The European Union is one step closer to digitalizing the Schengen visa application process after the EU Council adopted two new regulations last Monday.
By 2026, the member state will begin implementing a completely new system for obtaining Schengen visas, which will not only make the application easier for millions of travelers but also more It's cost-effective and time-saving.
The EU plans to make the European short-term visa application process completely online by 2028.
Considering pre-pandemic visa application trends, by the time the platform is fully operational in 2028, 22 to 25 million visa applications will be processed through the system worldwide, saving effort and money for applicants and government members contribute millions of euros of staff and resources.
Besart Bajrami, founder of Schengen Visa Info and Visa Guide World, two major visa platforms with an extensive readership of more than 60 million people per year, said: He said both travelers and member states would benefit from this platform, which takes care of visas for EU visitors, describing it as a revolution of sorts.
He also hopes that consulates will avoid backlogs in visa applications and issue visa decisions within the allotted deadlines. However, Bajrami is somewhat skeptical that the platform will be fully operational by 2028. When the EU announced plans for such a platform in early 2022, it claimed it would be ready by 2025.
However, the EU currently insists that member states will gradually start moving personal procedures online completely only in 2026. The transformation should not take place until 2028.
Below, this article describes the main changes that are expected to occur over time after the Platform enters into force in 2026, and what the EU expects to achieve with it.
Main Changes That Will Come With the Digitalisation of Visa Application Procedures
It will be possible to complete all procedures in one single platform.
Regardless of the country or number of countries a traveler wishes to travel to, whether for tourism purposes, family visits or business reasons, all applicants must submit their Schengen visa application through a single platform.
An undeveloped platform, whose domain is still unknown, determines which Schengen country is responsible for processing the application and forwards the application to the relevant 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 most important changes that visa applicants will experience in the future when applying for a Schengen visa is the number of documents required. Although some aspects of the application still require evidence, applicants no longer need to physically submit evidence; digital format is sufficient.
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 plans to invest millions of dollars in the new platform and its maintenance in the near future. However, this will not affect Schengen visa fees as they will not change. Applicants' payment details are protected to the highest level.
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 the EU wants to achieve with its plans to digitize the Schengen visa application process is to reduce the cost and burden of these procedures for Member States and their authorities.
Once the platform is operational, consulates will no longer need to hire large numbers of staff to process visa applications. Most of our agreements with third parties, including VFS Global, BLS International, VisaMetric, and TLS, have been terminated or renewed to reduce outsourced capacity.
At the same time, travelers only have to pay the visa fee and save on third-party processing fees, which can sometimes be as expensive as the visa fee itself.
Avoid so-called ‘visa shopping’ by applicants.
Due to the large number of applications, many Schengen consulates around the world are experiencing a backlog of applications. To avoid these, applicants often submit their visa application at the consulate of another member state they do not wish to visit. This is called "visa shopping" and is strongly condemned by the EU and its member states.
The new Schengen visa platform will put an end to this practice once and for all, as the system will automatically determine which authority in the country is 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 ultimate and most important goal for the EU is to make the Schengen Area a safer area not only for its citizens but also for the tourists who visit it.
Member states will soon phase out visa stickers and instead begin issuing visas in digital format as cryptographically signed 2D barcodes, eliminating the security risks associated with counterfeit and stolen visa stickers will be reduced.
How Will Travellers from Visa-Exempt Countries Be Affected?
For non-EU/Schengen nationals who benefit from visa-free entry, there will be no change when switching to a digital Schengen visa application. However, from May 2025 he will have to secure his ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) through an online process, which will incur a fee of 7 euros.
The application process for an ETIAS is significantly faster and easier than for a Schengen visa, although both applications are processed online.
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