Procedures for entering data upon the application
1. On receipt of an application, the visa authority shall create without delay the application file, by entering the data referred to in Article 9 in the VIS, as far as these data are required to be provided by the applicant.
2. When creating the application file, the visa authority shall check in the VIS, in accordance with Article 15, whether a previous application of the individual applicant has been registered in the VIS by any of the Member States.
3. If a previous application has been registered, the visa authority shall link each new application file to the previous application file on that applicant.
4. If the applicant is travelling in a group or with his spouse and/or children, the visa authority shall create an application file for each applicant and link the application files of the persons travelling together.
5. Where particular data are not required to be provided for legal reasons or factually cannot be provided, the specific data field(s) shall be marked as ‘not applicable’. In the case of fingerprints, the system shall for the purposes of Article 17 permit a distinction to be made between the cases where fingerprints are not required to be provided for legal reasons and the cases where they cannot be provided factually; after a period of four years this functionality shall expire unless it is confirmed by a Commission decision on the basis of the evaluation referred to in Article 50(4).
Data upon lodging the application
The visa authority shall enter the following data in the application file:
1.
the application number;
2.
status information, indicating that a visa has been requested;
3.
the authority with which the application has been lodged, including its location, and whether the application has been lodged with that authority representing another Member State;
4.
the following data to be taken from the application form:
(a)
surname, surname at birth (former surname(s)); first name(s); sex; date, place and country of birth;
(b)
current nationality and nationality at birth;
(c)
type and number of the travel document, the authority which issued it and the date of issue and of expiry;
(d)
place and date of the application;
(e)
type of visa requested;
(f)
details of the person issuing an invitation and/or liable to pay the applicant's subsistence costs during the stay, being:
(i)
in the case of a natural person, the surname and first name and address of the person;
(ii)
in the case of a company or other organisation, the name and address of the company/other organisation, surname and first name of the contact person in that company/organisation;
(g)
main destination and duration of the intended stay;
(h)
purpose of travel;
(i)
intended date of arrival and departure;
(j)
intended border of first entry or transit route;
(k)
residence;
(l)
current occupation and employer; for students: name of school;
(m)
in the case of minors, surname and first name(s) of the applicant's father and mother;
5.
a photograph of the applicant, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1683/95;
6.
fingerprints of the applicant, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Common Consular Instructions.
Data to be added for a visa issued
1. Where a decision has been taken to issue a visa, the visa authority that issued the visa shall add the following data to the application file:
(a)
status information indicating that the visa has been issued;
(b)
the authority that issued the visa, including its location, and whether that authority issued it on behalf of another Member State;
(c)
place and date of the decision to issue the visa;
(d)
the type of visa;
(e)
the number of the visa sticker;
(f)
the territory in which the visa holder is entitled to travel, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Common Consular Instructions;
(g)
the commencement and expiry dates of the validity period of the visa;
(h)
the number of entries authorised by the visa in the territory for which the visa is valid;
(i)
the duration of the stay as authorised by the visa;
(j)
if applicable, the information indicating that the visa has been issued on a separate sheet in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 333/2002 of 18 February 2002 on a uniform format for forms for affixing the visa issued by Member States to persons holding travel documents not recognised by the Member State drawing up the form ( 21 ) .
2. If an application is withdrawn or not pursued further by the applicant before a decision has been taken whether to issue a visa, the visa authority with which the application was lodged shall indicate that the application has been closed for these reasons and the date when the application was closed.
Data to be added where the examination of the application is discontinued
In circumstances where the visa authority representing another Member State is forced to discontinue the examination of the application, it shall add the following data to the application file:
1.
status information indicating that the examination of the application has been discontinued;
2.
the authority that discontinued the examination of the application, including its location;
3.
place and date of the decision to discontinue the examination;
4.
the Member State competent to examine the application.
Data to be added for a visa refusal
1. Where a decision has been taken to refuse a visa, the visa authority which refused the visa shall add the following data to the application file:
(a)
status information indicating that the visa has been refused;
(b)
the authority that refused the visa, including its location;
(c)
place and date of the decision to refuse the visa.
2. The application file shall also indicate the ground(s) for refusal of the visa, which shall be one or more of the following. The applicant:
(a)
has no valid travel document(s);
(b)
has a false/counterfeit/forged travel document;
(c)
does not justify the purpose and conditions of stay, in particular is considered to represent a specific risk of illegal immigration pursuant to Part V of the Common Consular Instructions;
(d)
has already stayed for three months during a six-month period on the territory of the Member States;
(e)
does not have sufficient means of subsistence in relation to the period and form of stay, or the means to return to the country of origin or transit;
(f)
is a person for whom an alert has been issued for the purposes of refusing entry in the Schengen Information System (SIS) and/or in the national register;
(g)
is considered to constitute a threat to public policy, internal security or the international relations of any of the Member States, or to public health, as defined in Article 2 point 19 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) ( 22 ) .
Data to be added for a visa annulled or revoked or with a shortened validity period
1. Where a decision has been taken to annul or to revoke a visa, or to shorten the validity period of a visa, the visa authority that has taken the decision shall add the following data to the application file:
(a)
status information indicating that the visa has been annulled or revoked or the validity period has been shortened;
(b)
authority that annulled or revoked the visa or shortened the validity period of the visa, including its location;
(c)
place and date of the decision;
(d)
the new expiry date of the validity of the visa, if appropriate;
(e)
the number of the visa sticker, if the reduced period takes the form of a new visa sticker.
2. The application file shall also indicate the ground(s) for annulment, revocation or shortening the validity period of the visa, which shall be:
(a)
in the case of annulment or revocation, one or more of the grounds listed in Article 12(2);
(b)
in the case of a decision to shorten the validity period of the visa, one or more of the following grounds:
(i)
for the purposes of the expulsion of the visa holder;
(ii)
absence of adequate means of subsistence for the initially intended duration of the stay.
Data to be added for a visa extended
1. Where a decision has been taken to extend a visa, the visa authority which extended the visa shall add the following data to the application file:
(a)
status information indicating that the visa has been extended;
(b)
the authority that extended the visa, including its location;
(c)
place and date of the decision;
(d)
the number of the visa sticker, if the extension of the visa takes the form of a new visa;
(e)
the commencement and expiry dates of the extended period;
(f)
period of the extension of the authorised duration of the stay;
(g)
the territory in which the visa holder is entitled to travel, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Common Consular Instructions;
(h)
the type of the visa extended.
2. The application file shall also indicate the grounds for extending the visa, which shall be one or more of the following:
(a)
force majeure;
(b)
humanitarian reasons;
(c)
serious occupational reasons;
(d)
serious personal reasons.
Use of the VIS for examining applications
1. The competent visa authority shall consult the VIS for the purposes of the examination of applications and the decisions relating to those applications, including the decision whether to annul, revoke, extend or shorten the validity of the visa in accordance with the relevant provisions.
2. For the purposes referred to in paragraph 1, the competent visa authority shall be given access to search with one or several of the following data:
(a)
the application number;
(b)
the data referred to in Article 9(4)(a);
(c)
the data on the travel document, referred to in Article 9(4)(c);
(d)
the surname, first name and address of the natural person or the name and address of the company/other organisation, referred to in Article 9(4)(f);
(e)
fingerprints;
(f)
the number of the visa sticker and date of issue of any previous visa.
3. If the search with one or several of the data listed in paragraph 2 indicates that data on the applicant are recorded in the VIS, the competent visa authority shall be given access to the application file(s) and the linked application file(s) pursuant to Article 8(3) and (4), solely for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1.
Use of the VIS for consultation and requests for documents
1. For the purposes of consultation between central visa authorities on applications according to Article 17(2) of the Schengen Convention, the consultation request and the responses thereto shall be transmitted in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. The Member State which is responsible for examining the application shall transmit the consultation request with the application number to the VIS, indicating the Member State or the Member States to be consulted.
The VIS shall transmit the request to the Member State or the Member States indicated.
The Member State or the Member States consulted shall transmit their response to the VIS, which shall transmit that response to the Member State which initiated the request.
3. The procedure set out in paragraph 2 may also apply to the transmission of information on the issue of visas with limited territorial validity and other messages related to consular cooperation as well as to the transmission of requests to the competent visa authority to forward copies of travel documents and other documents supporting the application and to the transmission of electronic copies of those documents. The competent visa authorities shall respond to the request without delay.
4. The personal data transmitted pursuant to this Article shall be used solely for the consultation of central visa authorities and consular cooperation.
Use of data for reporting and statistics
The competent visa authorities shall have access to consult the following data, solely for the purposes of reporting and statistics without allowing the identification of individual applicants:
1.
status information;
2.
the competent visa authority, including its location;
3.
current nationality of the applicant;
4.
border of first entry;
5.
date and place of the application or the decision concerning the visa;
6.
the type of visa requested or issued;
7.
the type of the travel document;
8.
the grounds indicated for any decision concerning the visa or visa application;
9.
the competent visa authority, including its location, which refused the visa application and the date of the refusal;
10.
the cases in which the same applicant applied for a visa from more than one visa authority, indicating these visa authorities, their location and the dates of refusals;
11.
purpose of travel;
12.
the cases in which the data referred to in Article 9(6) could factually not be provided, in accordance with the second sentence of Article 8(5);
13.
the cases in which the data referred to in Article 9(6) was not required to be provided for legal reasons, in accordance with the second sentence of Article 8(5);
14.
the cases in which a person who could factually not provide the data referred to in Article 9(6) was refused a visa, in accordance with the second sentence of Article 8(5).
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
