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Rabat – The European Union Council has given the green light for the digitalization of Schengen visa application procedures, promising a more efficient and cost-effective system.
The move, approved on Monday, involves eliminating consulate appointments and traditional visa stickers in favor of a streamlined online platform, Schengen Visa Info reported.
The EU plans to roll out the new system by 2026, aiming to simplify the application process, reduce costs, and save time for both applicants and member states, added the report.
The digital visa application platform is expected to coexist with the current system in 2026, with a complete transition to online applications by 2028.
By the time the platform is fully operational in 2028, an estimated 22 to 25 million visa applications worldwide will be processed through the digital system.
“After the end of the transition period (end 2028), all visa applications would be lodged online through the EU visa application platform (except a few exceptional cases for which a paper procedure would remain possible),” according to the EU Regulation on the Digitalisation of the Visa Procedure.
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Besart Bajrami, founder of SchengenVisaInfo and VisaGuide.World, sees this as a “revolutionary” change that will reshape the visa application experience, “making it not only less expensive, but also less time and energy consuming, and thus less stressful.”
Applicants will experience several key changes, including the ability to complete all procedures in one platform, the submission of digital documents instead of physical copies, and online payment of visa fees through the platform. In addition, traditional visa stickers will be replaced with digital barcodes.
Only first-time applicants, those with invalid biometric data, and those with new travel documents will be required to apply in person.
Recent data shared by Schengen Visa Info revealed that Moroccans spent €33.8 million on Schengen visa applications last year, making Morocco the African country with the highest number of Schengen visa applications, totaling over 423,000.
In addition to the financial costs, the data indicated that only 57.5% of the applications received a positive response, with over 119,000 applicants rejected.
