Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union institutions in Brussels announced that the Council of Member States has adopted new rules that will allow people who plan to travel to the Schengen Area to apply for a visa online. The Schengen Area is an area of 27 European countries that has abolished many types of internal border controls.
The current Spanish rotating presidency of the Union said, “The possibility of applying for a Schengen visa online will be a major improvement for citizens and application processing. It will simplify the application process for travellers, and at the same time, it will reduce the burden on national administrations, which will serve to be able to Respond faster and more effectively.” According to a European statement in Brussels, quoted by Fernando Grande Marlaska Gomez, Acting Spanish Minister of the Interior.
The two regulations adopted here create a platform for EU visa application. With a few exceptions, applications for Schengen visas will be submitted through that platform. On the platform, visa applicants will be able to enter all relevant data, upload electronic copies of their travel documents and supporting documents, and pay their visa fees.
Secondly, making personal appearances at the consulate redundant. In principle, personal attendance will only be necessary for first-time applicants, people whose biometric data is no longer valid, and people who have a new travel document and the existing visa sticker replaced with a cryptographically signed barcode.