EU to introduce streamlined Schengen visa system
By DPA, IANSTuesday, March 30, 2010
BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) officials Tuesday hailed a streamlined new system for issuing visas to enter the Schengen zone, saying that it would make travel easier when it comes into force April 5.
Twenty-five European states make up the borderless Schengen zone, with a single visa allowing entry to all of them. But until now, each state has had its own method of issuing visas, making the system complex and unpredictable.
The new system will be “clearer, more precise, more transparent and fairer,” European Commission spokesman Michele Cercone told journalists in Brussels.
The new rules establish for the first time a single application procedure for Schengen visas, including a shorter application form and the right to appeal a refusal.
They also set up a deadline of two weeks for the applicant to be interviewed, and a further 15 calendar days for a decision to be made.
The standard fee for a short-stay visa of 60 euros ($81) stays the same, but a reduced rate of 35 euros is to be expanded to cover children up to 12 years old and citizens of countries which have visa facilitation deals with the EU.
The Schengen states are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Britain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are EU members but remain outside the Schengen zone.
