EU Preliminary Agreement on Digitalisation of the Schengen Visa Procedure

At a Glance

• The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union provisionally agreed on rules to make the Schengen visa process digital to make the processing of visas more efficient, cheaper and user friendly.
• The online visa platform will be managed by the EU IT agency and will provide a secure account service for making applications, regardless of the Schengen country of destination.

On 13 June 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) provisionally agreed on rules to digitalise the Schengen visa procedure. These rules will introduce two important changes: (1) digitalisation of the Schengen visa application process, and (2) digitalisation of the Schengen visa. The goal is to make the processing of such visas more efficient, cheaper and more user-friendly.

Background

Under the current procedure, Schengen visa applicants must: (1) submit a paper application, (2) physically attend a consulate or external service provider at key stages of the application process, and (3) collect their visa. This can be burdensome on both travellers and consulates. Digitalisation will streamline the procedure and will reduce overall administrative costs. It will also facilitate legitimate stay and movement within the Schengen area and will help to harmonise the visa application process for member states and third-country nationals.

New Online Platform

The online visa platform will be managed by the EU IT agency (eu-LISA) and will provide a secure account service for making applications, regardless of the Schengen country of destination. The platform will provide up-to-date information on Schengen short-stay visas and a guidance tool for finding necessary information regarding requirements and procedures, such as:

• Whether a visa is required and what type of visa.
• The amount of the visa fee.
• The member state competent for handling the application.
• Any supporting documents required.
• The need for an appointment to collect biometric data.
• The possibility to apply online without the need for an in-person appointment.

In-person attendance at a consulate or external service provider should, in principle, only be mandatory for first-time applicants (or applicants who have acquired a new travel document which needs to be verified), and for the collection of biometric identifiers.

A third party authorised by the visa applicant or empowered by law to represent them should be able to lodge an application on their behalf, provided this person’s identity is included in the application form.

New Digital Schengen Visa

The Schengen vignette (the visa sticker placed inside the passport) will be replaced by a digital Schengen visa, which will take the form of an encrypted 2D barcode. Digitalisation will apply to both short-stay and long-stay visas and will also be issued by EU countries not yet fully applying the Schengen rules (Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus). The current vignette is vulnerable to falsification and fraud, and it can be stolen with the passport. Digitalisation will mitigate these security risks and should offer a more seamless travel experience.

Next Steps

The new rules will need to be approved formally by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which is likely to happen within a few months. Once the rules have been approved and implemented, there will likely be a transitional period of several years during which applications may be submitted either according to the current paper-based procedure or according to the new digital procedure.