Recently, the European Council and Parliament gave the green light to the proposal to digitize the visa process for countries belonging to the Schengen area, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the visa application process and enhancing security. At Boom Studies we keep you up to date; read on for all the details.
What is the Schengen area?
The Schengen Area is a geographical area in Europe where countries have agreed to eliminate border controls at their common borders. This means that people can travel between these countries without having to go through passport controls at the internal borders.
One of the main objectives is to facilitate the free movement of people within this space, which simplifies travel and promotes cooperation among participating countries. This agreement is made up of 27 states, of which 23 are from the European Union, including Malta, Germany, Spain, among others, and 4 additional countries such as Norway and Switzerland.
What is the Schengen visa?
The Schengen visa is an authorization granted by a State, belonging to the Schengen area, which allows the applicant to enter the territory and stay for periods not exceeding 90 days, with the short-stay visa or to transit freely through the airports of the Schengen States with the airport transit visa. If you want to explore in depth, check out the official information here.
Currently, citizens of most Latin American countries do not need to apply for this visa; they can travel to the Schengen area only with their valid passport. However, if you are a citizen of Ecuador, Bolivia, Dominican Republic or Cuba, you must apply for it from your country of residence to be able to travel freely in the countries of the zone for a maximum of 90 days.
Remember that the Schengen visa is processed for the main destination of your trip (where you are going to stay the longest). In the case of Malta, it is important to know that as Malta does not have embassies or consulates in Latin America, you will have to go to the embassy representing Malta in your country. For example, in Ecuador it is the Spanish embassy in Quito and in Colombia it is the Italian embassy in Bogota. If you have any doubts, at Boom Studies you can receive support from our team of experts at your destination to make your stay an unforgettable academic and personal experience.
On the digitization of the Schengen visa
Thanks to technological advances, new security measures and opportunities are being introduced to improve the efficiency and fluidity of migration processes, both for visa applicants and national authorities. For this reason, on April 27, 2022, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal aimed at digitizing the visa procedure, which was recently approved.
The digitization is intended to facilitate the application process for foreigners, simplify the administrative procedure and increase the security of the Schengen area, for example by reducing the risk of forgery or theft of the visa sticker.
Actions to be taken to digitize the Schengen visa process
To start the Schengen visa digitization process, the following actions will be taken:
- An EU visa application platform will be created through which all Schengen visa applications can be submitted. On the interface, users will be able to enter all necessary information for the process, such as electronic copies of their travel documents, supporting documents and proof of payment of visa fees, among others.
- Only persons applying for a visa for the first time, those who do not have valid biometric data or whose travel document is new, will be required to go in person to a consulate to carry out the procedure, for the rest of the cases it will be done in a virtual 100% form.
- The current visa sticker will be replaced by an electronically signed barcode.
Once everything is ready, it will be posted on the Official Journal of the European Union to come into effect 20 days later. It should be clarified that the date on which the digitalization will officially come into effect has not yet been defined.
Do you want to study in Malta?
If you want to study an academic program in MaltaWhether it is language or higher education, Boom Studies is here to guide you. We are a legally constituted agency on the island and we have the support of different local entities so that you receive a complete accompaniment, before, during and after your stay in Malta.
One of the great advantages of doing an academic program abroad is being able to travel to new countries and meet new cultures and people globally. We are sure that this will be a unique opportunity to learn inside and outside the classroom and create unforgettable memories while building a successful professional career.
