Brussels, 11/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Two years after the initially planned date, the Visa Information System (VIS) for countries that are members of the free movement Schengen area, finally came into force on the morning of Tuesday 11 October, the European Commission announced on Tuesday.
This new VIS system (which was prevented from entering into force in 2009 due to litigation concerning the contracting company) will both help to facilitate access to visas for short visits for nationals from third countries and help enhance security in Schengen countries, due to its mechanisms that help to detect visa fraud or irregularities better, explained European sources on Tuesday.
It has initially been launched as a measure for nationals from North African countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Egypt). The Middle East region will be tackled next. The system aims to process visa requests (for three months, renewable) by using biometric data, digital imprints and digital facial imaging. These tools will, for example, help to ensure that the person requesting the visa is indeed the person using it. Children aged under 12, however, will not have to provide digital fingerprints, explained the Commission, similarly to persons with disability or heads of state and government or other official delegations.
All short-term visa applications will also be processed at a central database in Strasbourg, to which all Schengen member states will be able to access (United Kingdom and Ireland will not have this access), explained the same sources.
This database will also keep a record of the person requesting the visa, the number of requests made or refusals given. In a few months time, the European police agency, Europol, will also be granted access to this database when investigations are being carried out, explained our European sources but in, “very specific conditions”, they hastened to add.
The advantages include the fact that visa requests are expected to be treated much more quickly than before and finger prints and biometric data will be able to be used for other requests over a five-year period, explained the Commission. The lives of personnel dealing with immigration at external borders will also be made easier, explained the Commission: with a “simple click on the mouse” will confirm the identity of the traveller and the validity of their travel documents.
Schengen member countries currently process 13 million short-term visa requests a year but sources explained that this number is expected to reach 20 million very soon. This new visa system is therefore will have to provide for improved management of the increased number of requests and will also pool the data for Schengen member countries. (S.P./transl.fl)