Yesterday an agreement in principle was reached between the EU Member States and the European Parliament on the digitization of Schengen visas (Short Stay Visa). In the future, a Schengen visa can be applied for and issued online.
This result is a major step forward in the Schengen Strategy adopted by the Commission in June 2021. The new rules will ensure that it applying for a Schengen visa easier, more modern and the same for travelers from countries outside the EU that need a visa and for countries in the EU that have to issue a Schengen visa. And all thanks to digitization.
At the moment, an application for a visa for it Schengen area lots of paperwork. This is not only expensive for both travelers and for the countries in the EU that have to issue the visa. The way in which you apply for a Schengen visa also differs per country and only a few countries have already digitized the process to some extent. Another problem is the physical one visa stickers which are now pasted into the passport. They are easy to forge, steal and commit fraud. With digital visas, that becomes a lot better.
The new regulations address two major bottlenecks visa procedure tackle:
- digitizing the visa sticker;
- digitizing the visa application.
This is achieved by introducing an online platform for EU visa applications. What will be new soon:
- There will be a single online platform from the EU on which you can apply for a short-stay Schengen visa.
- You pay the same costs, regardless of the Schengen country you want to visit.
- As an applicant, you will receive your own secure account on this platform to make your application and to find out whether your application has been approved.
- You will receive the latest information about Schengen visas for a short stay. But also information about the requirements and how it all works (such as which documents you need, how much it costs and whether you need to make an appointment to have your biometric data to be collected).
- The platform itself determines which Schengen country should process your application if you plan to visit more than one country.
- There will also be a chatbot that will give you easy answers to any questions you may have.
- The Schengen visa sticker is replaced by a digital Schengen visa (an encrypted 2D barcode) which is also used for long stay visas.
- The digital Schengen visa will also be issued by EU countries that have not yet fully implemented the Schengen rules (Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus).
The countries in the EU have 7 years to join the platform.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/nl/ip_23_3220
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