Visa centers will soon disappear, and you can get a Schengen visa without leaving your home from home. Such an encouraging result of the procedures for the complete digitalization of the process of obtaining visas was presented in the European media. At the same time, according to experts, the process, according to experts, will take several years, but everything can happen in the foreseeable future – the European Union has already begun work.
The first step, according to experts, was the adopted law on the digitalization of the visa procedure, which passed in the EU Parliament. Recall that its essence is to abandon the “paper” visas and issue Schengen only in digital form (read the details here).
The EU authorities are confident that it is possible to go further along the path of “digitalization”. “Visa applications will be processed on a single online platform, which will also inform applicants which country they will receive a visa to, in case of traveling to multiple countries. The new system is also designed to work in harmony with the ecosystem of EU border management systems and databases. Making the entire Schengen visa process online for travelers who need it to visit any of the 27 Member States will not only make life easier for applicants with less effort and expense, but will also improve security in the EU,” MEPs said.< /p>
The first advantage of the digitalization of the Schengen visa procedures, the experts called that the digitization of the procedures for applying for a Schengen visa means that tourists will no longer need to go to the embassy, visa application center or consulate to submit the necessary documents and application form. They will be able to simply go to the system’s website, fill out all the applications, after which they will only have to upload the necessary documents for obtaining a Schengen visa, including a scanned passport, a recent photo, travel insurance in the amount of 30,000 euros and other scanned documents. At the same time, the system, in theory, will prompt the user if he fills in something by mistake. So far, however, such a site does not exist – even in the test version mode.
“Each applicant must submit a completed application form using the EU application platform, including a statement of the authenticity, completeness, correctness and reliability of the data submitted, as well as a statement of the truthfulness and reliability of the statements made,” the European Parliament also said.
< p>Personally, tourists will only have to go to the biometric collection center on their first visa application to be fingerprinted and photographed, but this will only happen once every five years while they apply for a visa with the same document.
As soon as the application is processed, tourists will be sent information about the results of the application review by e-mail. Moreover, they no longer need to stick the visa itself in their passport – it will be issued digitally in the form of a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed by the Country Signature Certification Authority (CSCA) of the Member State that issued the visa.
What importantly, tourists are assured that the innovation will not only not make the visa more expensive, but even reduce its cost. The cost of a Schengen visa will remain the same as now – 80 euros. However, the digital option will save you from the mediation of visa centers, as a result, tourists will be able to do without paying a fee of 35 euros or more.
However, so far these are “theoretical calculations”. As stated in the European Parliament, it will take at least five years to create and operate the platform. And taking into account the experience of implementing other systems, most likely more.
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “The doctor named foods rich in collagen and who should eat them.”
>