EU moves forward on digitalisation of Schengen visa applications

The EU Council and European Parliament have provisionally agreed on new rules to digitise visa application procedures in the Schengen area.

“Under the proposed new rules, visas will be issued in digital format, as a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed. This will reduce security risks related to counterfeit and stolen visa stickers,” negotiators said in a press release.

The aim is to make the application procedure “more efficient and to improve security of the Schengen area”.

The regulation looks to introduce the possibility of applying online, replacing paper-based procedures and reducing the number of in-person visits to embassies or consulates to only one. With few exceptions, all Schengen visa applications will be made on one central website.

The platform, which will be managed by the European IT agency eu-Lisa, will gather relevant data, including electronic copies of documents, and be the place to submit visa fee payments. The platform will then send all the information to the relevant member state. The decision on the visa application will be also announced through the EU platform.

“In-person appearance at the consulate will in principle only be necessary for first-time applicants, persons whose biometric data are no longer valid and those with a new travel document,” EU lawmakers explained.

In the case of visiting more than one Schengen country, the applicant can decide to indicate in which country the application has to be processed. However, the platform can also automatically decide the responsibility for an application’s examination, based on the details of the journey.

The transition

However, private companies that assist member states in the provision of visa services have raised concerns that illegal visa providers could proliferate under the new system, particularly in countries where the access to internet is limited.

“A safe Schengen space can be promoted only if the regulated operators at national and European levels share the competences to manage the visa applicants’ data in a legal and appropriate manner,” a source from a visa service provider told EURACTIV.

“Every measure aiming at being compliant with these principles and at contrasting illegal intermediaries involved in the visa procedure, can pave the way for a real working visa procedure able to preserve and foster the safeness of the Schengen and national spaces,” the source added.

However, Matjaž Nemec, the European Parliament’s rapporteur of the file, told EURACTIV that they do not anticipate such a risk.

“External service providers need to be vetted and approved by the member states. The applicant has to appear in person at least once at the consulate or service provider, when all doubts should be dispelled,” explained Nemec.

“Even if an illegal intermediary launches an application, the applicant has to finish it. The Commission and members states within local Schengen cooperation will actively take down illegal websites and address such risks,” the rapporteur said.

To the question of whether there will be any obstacles for people that have limited access to the internet, the rapporteur said that “applicants will have the right to apply the old-fashion way with a paper application, in cases of issues related to digital literacy, disability, low internet penetration locations”.

Next steps

The proposal is expected to be officially approved in September, after the legal review, according to an official source from the European Parliament. A provisional agreement has been already reached on Monday (11 June) between EU lawmakers at the European Parliament and the Council.

“eu-LISA will develop the application and will put it to use, the European Commission will determine the starting date. We expect mandatory use of the application probably as of 2031 or 2032, and voluntary as of 2025,” the source said.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]