New rules for obtaining a Schengen visa come into force in Belarus from June 23
Now citizens aged 12 and older will have to appear in person at the embassy to provide biometric data – fingerprints and a digital photograph. We discussed this innovation and other issues related to traveling to Schengen countries with the Consul, Head of the Consulate of the Republic of Latvia in Vitebsk, Dagnija Lace-Ate.
– VIS is a system for exchanging visa information between the Schengen Agreement member states. It facilitates the verification of the reliability of a person wishing to enter the Schengen area, in particular, whether the applicant has used previous visas in accordance with the law. This simplifies the issuance process, especially for frequent travelers.
The availability of biometric data helps prevent the use of someone else's documents and protects travelers in case of passport theft or loss.
The data is stored in the VIS system for 59 months – almost 5 years. Individuals who frequently visit the Schengen area will not need to submit their fingerprints again each time they apply for a new visa. Previously stored information will be used for this purpose.
After the 59-month period expires, when submitting a new visa application, consular officers will need to re-enter the applicant's biometric data into the VIS database.
Children under 12 years of age and individuals who are physically unable to provide fingerprints (due to the absence of fingers) are exempt from the fingerprint submission requirement, and a corresponding note is made in the visa system.
Fingerprint collection is a simple procedure and takes only a few minutes.
– This also concerns a digital photograph. Should it be provided by the applicant, or will the staff take the picture on-site? And will a paper photograph also need to be presented?
– After the introduction of biometric data, photos will need to be submitted in paper form along with documents. We will either scan the digital image from paper copies or take it on-site; this is still being decided. In any case, there is no need to send photos or bring them on a flash drive.
– Please tell us, how will the processing of tourists traveling in groups be organized? Will they be able to come on different days to obtain a visa?
– Currently, the consulate plans to allocate separate time slots for group travel applicants to submit documents. However, it is important to remember that any visa application is considered individually, regardless of whether the trip is group or individual. Therefore, each applicant must have a complete set of supporting documents and can book a convenient time slot for themselves.
I would also like to draw attention to the departure of children in groups. A minor does not have the right to sign a visa application themselves. Only one of the parents or a legal guardian can do this on their behalf, as they are the ones who decide whether to let the child travel abroad or not.
– What types of multiple-entry visas are available, and who has a chance to obtain them?
– Category "C" visas can be single-entry, double-entry, or multiple-entry.
Single-entry visas are issued for a specific period of stay. Double-entry visas are mainly intended for those who need to cross the Schengen Area during transit. For example, a person wishes to visit the United Kingdom, which is not a Schengen country, and will travel there by car. One visa is needed to cross Schengen and reach the destination, and the second one is to return by the same route.
Multiple-entry visas can be issued for different periods. Usually, they are for one year (90 days of stay in each half-year), as well as for two and five years. Primarily, reliable tourists who have not violated the Visa Code and the purpose of their trip in previous journeys can apply for them. Such a visa is also issued to people whose travel purpose will not change in the coming years. For example, relatives. This is always an individual decision.
Therefore, I urge those who are going to apply for a visa not to try to embellish or conceal anything. We work by delving into the essence of the issue. There have been cases where a person presented a forged income statement from their workplace because they believed their actual salary was too low. This is a conscious submission of false information and, consequently, a refusal.
– People do this because there is a common belief that if you have a low salary, are a housewife, or are on parental leave, you won't get a visa…
– That's nonsense. A person must prove that they have sufficient funds to stay in the Schengen area: to pay for a reserved hotel and 25 euros per day. To do this, you need to provide a statement of salary, benefits, or pension, and then we can see that the applicant has the money for the trip.
If, for some reason, a person does not wish to submit such a statement, they must provide information that they have sufficient funds in their bank account for their stay. And it must be a current account, not a deposit account.
If, for example, a student applies for a visa, they must have a letter from their parents stating that they agree to sponsor their child's stay abroad. The same applies to housewives. If a working spouse stays at home, and his non-working wife travels, she submits her husband's salary statement along with her documents, as well as a copy of his passport and a statement from her husband that he will sponsor her trip.
– Ms. Dagnija, what if a person has a multi-year Schengen visa issued without biometrics, will it remain valid?
– Yes. Such visas can be used until their expiry date. Biometric data will only be collected from applicants for new visas from June 23.
– What should a traveler do if they had one surname when obtaining a visa with biometrics, and then changed it and, consequently, their passport. In this case, is a new visa required, or will the old one remain valid?
– If the visa is still valid for a sufficiently long period, you can write an application requesting its transfer to a new passport, stating the reason for this. This reason may not only be a change of surname but also the loss or theft of the document.
– When changing a passport that contained many visas, is it worth making a copy?
– It is. Because currently, we cannot see visas issued by consulates of other countries, and we have to contact our colleagues for clarification. With visas issued after collecting biometric data, there will be no such problems.
– Which countries, besides Latvia, can one get a visa for at your consulate?
– The Consulate of the Republic of Latvia in Vitebsk also issues visas for Estonia, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Slovenia.
– What is the cost of a Schengen visa for a child?
– The Visa Code implies that a visa is issued free of charge for children under 6 years old. For children up to 12 years old, it costs 35 euros. However, according to the agreement between Latvia and Belarus, Belarusian children receive a visa free of charge up to and including 12 years of age. From 13 to 24 years old, if the young man or woman is a full-time student, the visa costs 35 euros. But this is only if the main or sole purpose of the trip is Latvia.
– The purpose or country of entry?
– The purpose. It is a myth that having obtained a visa to Latvia, one can enter the Schengen area through it, and then travel, for example, to Poland, and the visa will be used correctly. This is not true. In such a case, Latvia must be the main country in terms of the duration of stay. And it is not necessarily the first country on the route.
– Tell me, is it possible to get a Schengen visa without knowing when and where you are going – just to have it in case of an interesting tourist offer?
– A visa is issued for specific trips, not for the purpose of going somewhere someday. The application form contains specific questions: where and when exactly you are going, where you will be staying, and so on. And this information must correspond to the person's plans.
Unfortunately, very often, when applying for multiple-entry visas, people reserve a room in a hotel where they do not intend to stay. Then the reservation is canceled, and the person, having received the visa, disappears somewhere in the Schengen area. Both we and the migration services of the Schengen Agreement member states re-check hotel reservations. And if a citizen is not where they declared, it is a gross violation of visa usage, which can lead to the annulment of an already issued visa. If you don't know where you are going yet, then you shouldn't apply for documents yet.
Such a disservice – issuing a visa to nowhere – is often provided by unaccredited firms that promise people a multiple-entry visa for a certain amount of money.
For documents for a Schengen short-stay visa of category "C", in addition to accredited travel agencies, you can contact the Visa Center of the official service provider of the Consulate of the Republic of Latvia in Vitebsk "Pony Express", which is located at 6 Chernyakhovsky Avenue. Any other intermediation is illegal.
According to the Visa Code, Schengen visa applications can be submitted up to three months before the start of the trip. This means that those planning to travel to the Schengen area before September 23 can take advantage of the opportunity and submit their visa applications without biometric data by June 23.
– Thank you, Ms. Dagnija, for your detailed answers!
Elena Alimova, "Vitebskiye Vesti"