REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Second report on the state of play of preparations for the full implementation of the VIS Regulation in accordance with Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1134
Date: 2024-01-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, EU visa policy, Schengen Agreement, data protection, exchange of information, external border of the EU, foreign national, information system, personal data, residence permit

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.1.2024  COM(2024) 13 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Second report on the state of play of preparations for the full implementation of the VIS Regulation in accordance with Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1134   
 
 
Executive summary 

Regulation  (EU)  2021/11341,  amending  inter  alia  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  (VIS 
Regulation)2, requires the Commission to submit an annual report to the European Parliament 
and  to  the  Council  on  the  state  of  play  of  preparations  for  the  full  implementation  of  the 
Regulation. This is the Commission’s second report. 

The implementation of the new IT architecture in the area of migration, borders and security is 
a  cornerstone  of  the  EU’s  efforts  to  establish  one  of  the  most  modern  border  management 
systems in the world. The VIS is an integral part of this architecture. To achieve full and timely 
implementation, EU Member States and Schengen associated countries, EU agencies and the 
Commission have to advance together. It is important that each party takes responsibility to 
ensure that the system can be operational at the same time, thus avoiding further delays and 
increasing costs. 

Overall, the preparation of the implementation of the revised VIS is on track. Following the 
adoption of the amending Regulation on 7 July 2021, the Commission immediately started to 
discuss in the relevant committee and expert group the twelve implementing and delegated 
acts necessary for the development of the new VIS components. Work continued in 2023, and 
currently, the 12 implementing and delegated acts have all been proposed by the Commission 
and are at various stages in the adoption procedure. Five acts are formally adopted, two acts 
are under formal adoption, while three implementing acts and two delegated acts are still being 
discussed in the relevant committee and expert group.  

1 Regulation (EU) 2021/1134 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 amending Regulations 
(EC) No 767/2008, (EC) No 810/2009, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240, (EU) 2018/1860, (EU) 
2018/1861, (EU) 2019/817 and (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing 
Council Decisions 2004/512/EC and 2008/633/JHA, for the purpose of reforming the Visa Information System 
(OJ L 248, 13.7.2021, p. 11–87) 
2 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 (VIS Regulation) 
(OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60) 

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1.  Introduction 

The VIS was established by Council Decision 2004/512/EC3 to allow the exchange of visa data 
between Member States. Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council (VIS Regulation)4 laid down the purpose, functionalities and responsibilities for the 
VIS, as well as the conditions and procedures for the exchange of short-stay visa data between 
Member  States  to  facilitate  the  examination  of  applications  for  short-stay  visas  and  related 
decisions. The VIS started operating on 11 October 2011 and was gradually rolled out in all 
Member States’ consulates between October 2011 and February 2016.  

The  objectives  of  the  VIS  are  to  improve  the  implementation  of  the  common  visa  policy, 
consular  cooperation  and  consultation  between  central  visa  authorities  by  facilitating  the 
exchange of data between Member States on applications and related decisions. The VIS aims 
to:  

facilitate the visa application procedure;  

• 
•  prevent ‘visa shopping’;  
• 
• 

facilitate the fight against identity fraud;  
facilitate  checks  at  external  border  crossing  points  and  within  the  Member  States’ 
territory;  

•  assist in the identification of any person who does not or no longer fulfils the conditions 

• 

for entry to, stay or residence in the territory of the Member States; 
facilitate  the  determination  of  the  Member  State  responsible  for  examining  an 
application  for  international  protection  under  Regulation  (EU)  No  604/2013  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council5;  

•  and contribute to the prevention of threats to the internal security of any of the Member 

States.  

On 2 August 2021, Regulation (EU) 2021/1134 entered into force, amending inter alia the VIS 
Regulation.  The  revised  VIS  will  provide  visa-issuing  authorities  with  key  information  on 
applicants for short-stay Schengen visas while allowing border guards to detect travellers that 
may pose security risks. The new rules also expand the scope of the VIS – notably by adding 
applicants  and  holders  of  long  stay-visas  and  residence  permits  –  in  full  respect  of  data 
protection requirements, to ensure that the relevant authorities have the information they need, 
when they need it. The new rules agreed will allow for more thorough background checks on 
applicants  for  short-stay  visas,  long-stay  visas  and  residence  permits,  better  information 
exchange between Member States on holders of such documents and full interoperability with 
other EU information systems. 

As per Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1134, the Commission shall adopt a decision by 
31 December 2023 to set the date for the entry into operation of the revised VIS. The article 

3  Council Decision 2004/512/EC of 8 June  2004 establishing the Visa  Information System (VIS)  (OJ L 213, 
15.6.2004, p. 5). 
4 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 (VIS Regulation) 
(OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60). 
5 Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the 
criteria  and  mechanisms  for  determining  the  Member  State  responsible  for  examining  an  application  for 
international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (OJ 
L 180, 29.6.2013, p. 31). 

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also  lays  out  a  number  of  conditions  before  this  decision  can  be  adopted,  namely  that  the 
necessary implementing and delegated acts referred to in this report will need to be adopted, 
the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in 
the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) will have to notify the Commission of 
the successful completion of all testing activities, and Member States will have to notify the 
Commission that they have made the necessary technical and legal arrangements. 

The VIS will be part of the common interoperability framework established by Regulations 
(EU)  2019/8176  and  (EU)  2019/8187  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council.  The 
interoperability  framework  between  EU  information  systems8  was  set  up  in  order  for  these 
systems  and  their  data  to  supplement  each  other  with  the  overall  objective to  improve  the 
effectiveness and efficiency of checks at the external borders, to contribute to the prevention 
and  combating  irregular  immigration  and  to  contribute  to  a  high  level  of  security  and  to 
improve  the  implementation  of  the  common  visa  policy.  It  means  that  the  technical 
development of  new features and processes of the renewed VIS should be fully coherent with 
those of the other EU information systems that are part of the framework. 

Under the terms of Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1134, the Commission is required 
to submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council every year on the state of play 
of preparations for the full implementation of the Regulation, until the Commission adopts the 
decision setting the date of the start of operations of the VIS pursuant to the above-mentioned 
Regulation.  The  report  should  include  detailed  information  about  the  costs  incurred  and 
information as to any risks that may impact the overall costs.  

The Commission submitted a first report on 9 February 2023.9 This is the Commission’s second 
report, and it covers the period from January 2023 to the preparation of this report in November 
2023. 

2.  Implementing legislation of the VIS Regulation 

Regulation (EU) 2021/1134 provides that implementing  and delegated legislation should be 
adopted  in  order  to  supplement  and  implement  certain  detailed  technical  aspects  of  the 
Regulation. Some of these acts are necessary to fully enable eu-LISA to commence the design 
and development of the new functionalities in the context of the overall IT system architecture, 
especially as this requires defining technical specifications. Other acts are needed to lay down 
technical rules to facilitate use of the VIS by the relevant Member State authorities and EU 
agencies. 

6 Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a 
framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of borders and visa and amending 
Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240, (EU) 2018/1726 and (EU) 
2018/1861 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Decisions 2004/512/EC and 2008/633/JHA 
(OJ L 135, 22.5.2019, p. 27). 
7 Regulation (EU) 2019/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a 
framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of police and judicial cooperation, 
asylum and migration and amending Regulations (EU) 2018/1726, (EU) 2018/1862 and (EU) 2019/816 (OJ L 
135, 22.5.2019, p. 85). 
8 The Entry/Exit System (EES), the Visa Information System (VIS), the European Travel Information and 
Authorisation System (ETIAS), Eurodac, the Schengen Information System (SIS), and the European Criminal 
Records Information System for Third-Country Nationals (ECRIS-TCN) 
9 COM(2023) 66 final 

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Since the adoption of the Regulation in 2021, the Commission has organised 18 Committee 
meetings  and  10  Expert  Groups  on  the  VIS  to  discuss  a  series  of  draft  implementing  and 
delegated acts necessary for the development of the revised VIS. 

Currently, work on all 12 implementing and delegated acts has commenced, and they are at 
various stages of the adoption procedure. Four implementing acts and one delegated act are 
already  formally  adopted,  two  implementing  acts  are  under  formal  adoption,  while  three 
implementing acts and two delegated acts are still being discussed in the relevant committee 
and expert group due to their technically complex nature. This is further illustrated in the tables 
below: 

Table 1 State of play of required implementing and delegated acts on 15 November 2023 

Regulation 

Type of act 

Adopted 

Under 
formal 
adoption 

In 
committee 
or group 

yet 

Not 
started 

VIS 

Delegated 

1 

Implementing  4 

2 

2 

3 

Table 2 State of play of required implementing and delegated acts by 15 November 2023 

Legal base 
1 
Art. 5a 
2 
Art. 6(5) 
3 
Art. 9  
4 
Art. 9h & 22b 
5 
Art. 9j(2) 
6 
Art. 9j(3) 
7 
Art. 29 & 29a 
8 
Art. 45(1) 
Art. 45(2) 
9 
10  Art. 45(3) 
11  Art. 45c & 45d 
12  Art. 50(4) 

Type of act 
Implementing 
Implementing 
Delegated 
Delegated 
Delegated 
Implementing 
Implementing 
Implementing 
Implementing 
Implementing 
Implementing 
Implementing 

Status 
Under formal adoption 
Under formal adoption 
Adopted 
In group 
In group 
In committee 
Adopted 
In committee 
In committee 
Adopted 
Adopted 
Adopted 

3.  Monitoring of implementation by Member States and EU agencies 
The  importance  of  timely  implementation  of  the  revised  VIS  is  well  recognised  at  EU  and 
Member State level. The interdependencies between the VIS and, the development of other EU 
information  systems  and  the  interoperability  components  is  well  understood  by  all 
stakeholders. To achieve full and timely implementation, Member States, EU agencies and the 
Commission have to advance together. 

4.  Costs and risks 

The Commission proposal for the Amending Regulation was adopted on 7 July 2021, one year 
later than originally envisaged. The Legislative Financial Statement annexed to the European 

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Commission’s  proposal  for  the  Amending  Regulation  revising  the  VIS  Regulation  was 
amended in July 2021 due to the updated time schedule of the revised VIS implementation and 
to ensure the availability of sufficient financial and human resources for eu-LISA. 

The amended Legislative Financial Statement indicated that the proposal requires in total EUR 
178.6  million  from  the  EU  budget  over  the  period  2021-2027.  This  amount  includes  the 
relevant  budget  for  the  Member  States  (EUR  45  million)  for  adaptation  of  their  national 
systems, for Europol (EUR 29.8 million) for the necessary upgrade of the agency’s IT systems 
and  staffing  needs,  for  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  (EBCGA)  (EUR  5.4 
million) for setting up a new access to the VIS within the Agency, staffing needs and meetings, 
and for eu-LISA (EUR 98.2 million) for the development of all IT strands of the proposal and 
operation of the updated VIS, as well as for temporary staffing needs. 

Based on the Commission proposal for the Amending Regulation, the impact on the operational 
expenditure for eu-LISA for the development of the revised VIS was EUR 16.2 million in 2022 
and EUR 28.9 million in 2023. 

The  implementation  of  the  VIS  within  the  common  interoperability  framework  and  its 
adaptations  to  interact  with  the  other  IT  systems  (for  example  with  the  Entry-Exit  System) 
involve a succession of different modifications that result each time in a new version of the 
system.  These  different  versions  of  VIS  have  to  be  implemented  in  a  sequence.  The 
interdependence of the various EU information systems may affect the duration of some parts 
of  the  project  to  implement  the  new  architecture  for  EU  information  systems  for  borders, 
migration and security. 

The renewed Schengen Information System entered into operation in March 2023. On 19-20 
October  2023  the  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  Council  endorsed  a  revised  timeline  for  the 
remaining  systems.  According  to  this  roadmap,  which  envisages  implementation  waves, 
the Entry/Exit System will be ready to enter into operation in Autumn 2024 and ETIAS will be 
ready  to  enter  into  operation  in  Spring  2025.  The  revised  VIS  will  be  ready  to  enter  into 
operation in Autumn 2026, along with the interoperability architecture.   

While  the  potential  impact  of  the  revised  timeline  for  the  EU  information  systems  and 
interoperability on the costs of implementation of VIS is not measurable at this stage, according 
to the available data on expenditure incurred in 2021 and 2022 by the Member States and the 
relevant  EU  agencies,  no  risk  of  overspending  of  the  amounts  estimated  in  the  amended 
legislative financial statement has been identified to date. 

5.  Conclusion 

Member States, Schengen associated countries and EU agencies share a general commitment 
to  ensure  full  implementation  of  the  revised  VIS,  also  as  part  of  the  wider  interoperability 
framework of EU information systems.  

The  Commission  continues  to  coordinate  and  closely  monitor  the  progress  of  all  parties 
involved to detect and address potential delays of any parts of the EU information systems and 
interoperability components in order to ensure full availability of the upgraded VIS in Autumn 
2026. 

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