The EU has planned to introduce the Digital Schengen Visa to simplify the visa experience for the member countries and the applicants. This will help in applying for the visa online and getting it linked to the passport digitally instead of a labeled sticker. According to the EU, this visa version will begin working in 2028 through the single EU online visa application platform.
How will the Digital Schengen Visa function?
Through the single EU online visa application platform, applicants will be able to apply for the visa regardless of which Schengen country they want to travel to. After approval, they will be able to download the digital Schengen visa from the online platform. This will be automatically linked to the passport.
The visa applicants will be able to handle all the processes themselves such as uploading the visa documents, IDs, and supporting documents, paying the fee online, and then downloading the visa on a mobile phone.
Such visas are already implemented in many countries such as Australia and are being successfully adopted by many other countries. UK and Canada are also other examples where a visa application for all types is submitted online along with the required documents (both countries however are yet to issue digital visas). For Canada, the applicants do not even have to submit passports until they are confirmed online about their visa approvals. So the EU can learn more about these all techniques the other countries are successfully using.
A Schengen visa of short term, allows its bearer to travel to 29 Schengen member countries for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
We planned a sitting with the immigration expert “Mr. Umer Rasib” from Germany and he guided us through the expected benefits of the digitalization of the Schengen visa which have been elaborated on below.
Expected Benefits of Digital Schengen Visa
For the visa applicants
There are many expected benefits of the digitalization of the Schengen visa for the nationals of non-EU countries. These can be:
- ease of applying for the visa from home through a mobile phone or computer;
- no more stress of appointment of visa application submission in the Schengen countries;
- less role of outsourced companies responsible for collecting the visa application;
- opportunity to upload supporting documents in scanned form instead of a bundle of paperwork;
- no more need to submit the passport and have it retained in the embassy for many weeks;
- faster processing timings;
- visa verification possibilities through a mobile phone at airports and check-in desks.
For the Schengen Countries
Schengen countries, for successfully running the visa application process will have many benefits for the digitalization of the Schengen visa such as:
- less fear of fraud visa stickers, and mitigating risks of theft as well;
- lesser visa application processing costs as digital formats of visas do not need to be printed on the papers;
- faster processing of the visa applications as the applicants will be able to submit the required documents online in scanned format;
- less dependency on the outsourced visa application centers to handle the first phase of the visa application and are also currently responsible for returning the passport;
- if needed, the visa officers will be able to ask for further documents through the dedicated online portal.
Expected Cons of Digital Schengen Visa
Older people or the ones not well familiar with the usage of the online system may find it difficult to use the portals. They may need to get the assistance of someone filling out the online visa application. This may in some cases increase the visa cost for them. The consular offices will also have to work more to implement the visa application system which may increase the cost of the project upfront.
It might also be difficult to set the same rules for the whole Schengen member zone which consists of 29 countries. Some of these are inexpensive if we calculate the living costs such as Latvia, Romania, and Bulgaria. On the other hand, other Schengen countries such as Germany, France, and Denmark are extremely expensive for the living costs.
Some Schengen countries also ask for former approval for family visit visas such as France and Romania.
So making an online mechanism for 29 countries with separate requirements could be a challenge for the EU. The union may have to rely upon more online companies that would make sure the online process would work smoothly as all 29 countries will have to use it at the same time. Since the EU has announced it to begin in 2028, the member countries will have enough time indeed to well plan the implementation of the digitalized version of the world-famous Schengen visa.