Schengen visas to be issued digitally only in future
Published: Friday, Dec 8th 2023, 11:30
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In future, visas for entry into the Schengen area, to which Switzerland belongs, will only be applied for and issued digitally. Applications must be submitted on a European platform that has yet to be developed.
On Friday, the Federal Council opened a consultation on the amendments to the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act required for modernization. According to a press release, the changes include provisions on the future platform, the content of the national visa system and the transfer of new tasks such as the verification of travel documents to contracted third parties.
The digital processing of visa applications will enable uniform processes, simplified procedures for applicants and effective cooperation between the migration authorities of the Schengen states, writes the Federal Council.
However, there are also exceptions to the use of the EU platform. This is the case, for example, if there are special humanitarian reasons or access to the internet is difficult. The Federal Council wants to define these exceptions at ordinance level.
The consultation period will last until March 22, 2024, and the European application platform is currently scheduled to go live in January 2026. Switzerland is expected to join in 2028 at the earliest.
Schengen visas and national visas are affected by digitization. To make this possible, the visa format had to be redefined at ordinance level. This amendment to the ordinance will come into force on February 1, according to the Federal Council.
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