As with almost everything else in the modern era, it was only a matter of time before the Schengen authorities decided to move into the digital age. Across the globe, many major countries have moved to digital forms of travel approval or visas.
Non-nationals wishing to visit the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are already required to have applied for and received approval to enter these countries. In the next couple of years, the European Union is also rolling out its own form of digital approval called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System), and this will be followed closely by the introduction of the UK ETA (electronic travel authorisation) for visitors to any of the four countries that comprise the United Kingdom.
European Union or Schengen Area?
Since the inception of the Schengen Area in 1985, the number of countries signing up to the Schengen Agreement has increased steadily. From the five original founding members, twenty-seven countries currently operate under the system, with two more (Bulgaria and Romania) expected to join in the next couple of years.
Under the Schengen Agreement, member states have agreed to abolish internal borders which is designed to promote freedom of movement for goods and people throughout the Schengen Area. As the Schengen Area expanded this has led to substantial economic growth as carrying out business across the region was simplified and tourism flourished.
There is a huge overlap between the Schengen Area and the European Union with 23 countries being a member of both bodies. Because of this overlap there is an agreement between the EU and Schengen authorities that citizens of countries from either body do not require a visa, or other form of travel approval, to move from one to the other.
This visa-exemption policy also currently applies to around sixty countries around the world whose citizens require no more than a valid passport to enter and travel through the European Union and Schengen Area. Citizens of all other countries (termed “third countries”) must possess the correct form of Schengen Visa to enter the region for any purpose or for any length of time.
Current System
At present, applying for a Schengen Visa is a cumbersome, complicated and time-consuming process. It involves completing a detailed application form and then collecting and checking a considerable amount of supporting documentation. When this is done and the application submitted, it is then necessary for the applicant to arrange and attend a personal interview at the embassy or consulate which will issue the Schengen Visa.
The scope for making simple errors or omitting some requested information or document is wide and many applicants experience delays in processing the application due to what are silly or minor mistakes. Although the recommended time for submitting a Schengen Visa application is two weeks before travel it is not uncommon for applicants to wait for up to six weeks before approval is granted.
The current system is slow to say the least and the time frame for approval (or denial) is uncertain. Digitalising the process should streamline the process by allowing for faster processing times and reducing the amount of paperwork involved both for the applicant and the officials dealing with the application.
Proposed Improvements
In mid-October, the European Parliament rubber-stamped agreements to digitalise the Schengen Visa application and issuance procedures. This is the second-to-last step to ensuring the proposals become legislation. Once this happens, the proposed improvements can begin to be implemented.
The stated intent of the digitalisation of the system is to make visa applications:
- Faster
- Simpler
- Cheaper
- Safer
While the system should be faster there is no guarantee that the cost of a Schengen Visa will reduce by any significant amount. Security should certainly improve as forged Schengen Visas have been an ongoing problem but the new application forms must be cryptographically signed making forgery considerably more difficult.
As is the case with other digital systems for travel authorisation, the Schengen Visa application will be completed online which may be an issue for intending visitors who have no access to, or limited experience of, the internet. The proposed legislation allows for paper applications for those applicants who have such restrictions.
The proposed digitalisation will also extend to members in waiting, such as Romania and Bulgaria. As these two countries are not (as yet) Schengen Area members a Schengen visa is not a requirement for third country nationals but a Romanian or Bulgarian visa is. These will also be available online in order to streamline the process which is particularly helpful for visitors who wish to enter one or both of these countries in combination with one or more Schengen member states.
The online application platform will not only process the application but will also inform an applicant which country will issue the visa in cases where more than one Schengen member state is being visited. The internet platform will be run by the European Union agency eu-LISA, which manages information technology for the whole of the European Union.
Change Needed
Moving to a digitalised application process has been under consideration for a number of years, but it was not until April 2022 that the necessary legislative proposal was finally submitted. Rising incidents of irregular and illegal migration combined with increased security risks across Europe were the prime reasons for prompting a change to an old and dated system that was prone to errors and fraud. The situation was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which wreaked havoc on an already overburdened system.
Security needed to be tightened as Europe saw an increase in terrorism, illegal migration and international crime, and it was decided that tighter controls over those entering the European arena were necessary.
Digitalisation was deemed to be the best solution as the old visa sticker in a passport system was both unwieldy and prone to forgery. In addition, taking the application process online would speed up the approval system and allow for more thorough background checks on applicants.
The new system will be considerably more secure as the new visas will:
- Be in a digital format
- Signed cryptographically
- The visa will no longer be a paper sticker but in the form of a 2D barcode making forgery more difficult as well as speeding up security checks at border crossings.
Although still called a Schengen Visa, the new system will, in reality, be a visa for the European Union and Schengen Area. The applicant will use a dedicated online platform to:
- Submit all requested personal details
- Upload digital copies of any required supporting documentation
- Make any payment due
The current system necessitates attending a personal interview at an embassy, consulate or visa processing centre. This is likely to remain the case for those third country nationals applying for the first time or who need to update biometric data while for others this will no longer be necessary.
The Next Step
The digitalisation of Schengen Visas cannot begin until the proposal becomes an official legislative act. This requires the approval of the ministers on the European Union Council, and a meeting of the council is expected to take place in the middle of November. Should approval be granted, and this is widely expected, the new law will be entered into the official journal of the EU and come into force twenty days after this is done. Enforcing the law governing the application process will be optional for Schengen member states from 2025 and is expected to become mandatory by 2031 or 2032.
