EU foreign ministers on Monday adopted a series of changes that will see visa applications for visits to Europe’s Schengen zone made through an online platform, Euractiv reports.
The move to digitalisation of visa applications will eliminate the need for applicants to obtain a sticker in their passport, which means no more appointments at consulates and service providers’ offices.
The technical finalisation of the platform will take several months, after which the changes will come into force and then be published in the EU Administrative Bulletin.
The Schengen area includes 23 of the 27 EU member states, as well as neighbouring countries Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. According to Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaski, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, the online visa system will “simplify the application process for travellers”.
Once it is in place, those applying for short-term stays in the Schengen zone will upload documents, data and electronic copies of their travel documents with biometric information, as well as pay fees – all via an online platform. If approved, after cross-checking against the database, they will receive a barcode with a cryptographic signature that can be printed or stored in the device. However, for those applying for the first time or with a new passport or changed biometric data, a face-to-face appointment may be required.
A number of countries have already introduced similar systems where an online visa is linked to a person’s passport without the need to stamp it. In most cases, citizens of more than 60 countries, including Australia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, New Zealand and the US, will not need a Schengen visa for short-term visits.
However, they will still have to submit online pre-entry applications under the long-delayed European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), similar to the ESTA system used in the US. ETIAS is expected to be operational in mid-2025.
All travellers entering the EU with or without visas will go through the EU Automated Entry/Exit System (EES), the implementation of which has also been significantly delayed but is expected to be operational in late 2024. The computerised EES system will record a person’s information and biometric data, as well as the date of entry and exit, tracking cases of overstay and refusal of entry.
