷. During the period the UK had to stop the use of PNR due for deletion and apply extra safeguards.

Common questions

Can a country that receives EU PNR pass it to another country?

Only under conditions. DHS needs terms consistent with the EU-US agreement ¹. Australian recipients must agree to the same safeguards and not pass the data on ³. For Canada, the Court required an EU agreement or Commission decision covering the third country ².

Why did the first EU-Canada PNR agreement fail?

In Opinion 1/15 the Court found that provisions on sensitive data, retention after departure, onward transfer, notification and oversight did not meet EU fundamental rights standards ².

Must the UK delete PNR after a passenger leaves?

As a rule, yes. TCA Article 552(4) requires deletion after departure, with an exception where a risk assessment shows a need to keep the data ⁷.

Rules and fees change. Check the official site linked above before you apply or pay. Spotted an error? Email hello@passengerdataexplained.org with the official link.

Sources

Passenger Name Record (PNR) data explained
What PNR data is, the 19 EU data elements, who sends and receives it, the legal basis, retention rules and the 2022 EU Court of Justice ruling.
The EU PNR Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/681)
What the EU PNR Directive requires of airlines and Member States, the 19 data elements it covers, retention rules, and what the EU Court of Justice ruled.
US passenger data rules: APIS, Secure Flight and ATS
How CBP's APIS, TSA's Secure Flight and the Automated Targeting System collect air passenger data, the legal basis, retention periods and audit findings.
UK passenger data rules: API, PNR, Border Force and the ETA
The UK law on passenger and crew information, the data carriers send, Home Office retention periods, the ETA, ICO complaints and inspection findings.
Passenger data retention
How long governments keep PNR, API and biometric records about air travellers, what must be masked or deleted, and what the EU Court of Justice ruled.