27 European countries are set to
introduce a biometric visa application system for applicants from
Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Turkey, Eastern Europe and East
Asia among others.
The European Union in a statement said
this is to help streamline visa applications and protect applicants
against identity theft and visa shopping.
The new Visa Information System (VIS),
which went live on Thursday, will only affect Schengen countries, a
group of 27 European countries that signed a treaty on June 14, 1985 to
abolish passport and immigration controls at their common borders.
Unlike
manual visa application, which compels applicants to appear in person
for every new visa application, the new system will automatically track
previous visa information as applicants make new requests for
multiple-entry visas.
“Fingerprints are widely used within the
EU as a secure means of identification. The use of biometric data for
identification is a faster and more accurate way to identify a visa
holder by border police,” the statement said.
However, children aged below 12 years
and persons for whom the collection of fingerprints is physically
impossible have been exempted from the obligation of fingerprinting
