EU wants to digitize Schengen visa application

The Commission is proposing today to digitize the Schengen visa procedure, replace the visa sticker and enable travelers to submit their visa application online through a European online visa platform. Digitization will make it easier to apply for a Schengen visa and the visa will become more secure and therefore more theft and fraud-resistant.
The Commision-From the Leyen has set itself the goal of making the Union's visa policy a more modern, customer-friendly and secure tool for managing the travel of third-country nationals to the Schengen area. To this end, the Commission has adopted proposals for the modernization of the Visa Information System, the ongoing development of the Entry/Exit System and the Travel Information and Travel Authorization System (ETIAS) and the implementation of the new Visa Code, including Article 25a on cooperation in terms of acquisition.
When revising the EU Visa Code in 2019, the European Parliament and the Council explicitly stated their wish to develop a common solution that would allow for digital applications for Schengen visas in the future and fully incorporate the latest legal and technological developments. to use. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer Schengen visas were applied for and issued worldwide, in part because of the difficulty of receiving visa applicants at consulates and visa application centers. This prompted Member States to call on the Commission to speed up the digitalisation of visa procedures. The Migration and Asylum Pact presented by the Commission in September 2020 sets a deadline of 2025 for the full digitalisation of the visa procedure, including the introduction of a digital visa and the possibility to apply for visas online.

In principle, all visa applications will be submitted digitally via the EU visa application platform, but in individual cases applicants could still submit a paper application to a consulate or a visa application center if the assistance they receive on the EU visa application platform (via the chat box and in FAQs) or received from family or friends is not sufficient to submit the application online. Specific provisions will also apply in case of humanitarian reasons. Family members of citizens of the EU/European Economic Area exercising their right of free movement will also still be able to submit their application on paper. 

All applicants will be able to submit their application completely online (fill in the application form, pay the visa fee, upload supporting documents and check if the biometrics are still valid). However, first-time travelers and applicants whose biometrics have expired will still need to present their biometrics in person at the consulate or visa application center. They can book that appointment online.

A visa issued on paper is more susceptible to fraud and theft and therefore poses risks to the security of the EU. The digital visa will be a kind of electronic file in the Visa Information System and will therefore no longer have any physical characteristics that can be tampered with.

The digitization proposal will make it easier to apply for a visa, but does not change the conditions for submitting the application and its processing.

The platform will be built and managed by eu-LISA, the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of ​​freedom, security and justice. It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that the general visa information on the platform is up to date.

Firstly, applicants check on the EU visa application platform whether they need a visa. If so, they create a secure account, fill out an application form and upload the required documents. They then pay the visa fee online and submit their application. The Schengen country where the main destination of the trip is located is responsible for processing the application. The applicants can check the status of their application through the platform and receive status notifications. Once the visa is approved, the applicants can access their visa online. If necessary, they can also extend their visa period online.

The advantage of a single application platform is that applicants will find one harmonized and seamless application procedure, regardless of the Schengen country they wish to visit. They can access all their submitted applications in one place. That would not be the case with separate national portals per Member State. The applicants would then have to follow different procedures and use different systems to view their past applications.

The Commission proposes to phase out these national portals and replace them with a single application platform at EU level. The Commission has chosen to allow Member States to join the platform as soon as it becomes operational and at the latest five years after its establishment. This transitional period allows Member States to gradually phase out their national instruments and make the transition to the EU visa application platform in a flexible manner.

The EU Visa Application Platform will be part of the recently revised Visa Information System, which has been recently modernized and includes advanced data protection safeguards (purpose limitation, limited retention period).

Both systems aim to facilitate travel to the Schengen area while strengthening security in the Schengen area. The proposed initiative applies to visa-required third-country nationals, ie third-country nationals who need to apply for a visa for a stay in the Schengen area not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period. ETIAS serves third-country nationals who are exempt from the visa requirement, but who must apply for a travel authorization before they travel.

The Commission's proposal will now be discussed in the European Parliament and the Council. Based on the Commission's proposal, Member States will have five years to move to the common online visa platform. Based on the outcome of the negotiations between the co-legislators, the development of the platform could start in 2024 and become operational in 2026. Given the five-year transition period, all Member States could start using the platform in 2031.

Once adopted, the proposal will be implemented by the countries that fully apply the Schengen acquis: the EU-27 (except Ireland and Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Cyprus, as these countries do not fully apply the Schengen acquis) + Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. These are a total of 27 countries. Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Cyprus do not fully apply the Schengen acquis, do not issue Schengen visas and do not have access to the Visa Information System. Therefore, they will not apply this proposal, which concerns the issuance of Schengen visas.