Planning to travel to Europe this summer? You will have to apply for your Schengen visa at least 6 months in advance, as per the latest update. This remains the case as EU begins transition to digitise and process online Schengen visa procedures. Going by Gulf News’ latest, it will be another two years before we get our hands on the digitized Schengen visa. For over a year now, UAE residents have been facing delays in getting an appointment for the Schengen visa.
The European Union Council earlier announced plans to digitise the Schengen Visa application process, making it easier for applicants to apply for a visa. The plan aims to digitize the visa application procedure, making it hassle-free for travelers to the 27 EU countries. Here’s everything you need to know about the digitized Schengen visa.
Schengen visa stickers could soon be replaced with a digital visa in the near future. The proposal is also anticipated to increase the practicality of the Schengen area’s visa application procedure and its security. Here’s everything you need to know about Schengen visa.
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What is Schengen?
Schengen refers to the EU passport-free zone that covers most European countries. It’s the largest free travel area in the world.
What is a Schengen Visa?
A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen Area, per stay up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes. The Schengen visa is the most common visa for Europe. It enables its holder to enter, freely travel within, and leave the Schengen zone from any of the Schengen member countries. There are no border controls within the Schengen Zone.
Who Needs A Schengen Visa To Travel To The EU?
As per the recent update, Nationals from the UAE, UK and several other countries are on the visa-free list for the 27 European states that form the Schengen Area. However, if your nationality isn’t on this list, you must fill in official documents and meet certain criteria to visit any of these 27 European states. Here’s the complete list of which nationalities you will need a Schengen visa to visit Europe.
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what is the new rule for schengen visa?
As of today, the digitization of the Schengen visa only remains a discussion. It will be a long way before the new rule actually takes shape and comes into effect. However, rules for various nationalities’ digitization process have already been rolled out.
If your nationality is not listed, you will need a Schengen visa to travel to Europe. However, the European Parliament has just made your life much easier, thanks to the new digitised visa. This means, only few travellers will need to go to an embassy, visa centre or consulate, to submit the required documents and application forms.
Instead, travellers will only need to fill an online application form and upload the required documents. This includes their scanned passport, recent photo, travel insurance, and other scanned documents. Only those applying for the Schengen visa for the first time or if your travel documents have expired, will have to visit in-person for the processing.
When a person intends to visit several Schengen countries, the platform will automatically determine which one of them is responsible for examining the application based on the duration of stay. However, the applicant will also have the possibility to indicate whether the application needs to be processed by a specific member state according to the purpose of travel.
The new Schengen visas will be issued in digital format, as a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed. The cost of a Schengen visa (AED 317) won’t change. Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland are among the 27 nations that make up the Schengen area.
Maria Malmer Stenergard, Swedish Minister for Migration, said: “A digital Schengen visa will make it easier for legitimate travellers to apply and will at the same time help make the Schengen area safer.
“Online applications will reduce the number of trips to the consulate for travellers and make the process smoother for national administrations.
“At the same time, the digital visa will put an end to the risk of falsification and theft of the visa sticker.”
Well, we can’t wait for the Schengen visa processing to go all-digital. But for now, if you’re planning a trip to Europe apply for the Schengen visa RIGHT NOW so you don’t face delays.
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