Schengen visa regulations: what will change
In the beginning of April it became clear that the European Committee plans new regulations for people outside the European Union who wish to visit the visa free Schengen zone for short trips, business meetings and holidays. The European Committee in the face of the Euro Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström hopes that these new measures and smarter visa policy concerning the Schengen visas for short stays will attract more tourists, students, artists and business people to Europe.
The offer of the European Committee for alleviation of the Schengen visa requirements include several measures. The first one is for a shorter period for the processing and decision making for granting a visa from 15 days to a period of 10 days. The second one is to give an opportunity for submission of Schengen visa applications in countries of the European Union that are in case the Commonwealth is responsible for examining the application or if there is no representation in the country of application. There are plans for various reductions for the regular passengers, as well as a visa for multiple entries that will be valid for three years.
The rest of the Schengen visa alleviations requirements include a simple application form, a chance for online application, a chance for special schemes for Schengen visa granting at the very border for stays up to 15 days in the travel free zone of Schengen. The European Union will also get the opportunity to issue Schengen visas if the visitor comes for an important event. The authorities are even thinking of a new visa type that will allow the travelers to move into the travel free Schengen zone for a period of up to one year, in case they do not leave the member state they are staying at for a period longer of 90 days. All these changes need to be improved by the European Parliament and the EU Council, however this is expected to happen no earlier than in 2015. In case these changes enter into force, they will apply to all countries in the European Union, the Schengen area and the associated countries of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
