Getting a Schengen Visa From the Commodity of Your Home to Become a Reality Soon
Being able to apply for a Schengen visa from the commodity of your own house is a matter of only a few years until it becomes a reality, as the European Union has already started its work towards the complete digitalisation of the Schengen visa application procedures.
In a recent move the Members of the EU Parliament, sitting on the Civil Liberties Committee, have adopted a report on the digitalisation of the visa procedure, and authorised the start of interinstitutional negotiations with the Council of the EU in order to reach an agreement on the final form of the law.
The EU claims that making the whole process of obtaining a Schengen visa online for travellers that need one in order to visit any of the 27 Member States, will not only make it easier for applicants by requiring less effort and costs from them but will also improve security in the EU, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“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,” the MEPs claim in a statement.
Throughout the discussion on the report, the MEPs also insisted that the digital visa system must be as inclusive as possible, by offering an increased number of language options and safeguards for people with disabilities and those lacking in digital literacy.
They also noted that throughout its creation, the EU must make sure that the system will not reject applications when many of them are lodged through the same IP addresses, as this may be very common in areas of the world where internet connectivity is poor.
What Does the Digitalization of Schengen Visa Procedures Mean?
First and most importantly, the digitalisation of the Schengen visa application procedures means that travellers will no longer have to go to an embassy, visa centre or consulate, to submit the required documents, and application form.
Instead, travellers will have to go at the website of the system, which has not been created yet, and fill in the application form. They will also have to upload the Schengen visa required documents, including here their scanned passport, a recent photo, travel insurance worth €30,000 coverage, and other scanned documents.
“Each applicant should submit a completed application form using the EU application platform, including a declaration of the authenticity, completeness, correctness and reliability of the data submitted and a declaration of the veracity and reliability of the statements made,” the Commission had said in its proposal for the creation of such a system, which was presented in April last year.
Applicants who plan on visiting more than one Schengen Area country no longer have to wonder and calculate at the embassy of which country they need to apply, as they only need to complete their application form and upload the required documents, and the platform will decide itself which country should process the application.
Travellers will, however, have to show up at a biometrics collecting centre the first time they apply for a visa in order to have their fingerprints and photo taken, but this will happen only once every 59 months, or every five years, for as long as they apply for a visa with the same document. .
One of the reasons why the system will make it easier for applicants to get a visa is that if they fail to correctly complete their application, the system will notify them before the application is processed, so that they can correct their mistake.
Once the application is processed, travellers will receive information in their emails regarding the outcome of the application.
And finally, travellers will no longer have to get the visa in the form of a sticker, as they will be issued digitally in the form of a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed by the Country Signing Certificate Authority (CSCA) of the Member State issuing it.
Will Obtaining a Schengen Visa Cost More This Way?
According to the EU Commission, the price for a Schengen Visa will remain the same as now, which is €80. Nationals of countries benefiting from reduced application fees due to agreements made by particular Schengen countries, will continue to pay those reduced fees.
As a large share of Schengen countries currently use intermediaries for processing visa applications, once the platform starts working, the service of these intermediaries will no longer be needed. This means that travellers won’t have to pay fees which are around €35 or even more.
As for the form that the visa fees will be paid upon the digitalization of the Schengen visa procedures, the EU will be using a third-party gateway linked to the online application platform, through which travellers will pay, and the payments will be directly transferred to the Member State processing the application.
When Will This Happen?
When announcing the digitalization of the Schengen visa procedures, the EU had said that it would take at least five years for the platform to be established and functionalised.
However, taking into account how the creation of several other systems has been postponed continuously, it is fair to day that it will take more than five years for the first digital visas to be issued.
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How Will It Affect Travellers From Visa-Free Countries?
Travellers from third countries under EU’s visa-free regime will be completely unaffected by the digitalisation of the Schengen visa application procedures.
From November this year, travellers from over 60 world countries will have to apply online for an ETIAS – which stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System – and will cost them €7. While applying for an ETIAS and a Schengen visa will both be online, obtaining an ETIAS will be way more quicker and easier.
