Use of the VIS for consultation and requests for documents
Article 16
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.