Obligations of carriers
Article 3
1. From the start of operations of the Entry/Exit System until the start of operations of the Visa Information System, carriers shall send a query to verify whether in the case of a single-entry visa or a double-entry visa the number of entries authorised by a visa has already been used as referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 (‘verification query’) through the carrier interface. 2. From the start of operations of the Visa Information System, carriers shall launch a query through the carrier interface, to verify whether: (a) in the case of a short-stay visa, the number of entries authorised by the visa has already been used or whether the holder of the visa has reached the maximum authorised stay, as referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226; (b) in the case of a long-stay visa, an airport transit visa or a residence permit, the visa or the permit are valid as referred to in Article 45c(1) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008. 3. From the start of operations of the Visa Information System, carriers shall launch the verification query for the long-stay visa or the residence permit for those long-stay visas and residence permits issued after the start of operations of the Visa Information System. Carriers shall manually check long-stay visas and residence permits issued prior to the start of operations of the Visa Information System. 4. The verification query shall be sent at the earliest 48 hours prior to the scheduled time of departure. 5. Carriers shall ensure that only duly authorised staff have access to the carrier interface. The carriers shall put in place at least the following mechanisms: (a) physical and logical access control mechanisms to prevent unauthorised access to the infrastructure or the systems used by the carriers; (b) authentication; (c) logging to ensure access traceability; (d) regular review of the access rights.