The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wopke Hoekstra, has answered the written questions of MP Piri (PvdA) about the long waiting times when applying for a Schengen visa for the Netherlands in a letter.
EU wants to lift Schengen visa requirements for Qatar and Kuwait
Under this proposal, nationals of Qatar and Kuwait holding biometric passports would no longer need a visa when traveling to the EU for a short stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period for business, tourism or family purposes .
EU wants to digitize Schengen visa application
The European Commission is working on the possibility of applying for a Schengen visa online and replacing the visa sticker. This digitization should put an end to the bureaucratic and cumbersome method that is currently used. The aim is to fully digitize visa procedures by mid-2025.
The EU entry-exit system (EES) will be operational in 2022
To increase the security of the external borders in Europe, the EU will use a new entry and exit system at the external borders of the Schengen area. This system is called EES, which stands for Entry Exit System.