All You Need to Know About EU’s Plans to Make Schengen Visa Applications Paperless, Ditch Consulate Appointments & Passport Stickers

Summary

• The EU Council has approved the digitalization of Schengen visa application procedures, also ditching consulate appointments and visa stickers.
• Between 18 and 20 million visa applications worldwide will be processed through this platform by the time the same is launched.
• Both applicants and the Member States will benefit from this platform as this will save them time and money.

The European Union is one step closer to the digitalisation of Schengen Visa application procedures after the Council of the EU approved last Monday two new regulations.

The bloc intends to introduce a completely new system for obtaining a Schengen Visa, making it not only easier for millions of travellers to apply but also less expensive and less time-consuming.

Visa applications would be processed on a single online platform that would also tell applicants which country will receive their application (in the case of multi-country trips). The new system is also designed to work harmoniously with the EU’s ecosystem of border management systems and databases.

EU Parliament Members

Taking into account the pre-pandemic trend of visa applications, by the time this platform starts functioning, between 18 and 20 million visa applications worldwide will be processed through this system, saving applicants hours of hard work and money, and the Member States millions of euros in staff and resources.

Following in this article, we will explain the main changes that are expected to happen once the platform comes into effect, and what the EU expects to achieve.

Main Changes That Will Come With the Digitalisation of Visa Procedures

It will be possible to complete all procedures in one single platform.

Regardless of the country or number of countries a traveller wishes to travel to, whether for tourism, to visit family members, or business, all applicants will have to file their request for a Schengen Visa through a single platform.

The platform, which hasn’t been developed yet, and its domain remains unknown, will then determine which Schengen country is responsible for processing the application, and then forward it to the respective authorities.

While very little is known about what information the platform will ask travellers about, it will be a must for every Schengen Visa applicant to give their:

• Name, surname, place and date of birth
• Passport information
• Occupation
• Dates of previous trips to the Schengen Area
• Information on previously held visas and trips made worldwide

Travellers will also have to answer questions on which country they wish to visit, how they plan to fund their trip future trip, their accommodation, flights, etc. It remains unknown how precisely travellers will be asked to provide proof for each of them.

Applicants won’t have to collect and print a ton of documents anymore.

One of the main changes visa applicants will experience in the future when it comes to getting a Schengen visa will be the number of documents required. While proof on several aspects of the application will still be required, applicants will no longer have to present them physically, but instead, the digital form of them will be enough.

Travellers will have to upload the required documents to the platform, amongst which will be:

• Passport scan
• Digital biometric photos
• Proof on means of travel, i.e. flight tickets
• Proof of accommodation

Many of the criteria for Schengen visa application documents will remain the same, or at least similar, with the only switch being that they will no longer have to be printed.

Visa fees will also be paid online through the same platform.

The EU will be investing millions in the new platform, and its maintenance in the near future. Yet, this will not affect Schengen visa fees, as they will remain the same as currently. Applicants’ payment method data will be secured at the highest levels.

Only first-time applicants will have to apply in-person.

Some applicants will still have to show up in person at the visa centre, or consulate, in order to file an application. However, this is a limited list of only three groups:

• Those applying for a Schengen Visa for the very first time
• Those whose biometric data are not valid anymore
• Those who have a new travel document

Yet, even for those who have to show up at the visa centre in person, it will still be easier as they won’t have to wait for an appointment, or wait in line to submit their application due to crowds of people waiting to apply.

Visa stickers will be replaced with digital barcodes.

And finally, travellers will no longer have visa stickers posted in their passport pages, as the same will be replaced with digital barcodes. The visa sticker will soon become a relict of the past, that avid travellers can keep as a ‘souvenir’ from their past trips,

What EU Intends to Achieve With the New Regulations of Online Schengen Visa Applications

Reduce the costs and the burden on Member States as well as the applicants.

The first thing that the EU intends to achieve with its plan to digitalise Schengen visa application process is reducing the costs and burden of those procedures on the Member States and their authorities.

Once the platform is introduced and launched, consulates will no longer have to hire tons of staff in order to deal with visa applications. Most contracts with third-parties like the VFS Global and TLS will be terminated or renewed in order to outsource fewer capacities to them.

At the same time, travellers will only have to pay the visa fee, thus saving their money on processing fees introduced by third parties, which sometimes are as high as the visa fee itself.

Avoid so-called ‘visa shopping’ by applicants.

The high number of applications has created a backlog at many Schengen consulates worldwide. In order to avoid them, applicants often lodge their visa request at the consulate of another Member State, which they do not plan on visiting. This is called ‘visa shopping’ and is highly condemned by the EU and its Member States.

The new Schengen visa platform will terminate this practice once and forever, as the system will automatically determine the authorities of which country are responsible for processing each visa application.

Reduce security risks posed by the physical visa stickers, which are currently prone to falsification, fraud and theft and improve the overall security of the Schengen Area.

And the final and most important goal for the EU to achieve, is to make the Schengen Area a more secure zone not only for its citizens but also for travellers visiting. The Member States will soon ditch visa stickers, and instead, start issuing visas in digital format, as a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed, which  will reduce security risks related to counterfeit and stolen visa stickers.