Negotiators from the Council and the European Parliament have agreed on rules to digitalize the Schengen visa procedure. The regulation provides for the possibility to apply for a visa online and replaces the existing visa sticker with a digital visa. This should make the visa application procedure for a short-stay visa more efficient and the Schengen area safer.
Once the rules are finally adopted, an EU visa application platform will be established. With some exceptions, applications for Schengen visas will be submitted via this platform (a single website) and forwarded to the relevant national visa systems. The platform allows visa applicants to enter all relevant data, upload electronic copies of their travel documents and supporting documents and pay their visa fees. They are also informed of the decisions regarding their application.
Going to the embassy or an external service provider such as VFS Global will in principle only be necessary for “first-time applicants”, for persons whose biometric data are no longer valid, and for persons with a new travel document.
When a person wants to visit different Schengen countries, the platform automatically determines which country should process the application based on the length of stay. However, the applicant will also be able to indicate whether the application should be processed by a specific Member State given the purpose of the trip.
Schengen visas will be issued in digital format, as a 2D barcode and cryptographically signed. This puts an end to the security risks associated with counterfeit and stolen visa stickers.
I wonder whether the logistical capacity is sufficient to quickly process all Schengen applications from non-EU citizens to visit the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
And if it goes quickly, it might be a way for Thai citizens with family or loved ones in the Netherlands to travel via Paris next year...?
If it is already in effect... Summer 2024 is not that far away
“An EU visa application platform will be established once the rules have been finally adopted.”
And then again
“Going to the embassy or an external service provider such as VFS Global will in principle only be necessary for “first-time applicants”, for persons whose biometric data are no longer valid, and for persons with a new travel document.
I suspect it will all take time.
See source in the article
"Next steps
Once signed, the 2 regulations will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the 20th day after that publication.
The date of application of the new rules will be determined when the technical work on the visa platform and the digital visa has been completed.
Yes, that will take a few years. ETIAS and EES have also been postponed again and again, delays of years. If it happens in 2025 I would be surprised. I'm guessing 2026.
Source: https://schengenvisum.info/etias-weer-uitgesteld-nu-tot-medio-2025/
Most European matters require years of consultation, further elaboration, all kinds of ifs and buts to reach a compromise between the Member States, and then the roll-out of implementation. The E-visa plan was first put forward only a few years ago, but it is only now underway, so it will still be a few years before everything is arranged. Or all Member States should suddenly be in a hurry to do this, then it could be done faster, but I don't expect that.
So I'll just wait patiently.
Once agreement has been reached in the Council, signing the legislation is a formality. After all, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States have already agreed to the proposal.
For further information, with the quite detailed legal texts, see:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0658
I only see disadvantages, only advantage, as also indicated, is an end to illegal visas. The conversation where you can correct any shortcomings or mistakes is therefore no longer necessary: anything entered incorrectly is the end of the visa application. The rest remains the same. Digital submission is not much faster than regular submission!