EUROPEAN UNION – Biometric Requirement for Schengen Visa Underway in Additional Countries
As of November 2, 2015, the Visa Information System (VIS) is now in operation at the embassies and consulates of Schengen States in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Visa applicants will be subject to provide biometric information, which comprises of fingerprints and photographs, when submitting visa applications at the applicable embassy or consulate.
First-time applicants for the Schengen Visa must apply in person and provide biometrics. The biometric data will then be stored in the VIS for a period of five years thus not requiring applicants to submit further biometric data when applying for future Schengen visas within that timeframe.
Originally introduced in 2011, the Visa Information System combines the application process for Schengen visas and continues to be launched region by region. The aforementioned South Asian countries make up the “20th region” in which the VIS is presently deployed in.