EU launches fingerprint database for Schengen visa application

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union (EU) on Tuesday Oct 11 has launched a new database for Schengen visa application, that includes collecting fingerprints and digital facial images, in a bid to speed up visa process as well as prevent fraud.

The so-called Visa Information system (VIS) started from North Africa on Tuesday, the first operational region to be followed by the Near East and the Gulf regions.

It is planned to cover all of the 2,500 Schengen consulates worldwide within two years.

"This is a big step towards improving and modernizing the common EU visa policy," the EU's home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.

The new system has been designed to facilitate the process of visa issuing in a more efficient and secure way, according to the commissioner, so that foreigners would benefit from clearer visa application rules.

Currently, about 13 million visas are issued every year by the 25 Schengen countries, and the authorities find it hard to prevent cases of visa frauds and abuses.

The new database, however, will be shared by all Schengen countries, so that authorities may prevent identity theft and check, for the first time, if a person is simultaneously applying for visa from two or more states or has been denied entry by a certain state.

Earlier this year, an influx of North African immigrants to some European countries triggered dissidence among many EU member states as well as huge debate towards Schengen reform.

The Schengen regime, often referred to as "free movement of the persons", grants passport-free travel within 25 European countries, which benefits over 400 million Europeans as well as millions of international travelers.

Along with its noticeable expansion over the past decade, Schengen is also increasingly challenged by cross-border crimes and illegal immigration, especially amid the current debt crisis and economic difficulties across Europe, Bernama reported.