Schengen visas to be applied for electronically in future
Published: Wednesday, Nov 13th 2024, 12:30
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Visa applications for the Schengen area are to be submitted digitally on a European platform in future. Parliament can decide on the necessary adjustments to Swiss law for this modernization.
On Wednesday, the Federal Council submitted the dispatch on the digitalization of Schengen visas to the Councils. The EU adopted an ordinance on this exactly one year ago, as announced by the Federal Council. It concerns stays of up to ninety days.
Visas will be issued digitally in future; they will replace the current paper visa sticker. The electronic EU platform required for this innovation still needs to be set up. According to current planning, it should go into operation in 2028. Switzerland will not be able to join until then at the earliest.
The Foreign Nationals Act must be amended so that Switzerland can participate in the changeover. This involves provisions on the platform, the content of the national visa system and the transfer of new tasks such as the verification of travel documents to authorized third parties.
The Federal Council wants to create further rules at ordinance level. It is considering issuing visas for humanitarian reasons or visas for people with difficult access to the internet.
According to the Federal Council's dispatch, the total costs already budgeted for the adaptation and connection of the Swiss visa information system amount to CHF 8.2 million. Annual operating costs of CHF 0.4 million are expected from 2028.
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