Visa Information System (VIS)

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The system

The Visa Information System (VIS) is a system for the exchange of data on short-stay visas among Member States.

It is established by Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation).

It has the purpose of improving the implementation of the common visa policy, consular cooperation and consultation between Central visa authorities by facilitating the exchange of data between Member States on applications and on the decisions relating thereto in order to facilitate the visa application procedure, to prevent ‘visa shopping’, to facilitate the fight against fraud and to facilitate checks at external border crossing points and within the territory of the Member States.

The VIS should also assist in the identification of any person who may not, or may no longer, fulfil the conditions for entry to, stay or residence on the territory of the Member States and facilitate the establishment of the criteria and mechanism for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national and contribute to the prevention of threats to the internal security of any of the Member State.

In specific cases, the national authorities and Europol may request access to data entered in the VIS for the purpose of preventing, detecting and investigating terrorist and criminal offences. The procedures for such consultations are established in Council Decision 2008/663/JHA. These consultations are carried out via central access points in the participating countries and by Europol.

Two main types of search are possible: verification and identification. Verification consists of a check, carried out by the separate Automated Fingerprint Identification System or Biometric Matching System (hereinafter AFIS or BMS) that the fingerprints scanned at the border crossing point correspond to those associated with the biometric record attached to the visa (fast check done in few seconds). Identification consists of comparing the fingerprints taken at the border crossing post with the contents of the entire database (duration up to several minutes).

The system will be implemented at all national consulates and official EU border crossing points within 3 years of the system going live.

The VIS consists of the Central VIS, a national interface in each Member State and a communication infrastructure between the Central VIS and the national interfaces. The VIS is connected to the national visa systems of all Member States via the national interfaces to enable competent authorities of the Member States to process data on visa applications and on all visas that are issued, refused, annulled, revoked or extended.

The Central VIS is composed of two systems: the VIS central database with alphanumerical searching capabilities and the BMS that compares new fingerprints against those in the database and returns hit/no hit response, along with matches.

Your rights

The rights of data-subject in the framework of the VIS system are establish in Chapter VI of REGULATION (EC) No 767/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL, of 9 July 2008, concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation)

Article 37: Right of information

1. Applicants and the persons referred to in Article 9(4)(f) shall be informed of the following by the Member State responsible:

(a) the identity of the controller referred to in Article 41(4), including his contact details;

(b) the purposes for which the data will be processed within the VIS;

(c) the categories of recipients of the data, including the authorities referred to in Article 3;

(d) the data retention period;

(e) that the collection of the data is mandatory for the examination of the application;

(f) the existence of the right of access to data relating to them, and the right to request that inaccurate data relating to them be corrected or that unlawfully processed data relating to them be deleted, including the right to receive information on the procedures for exercising those rights and the contact details of the National Supervisory Authorities referred to in Article 41(1), which shall hear claims concerning the protection of personal data.

2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided in writing to the applicant when the data from the application form, the photograph and the fingerprint data as referred to in Article 9(4), (5) and (6) are collected.

3. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided to the persons referred to in Article 9(4)(f) on the forms to be signed by those persons providing proof of invitation, sponsorship and accommodation.

Article 38: Right of access, correction and deletion

1. Without prejudice to the obligation to provide other information in accordance with Article 12(a) of Directive 95/ 46/EC, any person shall have the right to obtain communication of the data relating to him recorded in the VIS and of the Member State which transmitted them to the VIS. Such access to data may be granted only by a Member State. Each Member State shall record any requests for such access.

2. Any person may request that data relating to him which are inaccurate be corrected and that data recorded unlawfully be deleted. The correction and deletion shall be carried out without delay by the Member State responsible, in accordance with its laws, regulations and procedures.

3. If the request as provided for in paragraph 2 is made to a Member State other than the Member State responsible, the authorities of the Member State with which the request was lodged shall contact the authorities of the Member State responsible within a period of 14 days.

The Member State responsible shall check the accuracy of the data and the lawfulness of their processing in the VIS within a period of one month.

4. If it emerges that data recorded in the VIS are inaccurate or have been recorded unlawfully, the Member State responsible shall correct or delete the data in accordance with Article 24(3). The Member State responsible shall confirm in writing to the person concerned without delay that it has taken action to correct or delete data relating to him.

5. If the Member State responsible does not agree that data recorded in the VIS are inaccurate or have been recorded unlawfully, it shall explain in writing to the person concerned without delay why it is not prepared to correct or delete data relating to him.

6. The Member State responsible shall also provide the person concerned with information explaining the steps which he can take if he does not accept the explanation provided. This shall include information on how to bring an action or a complaint before the competent authorities or courts of that Member State and on any assistance, including from the national supervisory authorities referred to in Article 41(1), that is available in accordance with the laws, regulations and procedures of that Member State.

Legislation

  • REGULATION (EC) No. 767/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation)
  • REGULATION (EC) No. 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code), 13 July 2009

Right of access, rectification and erasure

Individuals can exercise their rights at the following electronic address:

MINISTERIO DE ASUNTOS EXTERIORES, UNIÓN EUROPEA Y COOPERACIÓN. DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE ESPAÑOLES EN EL EXTERIOR Y DE ASUNTOS CONSULARES Y MIGRATORIOS

Inspección General de Servicios. Ministerio De Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea Y Cooperación.

Dirección: Plaza de la Provincia 1, Madrid, España.

Email: dpd@maec.es

Forms

For exercising of these rights, the following forms can be used: