Council of theEuropean Union
Brussels, 29 March 2023
(OR. en)7905/23
Interinstitutional File:2022/0132(COD)
VISA 55
FRONT 104
MIGR 112
COMIX 151
CODEC 503
OUTCOME OF PROCEEDINGS
From:
To:

General Secretariat of the Council
Delegations

No. prev. doc.:

7553/23

Subject:

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EC) No 810/2009 and (EU)2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council
Regulations (EC) No 1683/95, (EC) No 333/2002, (EC) No 693/2003 and(EC) No 694/2003 and Convention implementing the Schengen
Agreement, as regards the digitalisation of the visa procedure‒

Mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament

Delegations will find in the Annexes the mandate on the abovementioned proposal approved by thePermanent Representative Committee on 29 March 2023.

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ANNEX I

Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EC) No 810/2009 and (EU) 2017/2226 of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1683/95, (EC) No
333/2002, (EC) No 693/2003 and (EC) No 694/2003 and Convention implementing the
Schengen Agreement, as regards the digitalisation of the visa procedure

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles
77(2), point (a), and Article 79(2), point (a), thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:(1)

The Union's common visa policy has been an integral part of the establishment of an area
without internal borders. Visa policy should remain an essential element in helping countersecurity risks and the risk of irregular migration to the Union, while facilitating tourism andbusiness. The common visa policy should contribute to generating growth and be consistent
with other Union policies, such as those concerning external relations, trade, education,
culture and tourism. In March 2018 Commission communication on visa policy addressed
the concept of “e-visas” and announced a feasibility study on digital visa procedures and theintention to assess options and promote pilot projects to prepare the ground for future
proposals. When revising the EU Visa Code in 2019, the European Parliament and theCouncil explicitly stated the aim of developing a common solution in the future to allow
Schengen visa applications to be lodged online, thereby making full use of recent legal andtechnological developments1.

1

Recital 20 in Regulation (EU) 2019/1155

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(2)

The initiative is in line with the general EU approach to encourage the modernisation anddigitalisation of public services and the Commission communication on the 2030 Digitalcompass: the European way for the digital decade2. Since the entry into force of Regulation(EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council3 in 2010 and the start ofoperations of the Visa Information System (VIS) in 2011 under Regulation (EC) No
767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council4, migration and security challenges
faced in recent years have considerably transformed the visa policy context. In addition,
significant technological developments provide new opportunities to make the Schengenvisa application process smoother and more effective for third-country nationals andMember States authorities.

(3)

The COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the slowing down of Schengen visa operations
worldwide partly due to the difficulty of receiving visa applicants in consulates and Visa
Application Centres, prompted Member States to call upon the Commission to speed up
work on digitalisation of visa procedures.

(4)

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum proposed by the Commission on 23 September
2020 set the objective of making the visa procedure fully digitalised by 2025, with a digital
visa and the ability to submit visa applications online.

(5)

While visa processing is already partially digitalised, with applications and decisions
recorded in the VIS, two important steps remain paper-based: the visa application process
and the issuance of the visa to the applicant by means of a visa sticker. This creates a burden
for all stakeholders, in particular for Member States authorities issuing visas and visa
applicants. Member States are aware of this and some of them have already implemented
digital solutions in order to provide applicants with a modern and user-friendly application
procedure and to improve the efficiency of handling visa applications.

(6)

Visa applicants should be able to apply for a visa online through a single EU platform,
regardless of the Member State of destination. This tool should automatically determine
which Member State is competent to examine an application, in particular where theapplicant intends to visit several Member States. Member States will only need to check
whether the tool determined the correct competent Member State.

2

COM(2021) 118 final, Commission communication on the 2030 Digital Compass: theEuropean way for the Digital Decade
Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L 243 15.9.2009, p. 1).
Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008
concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member
States on short-stay visas, (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60).

3
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(7)

The EU online application platform should provide the applicant with up-to-date
information on Schengen short-stay visas and a guidance tool with which the applicant canfind all the necessary information regarding the requirements and procedures, such as, but
not limited to, whether a visa is required and what type of visa; the amount of the visa fee;the Member State competent for handling the application; the supporting documents
required; the need for an appointment to collect biometrics or the possibility to apply online
without an appointment. The platform should also include a communication mechanism,
such as a chatbot to answer questions of the applicants and provide the applicant
documents in printable format. The EU application platform should also allow to establish
a secure electronic communication between the applicant and the competent consulate or thecentral authorities of the competent Member State by electronic means, should additional
documents or an interview be required.

(8)

Visa applicants should be able to submit their application, provide data required in theapplication form, provide an electronic scanned copy of the travel document, and provide
supporting documents and travel medical insurance in digital format through the EU
application platform. In order to enable applicants to save information relating to theirapplication, the online application platform should be able to store data temporarily. Oncethe applicant has submitted the online application and the Member States perform theappropriate checks, the application file will be transferred to the national system of thecompetent Member State and stored there. Consulates or the central authorites would
consult the information stored at a national level and push only the required data to thecentral VIS.

(9)

Appearing in person at the consulate or external service provider should, in principle, be
mandatory only for first time applicants and applicants who have acquired a new travel
document, which needs to be verified, and for the collection of biometric identifiers.
However, when in doubt, or in cases where there is a high incidence of fraudulent
documents in a particular location, Member States should retain the possibility to ask
to the applicant to appear in person.

(10)

Repeat applicants should be able to apply fully online within a period of 59 months after
their initial successful application provided that they apply with the same travel document.
Once this period of time has elapsed, biometrics should be collected again, as referred to in
Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, under which biometric data are, in principle, to be collected
every 59 months, starting from the date of the first collection.

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(11)

Specific provisions apply to third-country nationals subject to a visa requirement, who arefamily members of citizens of the Union to whom Directive 2004/38/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council5 applies or of third-country nationals enjoying the right offree movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Unionand its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, and who do nothold a residence card pursuant to Directive 2004/38/EU, or of UK nationals who arebeneficiaries of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy
Community6 (EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement) in relation to their host State, and who do nothold a EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement residence document.

(12)

Article 21(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union stipulates that every
citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of theMember States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by themeasures adopted to give them effect. The respective limitations and conditions are to befound in Directive 2004/38/EC. As confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European
Union, family members referred to under recital 11 have not only the right to enter the
territory of the Member State but also to obtain an entry visa for that purpose. Member
States must grant such persons every facility to obtain the necessary visas which must be
issued free of charge as soon as possible and on the basis of an accelerated procedure andwith due regards to the procedural safeguards that apply to them. Against this background,in particular, such family members should be entitled to lodge their visa application, theirapplication for a confirmation of a valid visa in a new travel document or their application
for the extension of their visa without using the EU application platform, as this may
facilitate their visa application. In such a case, they should be entitled to choose to lodge
their applications in person at the consulate or at the external service providers. In addition,
the EU online visa application platform should fully take into account the rights andfacilitations granted to the beneficiaries of the free movement acquis. The same applies withregard to family members of UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal
Agreement in relation to their host State, by virtue of Article 14(3) of the EU-UK
Withdrawal Agreement.

5

Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on
the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within
the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing
Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC,
90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC (OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 77).
Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelandfrom the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 29,
31.1.2020, p. 7).

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(13)

Special provisions should apply in individual cases because of humanitarian reasons, injustified individual cases, in cases of force majeure, or to Heads of State or government
and members of a national government with accompanying spouses, and the members of
their official delegation when they are invited by Member States’ governments or byinternational organisations for an official purpose, sovereigns and other senior members of aroyal family, when they are invited by Member States’ governments or by internationalorganisations for an official purpose and for visas applied for at the external border orthat might be extended in the territory of the Member States.

(14)

Special provisions which should apply in individual cases because of humanitarian reasons
could cover digital accessibility issues.

(15)

A third party duly authorised by the visa applicant or empowered by law to represent themshould be able to lodge an application on their behalf, provided this person’s identity is
included in the application form. It should be possible for travellers to authorisecommercial intermediaries to create and submit an application on their behalf.

(16)

Each applicant should submit a completed application form using the EU application
platform. The online application form, including a declaration of the authenticity,
completeness, correctness and reliability of the data submitted and a declaration of theveracity and reliability of the statements made, should be signed electronically by ticking
an appropriate box in the application form. Each applicant should also state that they
have understood the conditions for entry referred to in Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council7 and that they could be requested to provide therelevant supporting documents at each entry. Applicants should confirm that they agree
to receive communications via the EU plaform. For that purpose they should access theplatform on a regular basis. Application forms for minors should be submitted andelectronically signed by a person exercising permanent or temporary parental authority orlegal guardianship.

(16a) When applying for a visa, applicants should provide proof of holding supporting
documents. For the purposes of this Regulation, this encompasses both the digital andphysical submission of documents.
(17)

The payment of the visa fee should be made by using a third-party gateway linked to theonline application platform and the payments would be directly transferred, in their
entirety, to the appropriate Member State. The data required for securing the electronic
payment should not form part of data stored in VIS. In cases where an electronic payment
is not possible, the visa fee should be collected by the consulates or the external service
provider entrusted with this task.

7

Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016
on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen
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(18)

The EU application platform will also contain the an appointment tool, which the Member
State may decide to use to manage appointments at their consulates or the external service
providers. While the use of such tool should remain optional, as it might not be appropriate
across all locations and for all consulates, Member States should nevertheless use local
Schengen cooperation to discuss whether a harmonised approach regarding the use of theappointment tool could be followed in specific third countries or specific locations.

(19)

The system should notify the applicant if information is missing and the system should
provide the applicant with the possibility of correcting the application. The EU application
platform should indicate to the applicant of the admissibility of his/her application via an
automated admissibility pre-check. The pre-check should ensure that the information
provided fulfils the admissibility requirements for the requested visa.

(20)

Where the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member Statefinds that it is responsible to examine the application, it should accept it and the data shouldbe imported into the national system from the temporary storage as established by the VISRegulation and deleted from the temporary storage with the exception of contact data.

(21)

Applicants should be notified informed by electronic means that there is new
information regarding their application or visa. of tThe decision taken by the competent
Member State on their application by electronic means, indicating whether the visa isissued;, refused;, confirmed to a new travel document;, extended;, annulled or revoked, in
accordance with Regulations (EC) No 810/2009 and (EC) No 767/2008. should be madeavailable to the applicant in a secure account service in the EU application platform.
Access to the secure account included in the platform should be protected by technicalmeans, e.g. by means of a multi-factor authentication. The requirements regarding thefunctioning of the secure account, including authentication, should be defined by theCommission in an implementing act.

(22)

In order to reduce security risks related to counterfeited and stolen visa stickers, a visa
should be issued in digital format and no longer as a visa sticker affixed to the travel
document.

(23)

In order to ensure maximum security and prevent counterfeiting or forgery, the notificationof digital visa should be in the form of a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed by theCountry Signing Certificate Authority (CSCA) of the issuing Member State. In case VIS isunavailable or unreachable, checks would rely on a 2D barcode from the signing authority.

(24)

In case the travel document of the visa holder is lost, stolen, or has expired or has been
invalidated and the visa is still valid, the visa holder could apply via the EU application
platform for the confirmation of the visa in a new travel document under the condition thatthe new travel document is of the same type and issued by the same country as the lost,
stolen, or expired or invalidated travel document. The visa holder should appear in person
to the consulate or the external service provider to present the new travel document in orderto verify the authenticity of the new travel document.

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(25)

Data stored in the EU application platform should be safeguarded using privacy-enhancing
implementation measures.

(26)

External service providers should have access to the EU application platform only to retrieve
and review submitted applications; verify the data temporarily stored (for example, scan oftravel document); check and upload the relevant personal data from the chip of thetravel document; collect and upload biometric identifiers; perform quality checks of the
uploaded supporting documents; confirm that an application has been reviewed and thus
making it available to the consulate for further processing; external service providers should
not have access to data stored in VIS.

(27)

It is necessary to determine the date from which operations start, including the digital visa
and the EU application platform. A Member State may, for a period of 5 7 years from thedate of start of operations, decide not to avail itself of the online EU application platform.
Nevertheless, a Member State may notify that it wishes to join the online EU application
platform before the end of the transition period. During the transitional period, if theMember State processing its visa applications decided not to avail itself of the online EU
application platform, visa holders will still be able to verify the digital visas using the webservice of the EU application platform.

(27a) eu-LISA should ensure sufficient capacities and functionalities of the EU visa
application platform in order to enable Member States to join the platform during thetransition period.
The development of the EU Visa application platform by eu-LISA should take into
account the future use of the platform by Member States not yet applying the
Schengen acquis in full. The platform should be set up so as to enable these Member
States to seamlessly connect and smoothly use the platform as soon as a Council
decision in accordance with Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession or Article 4(2) of
the 2005 Act of Accession has been taken. This will concern in particular the storage
capacity of the platform and the interconnection with the national visa information
systems. The competent authorities of the Member States concerned should be fully
associated to the development of the platform from the outset in the same way as theother Member States.
(27b) A Member State not applying the Schengen acquis in full may request eu-LISA to
introduce links through the inclusion of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the EU
application platform pointing to the relevant national application procedure of theMember State concerned.
(28)

The EU application platform should contain a functionality for applicants and otherentities, such as employers or universities or local authorities, to verify their digitalvisas.

(29)

The Member States which do not apply the Schengen acquis in full, and therefore do
not have access to VIS to enter visa applications and store digital visas, should continue
to issue visas in the form of a uniform format (sticker).

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(30)

In order to enable the application of Decision No 565/2014/EU, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus
and Romania should have read-only access of digital visas stored in VIS.

(31)

The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in
the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) should be responsible for the technicaldevelopment and operational management of the EU application platform and its
components, as part of VIS.

(32)

The system architecture of the EU application platform should reuse the existing andupcoming systems that are part of the new framework for interoperability to the full extent
possible, and in particular European Travel Authorisation Information System (ETIAS) and
Entry-Exit System (EES), while respecting the current limitations of technology and thecurrent investments made by Member States in their own national systems.

(32a) The development by eu-LISA of the EU visa application platform and of its
interconnection with the national visa information systems and the operation,
including maintenance, by eu-LISA, of the EU visa application platform should be
financed under the general budget of the Union. Regarding necessary adaptations by
the Member States to the existing national visa information systems, Member States
may use the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa
Policy to finance this category of costs.
(33)

Checking of digital visas at the border should rely on the existing and upcoming EU systemarchitecture for border management and should consist of the visa holder’s information
stored in the VIS. This information should be verified with biometric data by Member States
authorities.

(34)

The format for short-stay visas, as set by Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/958, is also used
for long-stay visas. Therefore, the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 9
should be amended to enable that long-stay visas are also issued in digital format.

(35)

Since the introduction of digital visas would obviate the need for affixing the physicalvisa sticker, the Regulation Council Regulation (EC) No 333/2002 10 setting the uniform
format for forms for affixing the visa issued by Member States to persons holding
travel documents not recognised by the Member State should be modified accordingly.

8

Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format forvisas (OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1).
Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the
Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of
Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common
borders (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 19).
Council Regulation (EC) No 333/2002 of 18 February 2002 on a uniform format for forms
for affixing the visa issued by Member States to persons holding travel documents notrecognised by the Member State drawing up the form (OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 4).

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(36)

Facilitated Transit Documents (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD)
constitute documents having the value of transit visas authorising their holders to enter inorder to pass through the territories of Member States in accordance with the provisions of
the Schengen acquis concerning the crossing of external borders. Facilitated Transit
Documents (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD) are issued in uniform
formats and the application procedure is paper-based. In order to reflect digitalisation
developments, and Council Regulation (EC) No 693/200311 and Council Regulation (EC)No 694/200312, should be amended to enable the issuance in digital format, as well as digitalapplications.

(37)

In order to ensure that the application form and the refusal forms cater for the
possibilities when a visa applicant submitted their application via the EU application
platform or not, the power to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to theCommission to amend the list of information that the EU application platform should
contain and to amend the appropriate standard forms and formats. It is of particularimportance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its
preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted inaccordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April
2016 on Better Law-Making13. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the
preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all
documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts shouldsystematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the
preparation of delegated acts.

(38)

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely, the establishment of the European online
visa application platform and the introduction of a digital visa builds on other initiatives
aiming, on the one hand, at streamlining and harmonising the procedures in the context ofthe common visa policy and, on the other hand, at aligning travel, entry requirements andborder checks within the Schengen Area with the new digital era, the amendments of therelated legislation are only possible at Union level and are part of the Schengen acquis. The
Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in
Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle ofproportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what isnecessary in order to achieve those objectives.

11

Council Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 of 14 April 2003 establishing a specific FacilitatedTransit Document (FTD), a Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD) and amending theCommon Consular Instructions and the Common Manual (OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 8).
Council Regulation (EC) No 694/2003 of 14 April 2003 on uniform formats for FacilitatedTransit Documents (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD) provided for in
Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 (OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 15).
OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.

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(39)

This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Directive 2004/38/EC and of Part
Two of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement.

(40)This Regulation respects fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised inparticular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The introduction of
an EU application platform and of a digital visa will fully respect the right to protection of
personal data, the respect for private and family life, the rights of the child, and theprotection of vulnerable persons All safeguards on fundamental rights included in the Visa
Information System Regulation will remain fully applicable in the context of the future EU
Visa application platform and of the digital visa, in particular regarding to the rights of child.
The platform will have to take into account requirements laid down in the Accessibility
Directive14 to ensure an easy access for people with disabilities.

(41)

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol No 22 on the Position of Denmark
annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of theEuropean Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is notbound by it or subject to its application. Given that this Regulation builds upon the
Schengen acquis, Denmark shall, in accordance with Article 4 of that Protocol, decidewithin a period of six months after the Council has decided on this Regulation whether itwill implement it in its national law.

(42)

This Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis inwhich Ireland does not take part15; Ireland is therefore not taking part in the adoption of thisRegulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(43)

As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisionsof the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of
the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning
the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of
the Schengen acquis16 which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B of Council
Decision 1999/437/EC17.

14

Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October
2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies,(OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1–15).
This Regulation falls outside the scope of the measures provided for in Council Decision
2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland's request to take part in some of theprovisions of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20).
OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36.
Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the applicationof the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of
Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with theimplementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 176, 10.7.1999,
p. 31).

15

16
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(44)

As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the
Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement between the European Union, theEuropean Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association
with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis18 which fallwithin the area referred to in Article 1, point B, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in
conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/146/EC19.

(45)

As regards Liechtenstein, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the
Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European Union, theEuropean Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on theaccession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European
Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's
association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis20
which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in
conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2011/350/EU21.

(46)

As regards Cyprus, and Bulgaria, and Romania, tThis Regulation constitutes an act
building upon, or otherwise relating to, the Schengen acquis within, respectively, themeaning of Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession and Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act ofAccession and Article 4(2) of the 2011 Act of Accession,.

(47)

The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42 ofRegulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council22 and deliveredan opinion on [XX] 21 June 202223.

18

OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 52.
Council Decision 2008/146/EC of 28 January 2008 on the conclusion, on behalf of theEuropean Community, of the Agreement between the European Union, the European
Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association with theimplementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 53, 27.2.2008,p. 1).
OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p. 21.
Council Decision 2011/350/EU of 7 March 2011 on the conclusion, on behalf of theEuropean Union, of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community,
the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the
Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European
Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association with theimplementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, relating to theabolition of checks at internal borders and movement of persons (OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p.
19).
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October
2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by
the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data,
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295,
21.11.2018, p. 39–98).
[OJ C …].

19

20
21

22

23

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009
Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 is amended as follows:(1)

in Article 1(2), the following point (c) is added:“(c) the residence rights enjoyed in the host State by third-country nationals who are family
members of UK nationals who themselves are beneficiaries of the Agreement on thewithdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from theEuropean Union and the European Atomic Energy Community* (‘EU-UK Withdrawal
Agreement’).
__________* Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L
29, 31.1.2020, p. 7).”;(2)

in Article 2 is amended as follows:,(a)point 6 is replaced by the following:“6.

‘digital visa’ means visas issued in digital format in accordance with
Regulation (EC) 1683/95;”;(aa) the following points 10a and 10b are is inserted:“10a. ‘application form’ means the uniform application form set out in Annex I, either
available online via the EU application platform or on paper;”;
10b.
(b)

point (13) is replaced by the following:“13.

7905/23
ANNEX I

‘digital visa’ means visas issued in digital format as a record in VIS;”;‘electronically signed’ means the confirmation of agreement through theticking of an appropriate box in the application form or the request forconsent;”;

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(c)

(3)

points (14) and (15) are inserted:“14.

ʽinformation by electronic means’ means a communication to the applicant
that there is new information regarding the application in the secureaccount;.

15.

‘chatbot’ means a software that simulates human conversation or "chatter"through text or voice interactions.”;in Article 3(5) is amended as follows:,(a)point (b) is replaced by the following:“(b) third-country nationals holding a valid residence permit issued by a Member
State which does not take part in the adoption of this Regulation or by aMember State which does not yet apply the provisions of the Schengen acquis
in full, or third-country nationals holding one of the valid residence permits
listed in Annex V issued by Andorra, Canada, Japan, San Marino, the United
Kingdom or the United States of America guaranteeing the holder’sunconditional readmission, or holding a valid residence permit for one ormore of the overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of theNetherlands (Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius andSaba);”;(b)point (d) is replaced by the following:“(d) family members of citizens of the Union referred to in Article 1(2), point (a),family members of third-country nationals referred to in Article 1(2)point(b), and family members of UK nationals who themselves are beneficiaries of the
EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement referred to in Article 1(2), point (c);”;(4)in Article 5(1), point (b) is replaced by the following:“(b) if the visit includes more than one destination, or if several separate visits are to be
carried out within a period of two months, the Member State whose territory constitutes
the main destination of the visit(s) in terms of the length of stay, counted in days, or
purpose of stay; or”;

(5)

in Article 8, the following paragraph 4a is inserted:“4a. Bilateral representation arrangements shall be displayed in the EU application platformreferred to in Chapter Ia of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.”;7905/23
ANNEX I

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(6)

Article 9 is amended as follows:(a)the following paragraphs 1a and 1b are inserted:“1a. Applicants Without prejudice to Articles 33 and 35, applications shall belodged an application via the EU application platform, as referred to in Chapter
Ia of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.
1b.

By derogation from paragraph 1a, Member States may allow the following
categories of persons may to lodge an application without using the EU
application platform:(a)third-country nationals in individual cases for humanitarian reasons;(aa) third-country nationals in justified individual cases or in cases of force
majeure;(b)(b)

heads of State or government and members of a national government withaccompanying spouses, and the members of their official delegation when
they are invited by Member States’ governments or by internationalorganisations for an official purpose, sovereigns and other senior membersof a royal family, when they are invited by Member States’ governments orby international organisations for an official purpose;.

(c)third-country nationals to whom visas are issued at the external borderin accordance to Chapter VI.”;in paragraph 4 the following point (d) is added:“(d) by another person, duly authorised by the applicant, where when it is lodged
via the EU application platform.”;(7)

Article 10 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:“1.

When lodging an application, applicants shall, where required in accordance with
Article 13, appear in person to provide their fingerprints and facial image.
Applicants shall also appear in person for the verification of their travel document
in accordance with Article 12.”;7905/23
ANNEX I

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(b)

the following paragraphs 1a and 1b are inserted:“1a. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 1b, Member States may,when in
doubt or in cases where there is a high incidence of fraudulent documents ina particular location, Member States may require, on the basis of apreliminary assessment of the application, that the applicant presents a travel
document and/or provides supporting documents, or both. This shall be possible
in exceptional cases and in cases where there is a high incidence of fraudulent
documents in a particular location.
1b.

(c)

paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:“3.

7905/23
ANNEX I

Consulates shall, within local Schengen cooperation, assess the implementation of
the conditions laid down in paragraph 1a, to take account of local circumstances.”;

When lodging the application, the applicant shall:(a)provide data referred to submit an application form as provided for in
Article 11;(b)provide proof of holding the travel document in accordance with Article 12;(c)allow his or her facial image to be taken live in accordance with Article 13
or, where the exemptions referred to in Article 13(7a) apply, present a
photograph in accordance with the standards set out in Regulation (EC) No
1683/95;(d)allow the collection of his or her fingerprints in accordance with Article 13,
where applicable;(e)

pay the visa fee in accordance with Article 16;(f)provide proof of possession of the supporting documents in accordance with
Article 14;(g)where applicable, provide proof of possession of adequate and valid travel
medical insurance in accordance with Article 15.”;

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(8)

Article 11 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:“1.

The Aapplication form shall be submitted and signed electronically via the EU
application platform. In cases referred to in Article 9(1b), the applicants may
submit a manually or electronically completed application form set out in Annex
I.
The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 51a inorder to update the application form as set out in Annex I or submitted via
the EU application platform.
The application form shall be signed. It may be signed electronically. It shallbe signed manually in cases referred to in Article 9(1b). Persons included in
the applicant’s travel document shall submit a separate application form. Minors
shall submit an application form signed by a person exercising permanent or
temporary parental authority or legal guardianship.”;(b)

paragraph 1a and 1b is are deleted;(c)the following paragraph 1c is inserted:“1c. Each applicant shall submit a completed application form including a declarationof the authenticity, completeness, correctness and reliability of the data submitted
and a declaration of the veracity and reliability of the statements made. Eachapplicant shall also state that he or she has understood the conditions for entry
referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 and that he or she may berequested to provide the relevant supporting documents at each entry.”;(9)

Article 12 is replaced by the following:“Article 12
Travel document
1.

7905/23
ANNEX IThe applicant shall provide proof of holding a valid travel document satisfying thefollowing criteria:(a)

its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departurefrom the territory of the Member States or, in the case of several visits, after thelast intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. However,in a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived;(b)

it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years.

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2.

Without prejudice to Article 10(1a) tThe applicant shall only be required to present
the travel document in person in case of a first application with that travel document, or
if the applicant needs to provide biometrics.
The first subparagraph shall not affect the application of Article 10(1a).

3.

Where required under paragraph 2, tThe authenticity, integrity and validity of thetravel documents shall be checked and verified using the appropriate technology.
The Commission shall, by means of an implementing act, adopt the minimum
standards regarding technology, methods and procedures to be used when travel
documents are checked and verified by the consulate or the central authorites orthe external service provider in order to make sure that the travel document
provided or presented is not false, counterfeit or forged. This implementing act
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in
Article 52(2).

4.

Where the application is submitted via the EU application platform, tThe
consulate, or the central authority or the external service provider shall verify that thepresented travel document, which is presented in person in accordance with paragraph2, corresponds to the scanned electronic copy of the biographic data page of thetravel document uploaded by the applicant.
If the verification is done by the external service provider, the external service provider
shall use the external service provider gateway referred to in Article 7e Regulation (EC)No 767/2008.

5.

Where the travel document presented contains a storage medium, the consulate, orthe central authority or the external service provider shall check the authenticity
and integrity of the chip data, read the chip and upload the relevant personal data
limited to the data included in the machine- readable zone and the photograph,electronic certificates and the protocols of the check to the EU application
platform.
The Commission shall, by means of an implementing act, adopt the minimum
standards regarding technology, methods and procedures to be used whenprocessing the chip data. This implementing act shall be adopted in accordancewith the examination procedure referred to in Article 52 (2).

6.

Where the external service provider has doubts about the identity of theapplicant, the authenticity, integrity and validity of the presented travel
document, it shall communicate those doubts to the consulate or the central
authority and send the travel document to the consulate for further verification.

57.

Where the quality of the scanned copy referred to in paragraph 4 is unsatisfactory
or wWhere there are doubts on the electronic copy of the travel document, notably
regarding authenticity its correspondance with the original, the competent consulate
or the external service provider shall take a new scan electronic copy and upload it to
the EU application platform..”;

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(10) in Article 13 is amended as follows:,(a)paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:
“6.

(b)

The biometric identifiers shall be collected by qualified and duly authorised
staff of the authorities competent in accordance with Article 4(1), (2) and (3).
Under the supervision of the consulates or the central authority, thebiometric identifiers may also be collected by qualified and duly authorised
staff of an external service provider as referred to in Article 43. Where there
is any doubt, fingerprints which have been taken by the external service
provider may be verified at the consulate.”;the following paragraph 7c is added:“7c. Where the biometric identifiers are collected by an external service provider inaccordance with Article 43, the external service provider gateway referred to in
Article 7e Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 shall be used for this purpose.”;(11) Article 14 is amended as follows:(a)in paragraph 1, the introductory words are is replaced by the following:“When applying for a uniform visa, the applicant shall provide proof of:

(b)

(a)

proof of documents indicating the purpose of the journey;(b)

proof of documents in relation to accommodation, or proof of sufficientmeans to cover his accommodation;(c)

proof of documents indicating that the applicant possesses sufficient means ofsubsistence both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return tohis country of origin or residence, or for the transit to a third country into
which he is certain to be admitted, or that he is in a position to acquire suchmeans lawfully, in accordance with Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code;(d)information enabling an assessment of the applicant’s intention to leave theterritory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa applied for.”;in paragraph 2, the introductory words are is replaced by the following:“When applying for an airport transit visa, the applicant shall provide proof of:”;7905/23
ANNEX I(a)

proof of documents in relation to the onward journey to the final destination
after the intended airport transit;(b)information enabling as assessment of the applicant’s intention not to enter
the territory of the Member States.”;

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(12) in Article 15(2), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:“In addition, such applicants shall declare, as part of in the application form, that they areaware of the need to be in possession of travel medical insurance for subsequent stays.”;(13) in Article 16(7), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:“For applications submitted via the EU application platform, tThe visa fee shall becharged in euro or in the national currency of the third country or in the currency
usually used in the third country where the application is lodged and shall not be
refundable except in the cases referred to in Article 18(2)(4) and Article 19(3).
The payment tool referred to in Article 7d of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 shall be used.
In cases where an electronic payment is not possible, the visa fee may be collected by the
consulates or the External Service Provider entrusted with this task.
For application not submitted via the EU application platform, wWhen charged in acurrency other than the euro, the amount of the visa fee charged in that currency shall be
determined and regularly reviewed in application of the euro foreign exchange reference rate
set by the European Central Bank. The amount charged may be rounded up and it shall beensured under local Schengen cooperation that similar fees are charged.”;(14) in Article 18 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 2 is deleted;(b)the following paragraphs 3 and 4 are added:“3.

For applications submitted via the EU application platform, fFollowing thenotification by the EU application platform on the automated competence andadmissibility pre-check pursuant to Article 7c(9) of Regulation (EC) No
767/2008, the consulate or the central authorities of the Member State notified by
the system shall verify whether they are competent to examine and decide on it .

4.

In cases If, after the verification referred to in paragraph 3, if the notified
consulates or central authorities of the Member State finds that it is they are
not competent, it they shall, without delay, inform and notify the applicant
through using the secure account service in the EU application platform, andindicateing which Member State or consulate is competent.
If the application is not re-submitted by the applicant to the competent
Member State or consulate The applicant may withdraw the application. If
the application is withdrawn, the application data shall be automaticallydeleted from temporary storage., including biometric data if applicable,
pursuant to Article 7c of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008, within 15 days and thevisa fee shall be refunded.”;7905/23
ANNEX I

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5.

For applications not submitted via the EU application platform, the consulate
or the central authorities shall verify whether they are competent to examineand decide on it in accordance with the provisions of Articles 5 and 6. If they
are not competent, they shall, without delay, return the application form andany documents submitted by the applicant, reimburse the visa fee, delete thecollected biometric data, and indicate which Member State or consulate iscompetent.”;(15) In Article 19, is amended as follows the following paragraph is inserted:(a)the following paragraph 1a is inserted:“1a. For applications submitted via the EU application platform, after the notificationby the EU application platform, on the automated admissibility pre-check Upon
the notification of a positive result of the automated admissibility pre-checkpursuant to Article 7c(9) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008, indicating that theapplication is admissible, the consulate or the central authorities of the Member State
notified by the system shall conduct the checks in paragraph 1 without delay.”;(b)

the following paragraph 2b is inserted:“2b. For applications submitted via the EU application platform, where thecompetent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member
State find that the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 have been fulfilled,
the application shall be admissible and the competent consulate or the central
authorities of the competent Member State shall accept the application.”;(c)the following paragraph 4a is added:“4a. For applications submitted via the EU application platform, the competentconsulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State shall beable to accept an application which has not been lodged within the period
referred to in Article 9(1), notably in justified cases of urgency referred to in
Article 9(3).”;(16) Article 20 is deleted;(17) Article 21 is amended as follows:(a)in paragraph 3, point (a) is replaced by the following“(a) that the travel document provided or presented is not false, counterfeit orforged;”;(b)in paragraph 6, point (a) is replaced by the following“(a) that the travel document provided or presented is not false, counterfeit orforged;”;7905/23
ANNEX I

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(18) Article 24 is amended as follows:(a)in paragraph 1, third subparagraph, the reference to “point (a) of Article 12” is replacedby reference to “Article 12(1), point (a)”;(b)

in paragraph 2 first subparagraph, the introductory words are replaced by the following:“Provided that the applicant fulfils the entry conditions set out in Article 6(1), points(a), (c), (d) and (e), of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, multiple-entry visas with a longvalidity shall be issued for the following validity periods:”;(c)

the following paragraph 2aa is inserted:“2aa. The validity of the multiple-entry visas with a long validity periods shall not be
restricted by the validity of the travel document.”;(d)the following paragraphs are inserted:“4.

As soon as the decision on the issuance of a visa is available, the applicant
shall be informed by electronic means in accordance with Article 7f(1) ofRegulation (EC) No 767/2008.
The decision shall be made available to the applicant in the secure account.
The notification of decision on the issuance of a visa may be made throughother notification means expressed by the applicant and allowed by theMember State.

5.

For applications not submitted via the EU application platform, the issuanceof a visa shall be notified to applicants by authorities of the issuing Member
State.”;(19) in Article 25, the following paragraph 6 is added:“6.

7905/23
ANNEX I

Issuing a visa in digital format shall not affect the competence of Member States inrelation to the recognition of travel documents. This includes those travel documentsthat are not recognised by one or more, but not all Member States.”;

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(20) the following Article 26a is inserted:“Article 26a
Digital visas
Visas shall be issued in digital format as record in VIS in accordance with Regulation(EC) 1683/95, including. Digital visas shall be a record in the VIS and shall have a uniquevisa number. ”;(20a) Article 27 is replaced by the following:“Article 27
Filling in the data fields of the digital visa
1.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt the rules for filling in
the data fields of the digital visa laid down in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No
1683/95. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 52(2).

2.

Member States may add national entries in the ‘comments’ section of the visa, in
accordance with Article 10(1), point (n), of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008. Thoseentries shall not duplicate the mandatory entries established in accordance withthe procedure referred to in paragraph 1.”;(20b) Article 28 is replaced by the following:“Article 28
Invalidation of a completed visa sticker
If an error is detected on a visa sticker for a visa not issued in digital format, the visa
sticker shall be invalidated by drawing a cross with indelible ink on the visa sticker anda digital visa with the correct data shall be issued.”;7905/23
ANNEX I

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(21)

Article 32 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:“2.

For applications submitted via the EU application platform, information
regarding decisions on refusal and the reasons on which it is based shall be
notified to the applicant by secure electronic means in accordance with
Article 7f(1) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008. The notification will containthe same information as set out in Annex VI, in the language of the Member
State that has taken the final decision on the application and another official
language of the Union.
Member States may add additional documents to the standard notification,
justifying the refusal.
For applications not submitted via the EU application platform in cases
referred to in Article 9(1b), a decision on refusal and the reasons on which it
is based shall be notified to the applicant by means of the standard form set
out in Annex VI in the language of the Member State that has taken the final
decision on the application and another official language of the Union.
The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 51a inorder to amend the refusal form, as set out in Annex VI or as a notification as
referred to in Chapter Ia of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.
A decision on refusal and the reasons on which it is based, as set out in Annex
VI, shall be made available to the applicant in the secure account. The refusal
decision shall be in the language of the Member State that has taken the final
decision on the application and another official language of the Union.
Member States may add additional documents that justify the refusal
decision.
As soon as the refusal decision is available in the secure account, theapplicant shall be informed by electronic means in accordance with Article
7f(1) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008. Where an applicant is represented byanother person, a message confirming that the decision has been issued and isavailable in the EU platform is sent to each of them.
The time limit for lodging an appeal under national law against the decision
shall begin from the moment the applicant accesses the decision in the secureaccount. It shall be counted according to the time zone of the applicant’s
residence as indicated in the application form.

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ANNEX I

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The decision shall be deemed to have been accessed by the applicant on theeighth day following the notice of availability of the decision in theapplicant’s secure account.
The date of actual or presumed notification of the decision is indicated in the
EU platform. In case of a presumed notification the applicant shall
automatically be informed accordingly by electronic means.
If the secure account cannot be used for technical reasons, applicants may
contact the competent consulate or the central authority or the external
service provider.
The notification of decisions referred to in paragraph 2 may be madethrough other notification means expressed by the applicant and allowed by
the Member State.
For applications not submitted via the EU application platform in cases
referred to in Articles 9(1b) and 35, a decision on refusal and the reasons on
which it is based shall be notified to the applicant by means of the standard
form set out in Annex VI in the language of the Member State that has taken
the final decision on the application and another official language of theUnion.”;(b)in paragraph 3, the third sentence is replaced by the following:“Member States shall provide applicants with information regarding the procedure to befollowed in the event of an appeal, as specified as specified in Annex VI or in therefusal notification sent via the EU application platform.”;(22) the following Article 32a is inserted:“Article 32a
Confirmation of a valid visa in a new travel document
1.

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ANNEX I

Visa holders whose travel document has been lost, stolen, or has expired or has been
invalidated and whose visa is still valid may shall apply for the confirmation of thevisa linked to a new travel document, if they wish to continue using the visa. The new
travel document shall be of the same type and issued by the same country as thelost, stolen, expired or invalidated travel document. The visa shall be confirmed by
the authority which issued the visa or by another authority of the same Member
State as communicated by the Member State which issued the visa.

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2.

The visa holders referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply for confirmation of the visa in a
new travel document via the EU application platform referred to in Chapter Ia ofRegulation (EC) No 767/2008. They shall provide the following personal data:(a)surname, surname at birth, first name, datea and place of birth, sex,
nationality;(b)

number of the visa;(c)data of the lost, stolen, or expired or invalidated travel document;(d)data of the new travel document;(e)scan electronic copy of the biodatagraphic data page;(f)

proof of loss or theft of the travel document or expiry;.

(g)where applicable, identity changes since previous visa issuance.

3.

The visa holder shall pay the visa confirmation fee of EUR 30. The fee shallcorrespond to half of the amount referred to in Article 16(1).

4.

The visa holder shall be required to appear in person as communicated by theMember State. for the presentation of the new travel document in order to verify
that this travel document corresponds to the scanned copy uploaded via the EU
application platform, and that bearer of the travel document corresponds to theperson for whom a visa was issued.

5.

The new travel document shall fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 12 and shallbe verified in accordance with that article.

5a.

Without prejudice to the respective consultation rights, the competent consulate orcentral authorities of the competent Member State may consult the databases
mentioned in art. 9a(3) of Regulation (EC) 767/2008 when a confirmation of visa isrequested.

6.

Where the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State
determines that the valid visa can be confirmed in a new travel document, it shall enter
the data in the application file in VIS pursuant to in accordance with Article 12a ofRegulation (EC) No 767/2008.

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7.

The fact that a visa is confirmed in a new travel document shall be notified to theapplicant As soon as a decision on the confirmation of a visa in a new travel
document has been made available in the secure account, the visa holder shall be
informed by secure electronic means in accordance with Article 7f of Regulation (EC)No 767/2008.
The confirmation of a visa in a new travel document shall be made available to theapplicant in the secure account. That confirmation shall be attested by aconfirmation number.

8.

9.

Where the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member Statecannot determine whether the valid visa can be confirmed in a new travel document,
notably because of doubts regarding the identity of the visa holder, it shall:(a)refuse the confirmation; and(b)revoke the valid visa, in accordance with Article 34.

The procedure negative decision regarding the confirmation of a valid visa in a new
travel document shall not preclude the visa holder to submit from submitting a new
visa application.”;(23) Article 33 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:“2.

The period of validity and/or the duration of stay of an issued visa may be
extended if the visa holder provides proof of serious personal reasonsjustifying the extension of the period of validity or the duration of stay. A fee
shall be charged for such an extension. The fee shall correspond to half of theamount referred to in Article 16(1).”;(aa) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:“6.

7905/23
ANNEX I

Member States may allow Vvisa holders may to apply for extension online via
the EU application platform. In this case, visa holders They shall provide thefollowing:

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(a) personal data,(b) the number of the visa and the travel document,(c) upload an electronic copy of the supporting documents proving force
majeure, humanitarian reasons and/or serious personal reasons preventing
which prevent them from leaving the territory of the Member States before
the expiry of the period of validity or of the duration of stay authorisedby the visa.
, andThose visa holders shall pay the fee of EUR 30 only in case of serious
personal reasons referred to in paragraph 2. The fee shall correspond to half of
the amount referred to in Article 16(1).”;(b)

the following paragraph 8 is added:“8.

When As soon as the decision on the extension of the visa a visa is extended
pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 7 of this Article requested via the EU application
platform, the extension shall be has been made available in the secure accountnotified to the applicant, the visa holder shall be informed by secure
electronic means in accordance with Article 7f of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.
The decision whether a visa is extended shall be made available to the visa
holder in the secure account. Member States may add additional documentsthat justify the decision.”;(24) Article 34 is amended as follows:(a)7905/23
ANNEX I

paragraphs 5 and 6 are replaced by the following:“5.

If a visa not issued in digital format is annulled or revoked, a stamp stating‘ANNULLED’ or ‘REVOKED’ shall be affixed to it and the optically variablefeature of the visa sticker, the security feature ‘latent image effect’ as well as theterm ‘visa’ shall be invalidated by being crossed out.

6.

A decision on annulment or revocation of a visa and the reasons on which it isbased shall be issued in digital format by entering the data into the VIS, pursuant
to in accordance with Article 132 of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008., andnotified to the applicant by secure electronic means in accordance with
Article 7f of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 or by means of the standard form
set out in Annex VI for applications not submitted via the EU application
platform. The notification shall contain the information set out in Annex VI.

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A decision on annulment or revocation and the reasons on which it is based,
as set out in Annex VI, shall be made available to the visa holder in the
secure account. The annulment or revocation decision shall be in thelanguage of the Member State that has taken the final decision on theapplication and another official language of the Union. Member States may
add additional documents that justify the decision.
As soon as the decision on the annulment or revocation is available in the
secure account, the visa holder shall be informed by electronic means inaccordance with Article 7f(1) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008. Where a visa
holder is represented by another person, a message confirming that thedecision has been issued and is available in the EU platform is sent to each ofthem.
The time limit for lodging an appeal under national law against the decision
shall begin from the moment the visa holder accesses to the decision in the
secure account. It shall be counted according to the time zone of the visa
holder’s residence as indicated in the application form.
The decision shall be deemed to have been accessed by the visa holder on theeighth day following the notice of availability of the decision in the visa
holder’s secure account.
The date of actual or presumed notification of the decision is indicated in the
EU platform. In case of a presumed notification the visa holder shall
automatically be informed accordingly by electronic means.
If the secure account cannot be used for technical reasons, the visa holder
may contact the competent consulate or the central authority or the external
service provider.
The notification of decisions referred to in paragraph 6 may be madethrough other notification means expressed by the visa holder and allowed by
the Member State.
For applications not submitted via the EU application platform, a decision on
annulment or revocation of a visa and the reasons on which it is based shallbe notified to the visa holder by means of the standard form set out in Annex
VI in the language of the Member State that has taken the final decision on
the application and another official language of the Union.”;(b)

in paragraph 7, the third sentence is replaced by the following:‘Member States shall provide visa holders with information regarding the procedure to
be followed in the event of an appeal, as set out in Annex VI or in the notification sent
via the EU application platform.’;

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(24a) In Article 35, the following paragraph is added:“8.

Member States may allow third-country nationals to apply for a visa at theexternal border via the EU application platform. The decision on the visa
application requested via the EU application platform, shall be notified to theapplicant by electronic means through the secure account of the EU application
platform. As soon as the decision on the visa application is available in the secureaccount, the visa applicant shall be informed by electronic means in accordancewith Article 7f of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.”;(25) Article 37 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 2 is replaced by the following deleted;:
“2.

(b)

For Member States which do not issue visas in digital format, Tthe storage
and handling of visa stickers shall be subject to adequate security measures
to avoid fraud or loss. Each consulate shall keep an account of its stock ofvisa stickers and register how each visa sticker has been used. Any significant
loss of blank visa stickers shall be reported to the Commission.”;in paragraph 3, the first sentence is replaced by the following:“As a general rule, cConsulates or central authorities shall keep archives ofapplications in electronic format. ”;(26) Article 38 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 1a is replaced by the following:“Member States shall ensure that the entire visa procedure in consulates, including thelodging and handling of applications and the practical cooperation with external service
providers, is monitored by expatriate staff to ensure the integrity of all stages of theprocedure.”;(b)

the following paragraph 3c is inserted:“3c. Based on training materials developed by eu-LISA or the Commission,
Member States’ central authorities shall provide appropriate training to each of
their staff and external service providers regarding the EU application
platform.”;

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(26a) In Article 40, paragraph 2 point (a) is replaced by the following:“(a) equip their consulates and authorities responsible for issuing visas at the borders
with the requisite material for the collection of biometric identifiers;”;(27) Article 42 is deleted.
(28) Article 43 is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“4.

(b)

The examination of applications, interviews, (where appropriate), and thedecision on applications shall be carried out only by the consulate or the central
authorities.”;in paragraph 5, the following second subparagraph is added:“By way of derogation, only duly authorised staff of external service providers may
have access to the EU application platform via the external service provider gateway
referred to in Article 7e of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008, and only to:

(c)

(a)

verify the data uploaded by the applicant;(b)

upload biometric identifiers;(c)

upload copies of the supporting documents;(d)

use the appointment tool to indicate available slots.”;

paragraph 6 is amended as follows:(1)

point (c) is replaced by the following:“(c) collecting data and, if applicable, applications (including collection of
biometric identifiers and, in the exceptional cases referred to in Article
10(1a), supporting documents and documents needed for identity checks),transmitting them to the consulate or the central authorities whereapplicable, and uploading them to the EU application platform;”;

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(2)

the following points (ca) is are inserted:“(ca)verifying the travel document against the copy uploaded by the applicant;(caa) verifying that the holder of the travel document corresponds to theperson for whom a visa application is processed, in cases where Article
12, paragraph 2 applies;”;(29) in Article 44 is amended as follows:,(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
“1.

(b)

In the case of cooperation among Member States and cooperation with an
external service provider, the Member State(s) concerned shall ensure thatdata are fully encrypted, whether transferred electronically or physically onan electronic storage medium.”;the following paragraph 1a is inserted :“1a. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the access that external service providers may haveto the EU application platform via the external service provider gateway referred
to in Article 7e of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.”;(30) in Article 47 is amended as follows:,(a)point (e) of paragraph 1 is deleted;(b)the following paragraph 3 is added:“3.

The EU application platform shall provide the general public with all relevant
information in relation to the application for a visa via the EU application
platform, in particular the information referred to in Article 7a of Regulation (EC)No 767/2008.”;(31) in Article 51a(2), (3) and (6) the reference to “Article 16(9)” is replaced by reference to“Article 11(1), Article 16(9) and Article 32(2)”;(32) in Article 53(1), point (f) is replaced by the following:“(f) for Member States which do not issue visas in digital format, the additional
national entries in the ‘comments’ section of the visa sticker, as referred to in
Article 27(2);”;7905/23
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(32a) Annex I is replaced by the following:
Annex I
Harmonised application form
Application for Schengen Visa
This application form is free

24

Family members of EU, EEA or CH citizens or of UK nationals who are Withdrawal
Agreement beneficiaries shall not fill in fields no. 21, 22, 30, 31 and 32 (marked with*).
Fields 1-3 shall be filled in in accordance with the data in the travel document.
1. Surname (Family name):

FOR OFFICIAL USE
ONLY

2. Surname at birth (Former family name(s)):
Date ofapplication:

3. First name(s) (Given name(s)):

Application
number:
4. Date of birth(day-month-year):

5. Place of birth:

7.Current
nationality:

Application lodgedat:Nationality atbirth, ifdifferent:□
Embassy/consulate

6. Country of birth:□ Service provider
Othernationalities:□ Commercial
intermediary

8. Sex:9. Civil status:□ Male □ Female□ Single □ Married □ Registered Partnership ……………………
□ Separated □ Divorced □ Widow(er) □ Other ……………………

24□ Border (Name):

No logo is required for Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

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(please specify):□ Other:

10. Parental authority (in case of minors) /legal guardian (surname, first
name, address, if different from applicant’s, telephone no., e-mailaddress, and nationality):

File handled by:

11. National identity number, where applicable:

Supporting
documents:

12. Type of travel document:□ Travel document□ Ordinary passport □ Diplomatic passport □ Service passport□ Official passport □ Special passport□ Means ofsubsistence□ Other travel document (please specify):□ Invitation
13. Number oftraveldocument:

14. Date of issue:

15. Valid until:

16. Issued by(country):□ Means oftransport

17. Personal data of the family member who is an EU, EEA or CH
citizen or a UK national who is a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, if
applicable
Surname (Family name):
Date of birth(day-month-year):□ TMIFirst name(s) (Given name(s)):
Nationality:

Number of travel
document or ID
card:□ Other:
Visa decision:□ Refused□ Issued:□A

18. Family relationship with an EU, EEA or CH citizen or a UK
national who is a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary,if applicable:□C□ spouse □ child □ grandchild □ dependent ascendant□ Registered Partnership □ other:
19. Applicant's home address and e-mail address:□ LTV
Telephone no.: □ Valid:

20. Residence in a country other than the country of current nationality:

From:

□ No
□ Yes. Residence permit or equivalent ………………… No.

Until:

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…………………….. Valid until……………
*21. Current occupation:

Number of entries:* 22. Employer and employer’s address and telephone number. For□ 1 □ 2 □ Multiple

students, name and address of educational establishment:
Number of days:
23. Purpose(s) of the journey:□ Tourism □ Business □ Visiting family or friends □ Cultural □ Sports□ Official visit □ Medical reasons □ Study □ Airport transit □ Other(please specify):
24. Additional information on purpose of stay:
25. Member State of main destination 26. Member State of first entry:(and other Member States ofdestination, if applicable):
27. Number of entries requested:□ Single entry □ Two entries □ Multiple entries
Intended date of arrival of the first intended stay in the Schengen area:
Intended date of departure from the Schengen area after the firstintended stay:
28. Fingerprints collected previously for the purpose of applying for a
Schengen visa: □ No □ Yes.
Date, if known …………………….. Visa number, if known…………………………………………………………
29. Entry permit for the final country of destination, where applicable:
Issued by ………………………………..Valid from……………………until ……………………
*30. Surname and first name of the inviting person(s) in theMember State(s). If not applicable, name of hotel(s) or temporary
accommodation(s) in the Member State(s):7905/23
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Address and e-mail address ofinviting
person(s)/hotel(s)/temporary
accommodation(s):Telephone no.:*31. Name and address of inviting company/organisation:

Surname, first name, address,
telephone no., and e-mail address ofcontact person incompany/organisation:

Telephone no. ofcompany/organisation:*32. Cost of travelling and living during the applicant’s stay is covered:□ by the applicant himself/herself
Means of support:□ Cash□ by a sponsor (host,company, organisation),
please specify:…….□ referred to in field 30
or 31 …….□ other (please
specify):□ Traveller’s chequesMeans of support:□ Credit card
□ Cash□ Pre-paid accommodation□ Accommodation provided□ Pre-paid transport□ Other (please specify):□ All expenses covered
during the stay
□ Pre-paid transport□ Other (please specify):

33. Surname and first name of the person filling in the application form,
if different from the applicant:Address and e-mail address of theperson filling in the application form:

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ANNEX I

Telephone no.:

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I am aware that the visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused.
Applicable in case a multiple-entry visa is issued:
I am aware of the need to have an adequate travel medical insurance for my first stay and any
subsequent visits to the territory of Member States.
I am aware of and consent to the following: the collection of the data required by thisapplication form and the taking of my photograph and, if applicable, the taking of
fingerprints, are mandatory for the examination of the application; and any personal data
concerning me which appear on the application form, as well as my fingerprints and myphotograph will be supplied to the relevant authorities of the Member States and processedby those authorities, for the purposes of a decision on my application.
Such data as well as data concerning the decision taken on my application or a decision
whether to annul, revoke or extend a visa issued will be entered into, and stored in the Visa
Information System (VIS) for a maximum period of five years, during which it will beaccessible to the visa authorities and the authorities competent for carrying out checks on
visas at external borders and within the Member States, immigration and asylum authorities
in the Member States for the purposes of verifying whether the conditions for the legal entry
into, stay and residence on the territory of the Member States are fulfilled, of identifying
persons who do not or who no longer fulfil these conditions, of examining an asylum
application and of determining responsibility for such examination. Under certain conditions
the data will be also available to designated authorities of the Member States and to Europol
for the purpose of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of otherserious criminal offences. The authority of the Member State responsible for processing thedata is:[(………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………..…)].

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I am aware that I have the right to obtain, in any of the Member States, notification of thedata relating to me recorded in the VIS and of the Member State which transmitted the data,
and to request that data relating to me which are inaccurate be corrected and that data
relating to me processed unlawfully be deleted. At my express request, the authority
examining my application will inform me of the manner in which I may exercise my right tocheck the personal data concerning me and have them corrected or deleted, including therelated remedies according to the national law of the Member State concerned. The national
supervisory authority of that Member State [contact details:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………..] will hear claims concerning the protection of personaldata.
I declare that to the best of my knowledge all particulars supplied by me are correct andcomplete. I am aware that any false statements will lead to my application being rejected or to
the annulment of a visa already granted and may also render me liable to prosecution under
the law of the Member State which deals with the application.
I undertake to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa, if
granted. I have been informed that possession of a visa is only one of the prerequisites forentry into the European territory of the Member States. The mere fact that a visa has been
granted to me does not mean that I will be entitled to compensation if I fail to comply with therelevant provisions of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) No 2016/399 (Schengen Borders Code)and I am therefore refused entry. The prerequisites for entry will be checked again on entry
into the European territory of the Member States.
Place and date:7905/23
ANNEX I

Signature of applicant:(signature of parental authority/legal
guardian, if applicable):

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(33) Annex III is deleted.
(34) Annex V is amended as follows:
UNITED KINGDOMUK Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) (for citizens from non-EU countries);

Article 2
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 767/2008
Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 is amended as follows:(1)

Article 2a is amended as follows:(a)paragraph 1 is amended as follows:(1)

the following point is inserted:“(fa) EU application platform;”;(2)

the following subparagraph is added:“The EU application platform shall share and re-use as much as technicallypossible the hardware and software components of the EES web service and the
ETIAS website and the app for mobile devices.”;
The EU application platform shall be developed so as to enable the Member
States not yet fully applying the Schengen acquis to seamlessly connect andsmoothly use the platform as soon as a Council decision in accordance with
Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession or Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act ofAccession has been taken.”;(b)

the following paragraph 6 is added:“6.

7905/23
ANNEX IThe EU application platform shall consist of the following components:(a)a public website and an app for mobile devices;(b)

temporary storage capacity;(c)a secure account service;(d)a verification tool for applicants;(e)web-service for visa holders

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(f)

an email service;(g)a payment tool;(h)an appointment tool;(i)an external service provider gateway;(j)a configuration module that shall cater for eu-LISA, central authorities andconsulates;(k)a software to generate and read encrypted 2D barcode;(l)a secure web service enabling the components of the EU application
platform to communicate;(m) a helpdesk function to be managed by eu-LISA;(c)read-only copy of VIS database.;(o)a functionality allowing the applicant to print documents;(p)a visa chatbot;(q)a secured communication infrastructure for MS to access theplatform.”;the following paragraph 7 is added:
“7.

(2)

(n)

A Member State not applying the Schengen acquis in full may request the
Agency to introduce links through the inclusion of a Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) in the website referred to in paragraph 6 point (a) pointing to
the relevant national application procedure of the Member State
concerned.”;in Article 4 is amended as follows,:(a)point 2 is replaced by the following:“2.

‘digital visa’ means the visa issued in digital format referred to in Article 26a ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009 in accordance with Regulation (EC) 1683/95;”;(b)point 15 is added:“15. ‘read-only copy of VIS database’ means a subset of data from the VIS
relevant for the purpose of this Regulation with exception of biometricdata.”;

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(3)

the following Chapter Ia is inserted:“CHAPTER Ia
EU ONLINE VISA APPLICATION PLATFORM
Article 7a
General public information on the EU-application platform
1.

The EU Online Visa Application Platform (‘EU Application Platform’) shall provide
general information to the public as referred to in Article 47 of Regulation (EC) No
810/2009.
The Commission and the Member States shall be responsible for providing theinformation, in accordance with their respective responsibilities set out in paragraphs 2
to 4 of this Article.

2.

7905/23
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eu-LISA shall be responsible for publishing and updating the following general public
information on the EU-application platform, upon receiving the following informationfrom the Commission or the Member States:(a)the visa requirements, including visa lists, visa waiver agreements; including for
diplomatic and service passports, and including cases of possible suspension ofvisa-free travel, under Articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 andAnnexes I and the II thereto, as well as information pursuant to Directive
2004/38/EC, an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the
one hand, and third countries, on the other, that provides the right of freemovement equivalent to that of Union citizens and EU-UK Withdrawal
Agreement;(b)the amount of the visa fees referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No
810/2009; reduced or higher fees in case of visa facilitation agreement, or areadmission-related measure stemming from Article 25a of that Regulation, as
well as Directive 2004/38/EC, an agreement between the Union and its
Member States, on the one hand, and third countries, on the other, thatprovides the right of free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens andthe EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement;(c)where applicable, harmonised lists of supporting documents, established inaccordance with Article 14(5a) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009;

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(d)

where applicable, travel medical insurance requirements, in accordance with
Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009.
In case a Member State provides the information, eu-LISA shall configure the EU
application platform upon confirmation of this information from the Commission.

3.

4.

5.

The central visa authorities shall be responsible for inputting the following elements:(a)locations of consulates and their territorial competence referred to in Article 6 ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009;(b)

representation agreements or arrangements referred to in Article 8 of Regulation(EC) No 810/2009;(c)use of external service providers and their locations referred to in Article 43 ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009;(d)supporting documents referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009,
as well as those applicable pursuant to Directive 2004/38/EC and the EU-UK
Withdrawal Agreement;(e)optional visa waivers referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806;(f)

optional visa fee waivers referred to in Article 16(5) Regulation (EC) No
810/2009.

The consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State shall be
responsible for inputting the following elements:(a)contact details and access rights of external service providers including for theappointment tool;(b)

appointment tool, including available slots;.

(c)number of applications accepted per week/month.

The EU application platform shall include a visa chatbot. The chatbot will provide
answers to applicants on the application procedure.
The Commission shall, by means of an implementing act, define the requirements
concerning the chatbot included in the platform. That implementing act shall be
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).

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Article 7b
Online aApplication form
1.

Without prejudice to Article 9(1b) of Regulation (EC) 810/2009, Eeach applicant
shall submit an completed online application referred to in Article 11 of that
Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, using the EU application platform.

2.

Without prejudice to Article 7ba, the applicant shall provide the following personal
data in the application form as set out in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 810/2009.:(1)

surname(s) (family name);(2)

surname at birth (former family name(s));(3)

first name(s) (given name(s));(4)

date of birth (day-month-year);(5)

place of birth;(6)

country of birth;(7)

current nationality; nationalities at birth, if different; other nationalities;

(8)

sex;

(9)

civil status;(10) parental authority (in case of minors) /legal guardian (surname, first name,address, if different from the applicant’s, telephone number, e-mail address,
and nationality);(11) national identity number, where applicable;(12) type of travel document;(13) number of the travel document;(14) date of issue;

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(15) valid until;(16) issued by (country);(17) personal data of the family member who is a mobile e EU, EEA or CH citizen
or who is a UK national beneficiary of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement in
the host State for which the visa application is made, if applicable: surname(family name), first name(s) (given name(s)), date of birth, nationality,
number of travel document or ID card;(18) Family relationship with a mobile EU, EEA or CH citizen or with a UK
national who is a beneficiary of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement in thehost State for which the visa application is made, if applicable(19) Applicant’s home address and email address, telephone number;(20) residence in a country other than the country of current nationality;(21) current occupation;(22) employer and employer’s address and telephone number: for students nameand address of educational establishment;(23) purpose(s) of the journey;(24) additional information on purpose of stay;(25) Member State of main destination (and other Member States of destination,
if applicable);(26) Member State of first entry;(27) number of entries requested; intended date of arrival of the first intended
stay in the Schengen area; Intended date of departure from the Schengenarea after the first intended stay;(28) fingerprints collected previously for the purpose of applying for a Schengenvisa; date (if known); visa number, if known;(29) entry permit for the final country of destination, where applicable;(30) surname and first name of the inviting person(s) in the Member State(s). If
not applicable, name of hotel(s) or temporary accommodation(s) in theMember State(s);7905/23
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(31) name and address of inviting company/organisation(32) how the cost of travelling and living during the applicant’s stay is covered;
The applicant shall also provide an email address.
All such data shall be recorded and stored in temporary storage capacity in line with thedata retention periods defined in Article 7c.
3.

The EU application platform shall also contain a secure account service. The secureaccount service shall have the possibility for the applicant to keep the data provided for
subsequent applications, but only if the applicant freely and explicitly consents to suchstorage.
The secure account service shall contain the possibility for the applicant to submit
application in several steps. The Commission shall adopt delegated implementing acts
in accordance with Article 48a in order to define the requirements of the secure accountservice, including the modalities of access and authentication, the retention period fordata stored therein and for uncompleted applications or applications which do not pass
the competence and admissibility check.

4.

The data alphabetic characters referred to in paragraph 2, entered by the applicant,shall be introduced by the applicant in Latin alphabet characters.

5.

On submission of the online application form, the EU application platform shall collectthe IP address from which the application form was submitted and add it as part of dataof the application.

6.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, define the content of asimplified application forms for confirmation of valid visas in a new travel document, as
referred to in Article 32a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, and for extension of visas,
as referred to in Article 33 of that Regulation, using the EU application platform. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedurereferred to in Article 49(2).

7.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, define the requirements
concerning the format of the personal data referred to in paragraphs 2 and 5 of this
Article to be inserted in the application form as well as parameters and verifications to
be implemented for ensuring the completeness of the application and the coherence of
those data. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).

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Article 7ba
Specific provisions on the use of the EU application platform by family members of Union
citizens or of other third-country nationals enjoying the right of free movement under
Union law or of UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement
1.

A third-country national who is a family member of a Union citizen to whom Directive
2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national enjoying the right of free movement
equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Union and its
Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, may lodge anapplication for a visa, without using the EU application platform and be entitled tolodge the application in person at the consulate or at the external service providers
premises, at their choice.

2.

Where a third-country national who is a family member of a Union citizen to whom
Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national enjoying the right of freemovement equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Unionand its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, applies for avisa using the EU application platform, the application process shall be carried out inaccordance with Directive 2004/38/EC or with an agreement between the Union andits Member States, on the one hand, and a third country on the other, thatprovides the right of free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens.

3.

In particular, the EU application platform shall be designed so as to ensure that thefollowing specific rules shall apply:

7905/23
ANNEX I(a)the visa fee shall be waived;(b)in the visa application form, the applicant shall not provide the following personal
data:
(a)

Current occupation(b)

Employer and employer’s address and telephone number: for students nameand address of educational establishment(c)

Surname and first name of the inviting person(s) in the Member State(s). If
not applicable, name of hotel(s) or temporary accommodation(s) in theMember State(s)(d)

Name and address of inviting company/organisation(e)

Means of how the cost of travelling and living during the applicant’s stay iscovered.

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(c)

the applicant should be able to submit documents establishing that he/she is amember of the family of a Union citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies
or of a third-country national enjoying the right of free movement equivalent tothat of Union citizens under an agreement between the Union and its Member
States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other. The applicant should not
be requested to submit supporting documents referred to under Article 14 ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009 nor proof of possession of adequate and valid travel
medical insurance in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009
should not be requested.

(d)by way of derogation from Article 7c(8), the automated admissibility pre-checkshall only verify whether:

(e)

(a)

all the required fields of the application form are filled in;(b)

proof of holding a valid passport in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC,
or with an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the
one hand, and a third country, on the other, that provides the right offree movement equivalent to that of Union citizens, is provided;(c)the biometric data of the applicant have been collected, if applicable.

where a visa is issued, in the notification laid down in Article 7f, the applicant
shall receive a reminder that the family member of a citizen exercising the right offree movement who is in possession of a visa only has a right to enter if thatfamily member is accompanied by or joining the Union citizen or other thirdcountry national exercising his or her right of free movement.

4.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 also apply where a third-country national who is a family member ofa Union citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national
enjoying the right of free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under anagreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third
country, on the other, requires a visa extension or a confirmation of the visa in a new
travel document. The visa extension fee and the visa confirmation fee shall be waived.

5.

Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to family members of UK nationals whothemselves are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement in the host State forwhich the visa application is made.

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Article 7c
Application process using the EU application platform
1.

Upon submission of the application form pursuant to Article 7b, the EU application
platform shall determine the type of visa applied for, and conduct an automatedcompetence pre-check to automatically pre-determine the competent Member State on
the basis of the data provided by the applicant on the basis of the number of days
and Member State of first entry, provided by the applicant. The applicant may
indicate that his/her application be dealt by another Member State according to
the main purpose of stay. This shall not preclude the manual verification of thecompetence by the Member States in accordance with Article 18(3) of Regulation (EC)No 810/2009.
The EU application platform shall be designed in such a way to allow applicants toindicate whether they are legally present, but not residing in a jurisdiction, as referred toin Article 6 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009

2.

Applicants shall be able to use the EU application platform to submit a scannedelectronic copy of the travel document in electronic format, as well as supporting
documents and proof of travel medical insurance in digital format, as applicable,
pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 or Directive 2004/38/EC or an agreement
between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country,
on the other, that provides the right of free movement equivalent to that of Union
citizens.

3.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, define the technicalrequirements concerning the format of supporting documents, travel medical insurance
and copy of travel document in electronic format. Those implementing acts shall be
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).

4.

If necessary applicable, the applicant shall be able to use the EU application platform
to pay the visa fee using the payment tool referred to in Article 7d.

5.

The EU application platform shall be able to check in the read-only copy of VIS
whether the applicant’s biometrics were taken in the last 59 months and whether theapplicant has already applied with the same travel document:
Where this is the case, the EU application platform shall notify the applicant that novisit to consulate or external service provider is required to lodge the application;
Where this is not the case, the EU application platform shall notify the applicant toarrange a visit to consulate or external service provider, as required, to lodge theapplication.

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6.

If a visit to consulate or external service provider is necessary in accordance with
Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, a Member State may decide to use the appointment toolreferred to in Article 7d for this purpose.

7.

The applicant shall submit the application, including declaration of the authenticity,
completeness, correctness and reliability of data.

8.

After the applicant submits the application via the EU application platform, the EU
application platform shall perform an automated admissibility pre-check.
The automated admissibility pre-check shall automatically verify whether:

9.

(a)

the application has been lodged within the period referred to in Article 9(1), if
applicable;(b)

all the required fields of the application form are filled in;(c)proof of holding a travel document in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation(EC) No 810/2009 is provided;(d)the biometric data of the applicant have been collected, if applicable;(e)the visa fee has been collected, if applicable;

If according to the automated admissibility pre-check the application is admissible, theEU application platform shall send a notification to the consulate or the central
authorities of the Member State with the combined result of the automated competence
and admissibility pre-check.
If according to the automated admissibility pre-check the application is not admissible,
the EU application platform shall send a notification to the applicant and notify whichpart of the application file is missing.
The application platform shall be designed so as to ensure that Article 19 paragraphs (4)and (4a) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 can apply, in order to allow applications to beconsidered admissible.

10.

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Following the notification referred to in paragraph 9, the consulate or the central
authorities of the Member State shall perform a manual verification of the competence,in accordance with Article 18(3) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, and subsequently ifneeded, a manual verification of admissibility in accordance with Article 19. of that
Regulation.

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11.

If the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State
accept the application submitted via the EU application platform the data shall betransferred to the national system from temporary storage. The data shall be
immediately deleted from temporary storage, with the exception of contact data linked
to the secure account service.

12.

If the applicant withdraws the application following the automated competence
and admissibility pre-check, the data shall be immediately deleted from temporarystorage, with the exception of contact data linked to the secure account service,
after the verification, the notified consulate or central authorities of the Member
State find that they are not competent and the application is not re-submitted tothe competent consulate or central authorities, Article18(4) of Regulation (EC)810/2009 will apply.

13.

The competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State may
use the secure account service to communicate with the applicants.
Article 7d
Payment tool and appointment tool

1.

A payment tool shall be used to pay the visa fee to the competent Member State using
the EU application platform. The payment tool shall be managed by third party
provider.

2.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, define the requirements
concerning the payment tool referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, including thereimbursement modalities for applicants. Those implementing acts shall be adopted inaccordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).

3.

A tool for managing appointments may be used by Member States or external service
providers.
When this tool is used, the Member State shall be responsible for setting theavailable slots.

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4.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, define the requirements
concerning the appointment tool referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, including themodalities for confirmation of appointments, the link to existing appointment tools or
information on walk-in appointments to be configured by the consulates or external
service providers and the technical modalities to ensure that any family member of aUnion citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national
enjoying the right of free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under anagreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third
country, on the other, or of UK nationals who themselves are beneficiaries of the EUUK Withdrawal Agreement in the host State for which the visa application is made canbenefit from an accelerated procedure. Those implementing acts shall be adopted inaccordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).
Article 7eExternal service provider gateway

1.

External service providers shall have access to the EU application platform using theexternal service gateway only to:(a)verify and perform quality checks and pre-checks on the data uploaded in thetemporary storage capacity, notably the scanned electronic copy of the travel
document;(b)

upload the biometric identifiers and check whether biometric identifiers are
already available;(c)upload the supporting documents, if needed;(d)use the appointment tool to indicate available slots, if applicable;(e)make forward the application available to the consulate or the central
authority for further processing.

2.

An authentication scheme, reserved exclusively for external service providers, shall be
set up by Member States in order to allow access to the gateway for the purposes of this
Article to the duly authorised staff members. When setting up the authentication
scheme, information security risk management and the principles of data protection by
design and by default shall be taken into account.

3.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to lay down the authentication scheme
for external service provider staff members. Those implementing acts shall be adopted
in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).

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Article 7f
Notification of decisions
1.

Applicants and visa holders shall be notified of the decisions according to paragraph2, lett. a) to ec) taken by Member States on their applications or issued visas by secure
electronic means.

2.

The notifications decisions shall be made available to applicants or visa holders inthe secure account. , aAs applicable, it shall contain the following data:(a)for visa issued:, confirmed or extended: data contained on the digital visa inaccordance with the Annex to Regulation (EC) 1683/95 and with the rules forfilling in the data fields of the digital visa established under the procedurereferred to in Article 27(1) data listed in Articles 24, 25 or 26 of Regulation(EC) No 810/2009 and Article 10 of this Regulation;(b)

for visa refused: data listed in Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 andArticle 12 of this Regulation;(c)for visa confirmed : data listed in Article 32a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009
and Article 12a of this Regulation;(d)for visa extended : data listed in Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009
and Article 14 of this Regulation;(ec) for visa annulled or revoked: data listed in Article 33 34 of Regulation (EC) No
810/2009 and Article 13 of this Regulation.
3.

The notification referred to in paragraph 2 shall contain a 2D barcode digitally
signed by the issuing authority, and the facial image of the holder. The 2D barcode
shall contain the information referred to in paragraph 2.
The notification shall be in printable format.

4.

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including details on the format of the notification, such as 2D barcode andprintable format. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 49(2).

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Article 7g
Verification tool1.

The verification tool shall allow applicants and visa holders to check:(a)status of their application;(b)

status and validity of their visa.

2.

The verification tool shall be based on the secure account service referred to in Article
7b(3).

3.

The EU application platform shall offer a web-service functionality for applicants andother entities, such as employers or universities or local authorities, to verify thedigital visa without the secure account service.

4.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the detailed rules on theconditions for the operation of the web service and the data protection and security rules
applicable to the web service, including unique identifier for the applicant. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedurereferred to in Article 49(2). ”;
Article 7h
Costs

1.

The development and implementation of the platform will trigger three different
categories of costs:(a) the development by eu-LISA of the EU visa application platform and of its
interconnection with the national visa information systems, under strict costs
control and monitoring,(b) the operation, including maintenance, by eu-LISA, of the EU visa application
platform,(c) necessary adaptations by the Member States to the existing national visa
information systems.

2.

Costs under points a) and b) of paragraph 1 shall be borne by the general budgetof the EU

3.

Member States may use the Instrument for Financial Support for Border
Management and Visa Policy, which is part of the Integrated Border Management
Fund, as established by the Regulation (EU) 2021/1148 to finance the costs
mentioned in paragraph 1 c) of this Article, in accordance with the eligibility rules
and co-financing rates set in this legal basis of the Fund.”;7905/23
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(4)

in Article 9(4), the following points are added:“(na) if applicable, the fact that the applicant applies as a family member of UK nationals
who is a beneficiary of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement in the host State for which
the visa application is made;(o)email address and mobile phone number;(p)

IP address from which the application form was submitted;(q)in the case of applications filled in by a duly authorised person other than theapplicant, via the EU application platform: email address, mailing address andphone number if available of that person.”;(4a) In Article 9, paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
“7.

(5)

In Article 9b the following paragraph is added:
“5.

(6)

an electronic copy of the biographic data page of the travel document and, if
applicable, the data uploaded from the chip according to Article 12(5) of the Visa
Code.”;

Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to family members of UK nationals whothemselves are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement in the host State forwhich the visa application is made.”;

Article 10 is amended as follows:(a)in paragraph 1, point (e) is replaced by the following:“(e) visa number;”;(b)in paragraph 1, points (j) and (k) is are deleted.

(c)in paragraph 1, points (m) and (n) is added

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if applicable, the status of the person indicating that the third-country national isa member of the family of UK national who is a beneficiary of the EU-UK
Withdrawal Agreement in the host State for which the visa application is made.

(n)national entries in comments section.”;

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(7)

the following Article 12a is inserted:“Article 12a
Data to be added for a visa confirmed
1.

2.

(8)

Where a decision has been taken to confirm a visa, the visa authority that has taken thedecision shall add the following data to the application file:(a)status information;(b)authority that confirmed the visa;(c)place and date of the decision;(d)

new travel document data, including number, issuing country and authority,
issuing date, expiry date;(e)

confirmation number;(f)

an electronic copy of the biographic data page of the new travel document
and, if applicable, the data uploaded from the chip according to Article 12(5)of Regulation (EU) No 810/2009.

Where a decision has been taken to confirm a visa, the system shall immediately
retrieve and export from the VIS into the EES the data listed in Article 19(1) ofRegulation (EU) (EU) 2017/2226.”;

in Article 14(1), point (d) is replaced by the following:“(d) visa number of the extended visa;”;(9)in Article 15(2), point (f) is replaced by the following:“(f) the visa number, long-stay visa or residence permit number and the date of issue of any
previous visa, long-stay visa or residence permit;”(10) Article 18 is amended as follows:(a)in paragraph 1, point (b) is deleted replaced by the following:“(b) the number of the visa sticker or visa number”;

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(b)

paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:“3.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2 of this Article, where a search is launchedin the EES pursuant to Article 23(2) or (4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, thecompetent border authority may search the VIS without making use of theinteroperability with the EES, where specific circumstances so require, inparticular, where it is technically impossible, on a temporary basis, to consult theEES data or in the event of a failure of the EES.”;(11) the following Article 18e is inserted:“Article 18e
Fall-back procedures in the case of a technical impossibility to access data at the externalborders
1.

Where it is technically impossible to proceed with the consultation referred to in Article
18 because of a failure of any part of VIS, eu-LISA shall notify the border authorities ofthe Member States.

2.

Where it is technically impossible to perform the search referred to in Article 18
because of a failure of the national border infrastructure in a Member State, the borderauthorities shall notify the eu-LISA. eu-LISA shall then inform the Commission.

3.

In cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the border authorities shallfollow their national contingency plans. The national contingency plan may authorise
the border authorities to derogate temporarily from the obligation to consult VIS
referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399.

4.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt model contingency plans
for the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, including the procedures
to be followed by border authorities. Those implementing acts shall be adopted inaccordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 49(2). Member Statesshall adopt their national contingency plans using the model contingency plans as abasis, to be adapted as necessary at the national level.”;(12) in Article 19, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:“1.

For the sole purpose of verifying the identity of the visa holder and/or the authenticityof the visa and/or whether the conditions for entry to, stay or residence on the territoryof the Member States are fulfilled, the authorities competent for carrying out checks
within the territory of the Member States as to whether the conditions for entry to, stayor residence on the territory of the Member States are fulfilled, shall have access tosearch with the number of the visa in combination with verification of fingerprints ofthe visa holder.
Where the identity of the visa holder cannot be verified with fingerprints the competentauthorities may also carry out the verification with the facial image.”;

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(13) in Article 20(2), point (d) is replaced by the following:“(d) the data entered in respect of any visa issued, refused, confirmed, annulled, revoked or
extended referred to in Articles 10 to 14.”;(14) in Article 21(2), point (d) is replaced by the following:“(d) the data entered in respect of any visa issued, confirmed, annulled, revoked or extendedreferred to in Articles 10, 12a, 13 and 14;”;(15) in Article 22(2), point (e) is replaced by the following:“(e) the data entered in respect of any visa issued, confirmed, annulled, revoked or extendedreferred to in Articles 10, 12a, 13 and 14;”;(15a) in Article 22c, point (h) is added:“(h)national entries in comments section;”;(16) in Article 22f(1), point (d) is replaced by the following:“(d) the visa number;”;(17) in Article 22o, paragraph 3 is amended as follows:(a)point (c) is replaced by the following:“(c) visa number or number of the long-stay visa or residence permit and the date of
expiry of the validity of the visa, long-stay visa or residence permit, asapplicable;”;(b)

the following points (f) and (g) are added:“(f) IP address from which the application was submitted;(g)email address.”;(18) in Article 22r, paragraph 3 is amended as follows:(a)point (c) is replaced by the following:“(c) visa number or number of the long-stay visa or residence permit and the date of
expiry of the validity of the visa, long-stay visa or residence permit, asapplicable;”;(b)

the following points (f) and (g) are added:“(f) IP address from which the application was submitted;(g)7905/23
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email address used for the application”;

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(18a) in Article 26, the following paragraphs have been added:“11. The infrastructures supporting the EU application platform referred to in Article
2a of this Regulation shall be hosted in eu-LISA technical sites. These
infrastructures shall be geographically distributed to provide the functionalities
laid down in this Regulation in accordance with the conditions of security, dataprotection and data security.
eu-LISA shall ensure that the future use of the EU visa application platform,
provided for in Article 2a, by Member States not applying the Schengen acquis infull is taken into account in the development of the platform. This concerns inparticular the storage capacity of the platform and interface with national visa
information system.
12.

eu-LISA shall be responsible for the technical development of the EU application
platform referred to in Article 2a of this Regulation. eu-LISA shall define thetechnical specifications of the EU application platform. Those technicalspecifications shall be adopted by eu-LISA’s Management Board, subject to afavourable opinion from the Commission.

13.

eu-LISA shall develop and implement the EU application platform as soon as
possible after the entry into force of Regulation XXX and the adoption by theCommission of:(a) the measures provided for in Article 45(2)(g) to (o) of Regulation (EC) No
767/2008; and(b) the measures adopted in accordance with the examination procedurereferred to in Articles 7b(6), 7b(7), 7c(3), 7d(2), 7d(4), 7e(3), 7f(4), 7g(4),18e(4).

14.

eu-LISA shall be responsible for the operational management of the EU
application platform.
Operational management of the EU application platform shall consist of all thetasks necessary to keep the EU application platform functioning 24 hours a day, 7days a week in accordance with this Regulation, in particular the maintenancework and technical developments necessary to ensure that the EU application
platform functions at a satisfactory level of operational quality.
The VIS Advisory Group referred to in Article 49a of Regulation (EC) No
767/2008 and in Article 27(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 shall provide theManagement Board of eu-LISA with expertise relating to the EU application
platform.

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During the designing and development phase of the EU-VAP, a ProgrammeManagement Board composed of a maximum of ten members shall beestablished. It shall be composed of seven members appointed by eu-LISA’s
Management Board from among its members or alternate members, the Chair of
the VIS Advisory Group referred to in Article 27 of the regulation 2018/1726, amember representing eu-LISA appointed by its Executive Director and one
member appointed by the Commission.
The Programme Management Board shall meet regularly and at least one time
per quarter. It shall ensure the adequate management of the design anddevelopment phase of the EU-VAP and ensure the consistency between central
and national EU-VAP projects.
The Programme Management Board shall submit written reports every month to
EU-LISA’s Management Board on the progress of the project. The ProgrammeManagement Board shall have no decision-making power nor any mandate torepresent the members of EU-LISA’s Management Board.
EU-LISA’s Management Board shall establish the rules of procedure of theProgramme Management Board which shall include in particular rules on:(a)its chairmanship;(b)

meeting venues;(c)the preparation of meetings;(d)the admission of experts to meetings;(e)communication plans ensuring full information to non-participating
members of eu-LISA’s Management Board.

The chairmanship of the Programme Management Board shall be held by aMember State which is fully bound under Union law by the legislative
instruments governing the development, establishment, operation and use of all
the large- scale IT systems managed by eu-LISA.
All travel and subsistence expenses incurred by the members of the ProgrammeManagement Board shall be paid by eu-LISA and Article 10 of the eu-LISA
Rules of Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis. eu-LISA shall provide theProgramme Management Board with a secretariat.”;7905/23
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(19) in Article 45(2), the following points (g) to (op) are added:“(g) for defining the content of a simplified application forms for confirmation of valid visas
in a new travel document and for extension of visas, in accordance with Article 7b;(h)for defining requirements concerning the format of the personal data in the online
application form, in accordance with Article 7b;(i)for defining the technical requirements concerning the format of supporting documents,
travel medical insurance and copy of travel document in electronic format to beprovided via the EU application platform, in accordance with Articles 7c and 7ba;(ia) for defining the requirements of the secure account service, including themodalities of access and authentication, the retention period for data stored
therein and for uncompleted applications or applications which do not pass thecompetence and admissibility check, in accordance with Article 7b;(j)for defining the requirements concerning the payment tool, including the reimbursement
modalities for applicants, in accordance with Article 7d;(k)for defining the requirements concerning the appointment tool referred, including themodalities for confirmation of appointments, and the link to existing appointment tools
or information on walk-in appointments to be configured by the consulates or external
service providers, in accordance with Article 7d;(l)

for laying down the authentication scheme for external service provider staff members
using the External service provider gateway, in accordance with Article 7e;(m) for laying down technical specifications of the visas in digital format, and the visa
notifications, including details on their format and of the notification, such as 2D
barcode, printable format versions, in accordance with Article 7f;(n)

for laying down detailed rules on the conditions for the operation of the web service andthe data protection and security rules applicable to the web service, in accordance with
Article 7g;(o)for defining model contingency plans regarding fall-back procedures in the case of atechnical impossibility to access data at the external borders, including the procedures tobe followed by border authorities , in accordance with Article 18e.;(p)

to lay down the functionalities of the visa chatbot hosted by the EU application
platform in accordance with Article 7a(5).”;7905/23
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(20) in Article 48a(2), (3) and (6), the references to “Article 9, Article 9h(2), Article 9j(2) and
Article 22b(18)” are replaced by references to “Article 7b, Article 9, Article 9h(2), Article
9j(2) and Article 22b(18)”.
(21) Article 50 is amended as follows:
(a)

(b)

paragraph 6 and 7 are replaced by the following:“6.

Member States shall provide eu-LISA and the Commission with theinformation necessary to draft the reports referred to in paragraphs 3, 4, 5
and 8.

7.

eu-LISA shall provide the Commission with the information necessary to
produce the overall evaluation referred to in paragraph 5 and 8.”;the following paragraph is added:“8.

Three years after the date of start of operations of the platform referred to in
Article 2a(1)fa, the Commission shall evaluate the operation of the EU
application platform. This evaluation shall include an examination of theresults achieved against objectives and of the implementation of theprovisions of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.
The Commission shall transmit the evaluation referred to in paragraph 1 tothe European Parliament and the Council. On the basis of the evaluation, theCommission shall submit, where necessary, appropriate proposals.”.
Article 3
Amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/9525

Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 is amended as follows:

(1)

25

Article 1 is replaced by the following:Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format forvisas (OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1).

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“Article 1
Visas issued in conformity with Article 5 of this Regulation by the Member States which
do not issue visas in digital format referred to in Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No
810/2009 shall be produced in the form of a uniform format (sticker). They shallconform to the specifications set out in the Annex.”;(2)

in Article 7, the following fourth paragraph is added:“The use the uniform visa format for purposes other than those covered by Article 5 iswithout prejudice to issuing visas in digital format referred to in Article 26a ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009.”.
Article 4
Amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 333/200226

In Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 333/2002, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:“1.

This Regulation shall apply to Member States which do not issue visas in digital format
referred to in Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliamentand of the Council*.
For the purposes of this Regulation, "form for affixing a visa" shall mean the document
issued by the authorities of a Member State to the holder of a travel document which is
not recognised by that Member State, to which its competent authorities affix a visa.”.
_________*

26

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13
July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L 243
15.9.2009, p. 1).”.

Council Regulation (EC) No 333/2002 of 18 February 2002 on a uniform format forforms for affixing the visa issued by Member States to persons holding travel
documents not recognised by the Member State drawing up the form (OJ L 53,
23.2.2002, p. 4).

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Article 5
Amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 694/200327
Regulation (EC) No 694/2003 is amended as follows:(1)

Article 1 is replaced by the following:“Article 1
1.

Facilitated Transit Documents (FTD) issued by the Member States as referred to in
Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 shall be issued in digital format referred toin Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 in Regulation (EC) 1683/95 of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council * and shall contain the data fields set out
in Annex 1. It shall have the same value as limited territorial validity visas with the
purpose of transit. In addition, the digital format shall contain clear indication that theissued document is FTD.

2.

Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD) issued by the Member States as referred toin Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 shall be issued in digital format referred
to in Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 Regulation (EC) 1683/95 and shallcontain the data fields set out in Annex 2. It shall have the same value as limited
territorial validity visas with the purpose of transit. In addition, the digital format shallcontain clear indication that the issued document is FRTD.”.
__________*(2)

In Article 2(1), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:“1.

27

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L
243 15.9.2009, p. 1).”.

Further technical specifications for the digital format for FTD and FRTD, including
relating to the following, shall be established in accordance with the procedure referred
to in Article 4(2): ”;

Council Regulation (EC) No 694/2003 of 14 April 2003 on uniform formats for FacilitatedTransit Documents (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD) provided for in
Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 (OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 15).

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(2a) In Article 2(1), points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:“(a) technical standards and methods for :

(b)

(i)

encoding the information contained in the digital FTD and FRTD in the formof a 2D barcode;(ii)

the facial image;specifications for generating the printable version of the digital FTD and FRTD;”;(2b) in Article 2, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:“2.

In accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4(2), theCommission may decide that the specifications referred to in paragraph 1 shall besecret and not be published. In that case they shall be made available only topersons duly authorised by a Member State or the Commission.”;(2c) Article 3 is deleted;(2d) in Article 5, the second sentence is deleted;(3)

In Article 6, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
“2.

(4)

Member States which have decided to do so shall issue the digital format for FTD and
FRTD as referred to in Article 1 no later than one year after the adoption of theadditional security features and requirements further technical specifications
referred to in Article 2.”.;Annex I is replaced by the following:“ANNEX 1
FACILITATED TRANSIT DOCUMENT (FTD)
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- country and place of birth- sex- nationality of the visa holder- nationality at birth- type and number of travel document- issuing Authority of the travel document- date of issue and of expiry of the travel document- authority that issued the FTD, including its location, and whether that authority
issued it on behalf of another Member State;- place and date of the decision to issue the FTD;
- FTD number;- the territory in which the FTD holder is entitled to travel;- the commencement and expiry dates of the validity period of the FTD;
- the number of entries authorised by the FTD in the territory for which the visa isvalid;- the duration of transit as authorised by the FTD;
- remarks; this field shall be used by the issuing authority to indicate any further
information, which is considered necessary, provided that it complies with Article 5 ofthis Regulation.
- the facial image of the FTD holder.”;(5)

Annex II is replaced by the following:“ANNEX 2
FACILITATED RAIL TRANSIT DOCUMENT (FRTD)
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- surname at birth- date of birth- country and place of birth- sex- nationality of the visa holder- nationality at birth- type and number of travel document- issuing Authority of the travel document- date of issue and of expiry of the travel document- Date and time of departure of train (first entry)- Date and time of departure of train (second entry)- authority that issued the FRTD, including its location, and whether that authority
issued it on behalf of another Member State;- place and date of the decision to issue the FRTD;- FRTD number;- the territory in which the FRTD holder is entitled to travel;- the commencement and expiry dates of the validity period of the FRTD;- the duration of transit as authorised by the FRTD;- remarks; this field shall be used by the issuing authority to indicate any further
information, which is considered necessary, provided that it complies with Article 5 ofthis Regulation.
- the facial image of the FRTD holder.”;

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Article 6
Amendment to the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement28
Article 18 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement is amended as follows:(1)

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:“1.

Visas for stays exceeding 90 days (long-stay visas) shall be national visas issued by oneof the Member States in accordance with its national law or Union law. Such visas shallbe in issued in digital format referred to in Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No
810/2009. in accordance with Article 1 of the Regulation on the uniform format forvisas (Regulation (EC) 1683/95 ), with the type of visa being indicated with theletter “D”.
By way of exception, Member States which do not issue visas in digital format
referred to in Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 shall issue visas in theuniform format for visas as set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 ( * ) withthe heading specifying the type of visa with the letter “D”. They shall be filled out inaccordance with the relevant provisions of the Commission implementing act settingout the rules for filling in the data fields of the visa, adopted in accordance with
Article 27(1) of Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas(Visa Code).”;(2)

the following paragraph 1a is inserted:“1a. Long-stay visas issued in digital format shall be notified communicated to applicantsby electronic means in accordance with Article 7f of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008
by national authorities of the issuing Member State.”.

28

Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the
Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of
Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common
borders (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 19).

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Article 7
Amendment to Council Regulation (EC) No 693/200329
Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 is amended as follows:(1)

in Article 2, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:“3.

The FTD/FRTD shall be issued in digital format referred to in Article 26a ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009* in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 694/2003.”__________*(2)

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13
July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L 243
15.9.2009, p. 1).”;

Article 5 is amended as follows:(a)

In paragraph 1, the first sentence is replaced by the following:“The application for an FTD shall be submitted to the consular authorities of a Member
State which has communicated its decision to issue the FTD/FRTD in accordance with
Article 12. ”;(b)the following paragraph 5 is inserted:
“5.

(3)

29

The application for an FTD and FRTD shall be carried out using an online
application tool. The online application tool shall contain data referred to inparagraphs 3 and 4 of this Article.”.

in Article 6, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:“2.

No FTD/FRTD shall be issued for a travel document that has expired.

3.

The period of validity of the travel document for which the FTD/FRTD is issued shallbe longer than that of the FTD/FRTD.

4.

No FTD/FRTD shall be issued for a travel document if that travel document is not valid
for any of the Member States. If a travel document is only valid for one Member Stateor for a number of Member States, the FTD/FRTD shall be limited to the Member Stateor Member States in question.”.

Council Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 of 14 April 2003 establishing a specific FacilitatedTransit Document (FTD), a Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD) and amending theCommon Consular Instructions and the Common Manual (OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 8).

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Article 8
Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council30
Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 is amended as follows:(1)

in Article 16(2), point (d) is replaced by the following:
“(d)

(2)

where applicable, the short-stay visa number, including the three letter code of theissuing Member State, the type of short-stay visa, the end date of the maximum
duration of the stay as authorised by the short-stay visa, which shall be updated at eachentry, and the date of expiry of the validity of the short-stay visa;”

Article 19 is amended as follows:,(a)the title is replaced by the following:“Data to be added where an authorisation for short stay is revoked, annulled or
extended and when a valid visa is confirmed in a new travel document”;(b)

in paragraph 1, point (d) is replaced by the following:“(d) where applicable, the new visa number, including the three letter code of theissuing country;”;(bc) the following paragraph 7 is added:
“7.

(3)

Where a decision has been taken to confirm a valid visa in a new travel document,
the visa authority which has taken the decision shall immediately retrieve the data
provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article from the VIS and import them directly
into the EES in accordance with Articles 12a of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.”.

in Article 24(2), point (b) is replaced by the following:“(b) the short-stay visa number, including the three letter code of the issuing Member Statereferred to in Article 16(2), point (d);”;(4)

in Article 32(5), point (c) is replaced by the following:“(c) visa number and the date of expiry of the validity of the visa;”.

30

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November
2017 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal ofentry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States anddetermining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes, andamending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulations (EC) No
767/2008 and (EU) No 1077/2011 (OJ L 327, 9.12.2017, p. 20).

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Article 9
Evaluation of the EU application platform
1.

Five Three years after the date of start of operations according to Article 120 of thisRegulation, the Commission shall evaluate the operation of the EU application platform.
This evaluation shall include an examination of the results achieved against objectives
and of the implementation of the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 andRegulation (EC) No 767/2008, as amended by this Regulation.

2.

The Commission shall transmit the evaluation referred to in paragraph 1 to theEuropean Parliament and the Council. On the basis of the evaluation, the Commission
shall submit, where necessary, appropriate proposals.
Article 109
Start of operations of the EU application platform

1.

The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act setting
determine the date from which operations of the EU application platform start pursuant tothis Regulation, once the following conditions have been met:(a)the measures referred to in Article 1, point (31) and Article 2, points (19) and (20)have been adopted;(b)

eu-LISA has declared the successful completion of a comprehensive tests which are to
be conducted by eu-LISA in cooperation with the Member States;(c)

eu-LISA has validated the technical and legal arrangements, including sufficient
capacities and functionalities of the EU visa application platform, and notified themto the Commission.

2.

The Commission decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published in the Official Journalof the European Union.

3.

By way of derogating from paragraph 1, and without prejudice to issuing visas in digitalformat, a Member State may, for a period of 5 7 years from the date referred to in paragraph
1, decide not to avail itself of the EU application platform.
In this case, the Member State shall notify the Commission regarding its decision not to avail
itself of the EU application platform during the transition period. The Commission shall
publish the notification in the Official Journal of the European Union.
During this transitional period, visa holders shall be able to verify the digital visas using the
web-service of the online visa application platform, referred to in Article 7g of Regulation(EC) No 767/2008 if the Member State processing their visa application decided not to avail
itself of the EU application platform.

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4.

A Member State may notify the Commission and eu-LISA that it wishes to avail itself of theEU application platform before the end of the transition period referred to in paragraph 3.
The Commission shall determine the date from which this shall be applicable. The
Commission decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 110
Entry into force

1.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in
the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.

It shall apply from the date set by the Commission in accordance with Article 10(1).

3.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Article 1, points (1), (3), (16), (27), (32a), (33)
and (34) shall apply from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

4.

By 1 December 2026 and every year thereafter until the decision of the Commission
referred to in Article 10(1) has been taken, the Commission shall submit a report to theEuropean Parliament and to the Council on the state of play of preparations for the full
implementation of this Regulation. That report shall contain also detailed information
about the costs incurred and information as to any risks which may impact the overall
costs.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States inaccordance with the Treaties.
Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

The President

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ANNEX II
Proposal for a
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation(EC) No 1683/95, as regards the digitalisation of the visa procedure

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular
Article 77(2), point (a) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:(1)

The Union's common visa policy has been an integral part of the establishment of anarea without internal borders. Visa policy should remain an essential element in
helping counter security risks and the risk of irregular migration to the Union, while
facilitating tourism and business. To make Schengen visa application process smootherand more effective for third-country nationals and Member States authorities, it isnecessary to allow Schengen visa applications to be lodged online, thereby making fulluse of recent legal and technological developments.

(2)

Visas should be issued in a uniform digital format only, as a 2D barcode, and containthe facial image of the holder. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the
implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1683/95, implementing powers should beconferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 1. The
examination procedure should be used for the adoption of the technical specificationsof the digital visa.

1

Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16
February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms
for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers(OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

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(3)

This Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis inwhich Ireland does not take part and falls outside the scope of the measures provided
for in Council Decision 2002/192/EC2; Ireland is therefore not taking part in the
adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(4)

As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of theprovisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by
the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of
Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation,
application and development of the Schengen acquis3 which fall within the area
referred to in Article 1, point B of Council Decision 1999/437/EC4.

(5)

As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of
the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement between the European
Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss
Confederation's association with the implementation, application and development of
the Schengen acquis5 which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B, ofDecision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision
2008/146/EC6.

2Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland's request to
take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20).
OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36.
Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for theapplication of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and theRepublic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those
two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengenacquis (OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31).
OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 52.
Council Decision 2008/146/EC of 28 January 2008 on the conclusion, on behalf of theEuropean Community, of the Agreement between the European Union, the European
Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association
with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L
53, 27.2.2008, p. 1).

3
4

5
6

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(6)

As regards Liechtenstein, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisionsof the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European
Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of
Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement
between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederationon the Swiss Confederation's association with the implementation, application anddevelopment of the Schengen acquis7 which fall within the area referred to in Article 1,
point B, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council
Decision 2011/350/EU8.

(7)

As regards Cyprus, and Bulgaria and Romania, this Regulation constitutes an act
building upon, or otherwise relating to, the Schengen acquis within, respectively, themeaning of Article 3(1) of the 2003 Act of Accession and of Article 4(1) of the 2005 Act
of Accession.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/959
Regulation (EC) 1683/95 is amended as follows:(1)

Article 1 is replaced by the following:“Article 1

7
8

9

1.

Visas issued by the Member States in conformity with Article 5 by the Member
States which do not issue visas in digital format referred to in Article 26a ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009 shall be produced in the form of a uniform digitalformat (sticker). They shall conform to the specifications contain the data fields set
out in the Annex.

2.

The digital visa shall be issued as a 2D barcode, which shall be digitally signed by
the issuing authority, and shall contain the facial image of the holder. Member
States may add national entries in a specific ‘comments’ section.

3.

The digital visa shall be printable.”;OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p. 21.
Council Decision 2011/350/EU of 7 March 2011 on the conclusion, on behalf of theEuropean Union, of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community,
the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the
Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European
Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association with theimplementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, relating to theabolition of checks at internal borders and movement of persons (OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p.
19).
Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format forvisas (OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1).

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(2)

in Article 7, the following fourth paragraph is added:“The use the uniform visa format for purposes other than those covered by Article 5 iswithout prejudice to issuing visas in digital format referred to in Article 26a ofRegulation (EC) No 810/2009.”.
Article 2 is replaced by the following:“Article 2
1.

The Commission shall establish further technical specifications for the uniform
format for visas relating to the following:
(a)

(b)

technical standards and methods for :(i)

encoding the data contained in the digital visa;(ii)

the facial image;specifications for generating the printable version of the digital visa.

2.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination
procedure referred to in Article 6(2).

3.

In accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 6(2), theCommission may decide that the specifications referred to in paragraph 1 shall besecret and not be published. In that case they shall be made available only topersons duly authorised by a Member State or the Commission.”;(3)

Article 3 is deleted;(4)in Article 4, paragraph 2 is deleted;(5)

the Annex is replaced by the following:“AnnexThe digital visa shall contain the following data fields:(1)

issuing Member State;(2)

surname, name;(3)

surname at birth;(4)date of birth;(5)country and place of birth;

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(6)

sex;

(7)

nationality of the visa holder;(8)

nationality at birth;(9)type and number of travel document;(10)

issuing authority of the travel document;(11)

date of issue and of expiry of the travel document;(12)

authority that issued the visa, including its location, and whether that authority
issued it on behalf of another Member State;(13)

place and date of the decision to issue the visa;(14)

type of visa;(15)

if applicable, the information indicating that the visa has been issued withlimited territorial validity pursuant to Article 25(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
810/2009;(16)

visa number(17)

the territory in which the visa holder is entitled to travel;(18)

the commencement and expiry dates of the validity period of the visa;(19)

the number of entries authorised by the visa in the territory for which the visa isvalid;(20)

the duration of the stay as authorised by the visa;(21)

if applicable, the status of the person indicating that the third-country national
is a member of the family of UK national who is a beneficiary of the EU-UK
Withdrawal Agreement in the host State for which the visa application is made;(22)

national entries in comments section ;(23)

in addition, for a valid visa confirmed in a new travel document:

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Status information that the visa has been confirmed•

authority that confirmed the visa;•

place and date of the decision;•

new travel document data, including number, issuing country and authority,
issuing date, expiry date;•confirmation number.

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(24)

(25)

in addition, for an extended visa:•

status information indicating that the visa has been extended;•

the authority that extended the visa, including its location;•

place and date of the decision;•

visa number of the extended visa;•

the commencement and expiry dates of the extended period;•

period of the extension of the authorised duration of the stay;•

the territory in which the visa holder is entitled to travel, if the territorial
validity of the extended visa differs from that of the original visa;•

the type of the visa extended.

the facial image of the visa holder.

________________________*

Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9
July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data
between Member States on short-stay visas, (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60).”
Article 2Start of issuing visas in digital format

1.

2.

The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act setting the datefrom which Member States shall issue digital visas pursuant to this Regulation, once thefollowing conditions have been met:(a)the technical specifications referred to in Article 1, point (3) have been adopted;(b)

eu-LISA has declared the successful completion of comprehensive tests;(c)

eu-LISA has validated the technical and legal arrangements for the start of issuingvisas in digital format and notified them to the Commission.

The Commission decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

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Article 3
Entry into force
1.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.

It shall apply from the date set by the Commission in accordance with Article 2(1).

3.

By 1 December 2026 and every year thereafter until the decision of the Commission
referred to in Article 2(1) has been taken, the Commission shall submit a report to theEuropean Parliament and to the Council on the state of play of preparations for the full
implementation of this Regulation. That report shall contain also detailed information
about the costs incurred and information as to any risks which may impact the overall
costs.

The Commission decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall be published in the Official Journalof the European Union.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

The President

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