International. A new biometric visa, which collects information from the face and fingerprints of bearers to make it more secure, was put into operation in all countries of Europe without schengen internal borders.
Now the three-month visas "will be processed more quickly and the theft or impersonation of documents will be avoided," the European Interior Police Station, Cecilia Malmström, said in a statement.
The new system will allow all national authorities to collate online the data of visa holders, which will strengthen the integrity of the common system, the so-called Visa Information System (VIS), Malmström added.
The system works thanks to a gigantic database that exchanges information 24 hours a day between all Schengen countries on the entry and exit of foreigners with short-stay visas.
In the Schengen area some 13 million visas are issued annually, with the VIS the issuance and verification of the authenticity of visas is streamlined. If someone who has already had a visa applies for a new one, the background check and the applicant's reliability will be quick. The digitized fingerprint will be stored for five years, then erased.
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