Regulation (EU) 2023/2667 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EC) No 810/2009 and (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 693/2003 and (EC) No 694/2003 and Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, as regards the digitalisation of the visa procedure

‘4a Bilateral representation arrangements shall be displayed in the EU VAP.’

‘1a Without prejudice to Articles 33 and 35, applications shall be lodged via the EU VAP.

1b By derogation from paragraph 1a, Member States may allow the following categories of persons to lodge an application without using the EU VAP: (a) third-country nationals for humanitarian reasons; (b) third-country nationals in justified individual cases or in cases of force majeure; (c) heads of State or government and members of a national government with accompanying spouses, and the members of their official delegation when they are invited by Member States’ governments or by international organisations for an official purpose, sovereigns and other senior members of a royal family, when they are invited by Member States’ governments or by international organisations for an official purpose.’

‘1 When lodging an application, applicants shall, where required in accordance with Article 13, appear in person to provide their biometric identifiers. Applicants shall also appear in person for the verification of their travel document in accordance with Article 12.’

‘1a Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 1b, in cases of doubt concerning the travel document, supporting documents, or both, or in individual cases in a particular location where there is a high incidence of fraudulent documents, Member States may require, on the basis of a preliminary assessment of the application, that the applicant appear in person to present that travel document or to provide supporting documents, or both.

1b Consulates shall, within local Schengen cooperation, assess the implementation of the conditions laid down in paragraph 1a, to take account of local circumstances.’

‘3 When lodging the application, the applicant shall: (a) submit an application form as provided for in Article 11; (b) provide proof of holding the travel document in accordance with Article 12; (c) allow his or her facial image to be taken live in accordance with Article 13 or, where the exemptions referred to in Article 13(7a) apply, present a photograph in accordance with the standards set out in Regulation (EC) No 1683/95; (d) allow the collection of his or her fingerprints in accordance with Article 13, where applicable; (e) pay the visa fee in accordance with Article 16; (f) provide proof of the supporting documents in accordance with Article 14; (g) where applicable, provide proof of possession of adequate and valid travel medical insurance in accordance with Article 15.’

‘1 The application form shall be submitted and electronically signed. In the cases referred to in Article 9(1b), the applicants may submit a manually or electronically completed application form, which shall be signed manually. Persons included in the applicant’s travel document shall submit a separate application form. Minors shall submit an application form signed by a person exercising the permanent or temporary parental authority or legal guardianship of that minor.’

‘1c Each applicant shall submit a completed application form including a declaration of the authenticity, completeness, correctness and reliability of the data submitted and a declaration of the veracity and reliability of the statements made. Each applicant shall also state that he or she has understood the entry conditions referred to in Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code and that he or she may be requested to provide the relevant supporting documents at each entry.’

‘4 If the application form is not available in the official language(s) of the host country, a translation of it into that/those language(s) and, where applicable, into any widely spoken unofficial language of the host country, shall be made available separately to applicants.

5 In accordance with Article 48(1a), point (c) and where a common translation into the relevant languages does not yet exist, the local Schengen cooperation shall ensure a common translation of the application form into the official language(s) of the host country and, where the local Schengen cooperation considers it necessary, into any widely spoken unofficial language of the host country.’

1 The applicant shall provide proof of holding a valid travel document satisfying the following criteria: (a) its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States or, in the case of several visits, after the last intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. However, in a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived; (b) it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years.

2 Without prejudice to Article 10(1a) the applicant shall only be required to present the travel document in person in case of a first application with that travel document, or if the applicant is required to provide biometric identifiers.

3 Where required under paragraph 2, the authenticity, integrity and validity of the travel documents shall be checked and verified using the appropriate technology.

4 The consulate, the central authorities or the external service provider shall verify that the travel document, which is presented in person in accordance with paragraph 2, corresponds to the electronic copy of the biographic data page of the travel document uploaded by the applicant. If the verification is performed by the external service provider, the external service provider shall use the external service provider gateway referred to in Article 7f of the VIS Regulation.

5 Where the external service provider has doubts about the identity of the applicant or about the authenticity, integrity or validity of the presented travel document, it shall communicate those doubts to the consulate or the central authorities and send the travel document to the consulate for further verification.

6 Where the presented travel document contains a storage medium (chip), the consulate, or the central authorities or the external service provider shall read the chip and check the authenticity and integrity of the chip data. The following data shall be uploaded to the EU VAP: (a) the relevant personal data limited to the data included in the machine-readable zone and the photograph; (b) the electronic certificates; (c) the protocols of the check.

7 The Commission shall, by means of an implementing act, adopt minimum standards with regard to technology, methods and procedures to be used when travel documents are checked and verified by the consulate, the central authorities or the external service provider in order to make sure that the travel document provided or presented is not false, counterfeit or forged, and with regard to technology, methods and procedures to be used when processing chip data pursuant to paragraph 6 of this Article. This implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 52(2).

8 Where there are doubts as to the quality of the electronic copy of the travel document, in particular as to whether it corresponds to the original, the competent consulate or the external service provider shall make a new electronic copy of the travel document and upload it to the EU VAP.’

Visas shall be issued in digital format in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1683/95. Digital visas shall be a record in the VIS and shall have a unique visa number.’

1 The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt the rules for filling in the data fields of the digital visa laid down in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1683/95. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 52(2) of this Regulation.

2 Member States may add national entries in the ‘comments’ section of the visa, in accordance with Article 10(1), point (n), of the VIS Regulation. Those entries shall not duplicate the mandatory entries established in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.’

If an error is detected on a visa sticker for a visa not issued in digital format, the visa sticker shall be invalidated by drawing a cross with indelible ink on the visa sticker and a digital visa with the correct data shall be issued.’

1 Visa holders whose travel document has been lost, stolen, has expired or has been invalidated and whose visa is still valid shall apply for the confirmation of the visa in a new travel document, if they wish to continue using the visa. The new travel document shall be of the same type and issued by the same country as the lost, stolen, expired or invalidated travel document. The visa shall be confirmed by the authority which issued the visa or by another authority of the same Member State as communicated by the Member State which issued the visa.

2 Visa holders as referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply for confirmation of the visa in a new travel document via the EU VAP, by using a simplified application form. They shall provide the following data: (a) surname, surname at birth, first name, date and place of birth, sex, nationality; (b) number of the visa; (c) data of the lost, stolen, expired or invalidated travel document; (d) data of the new travel document; (e) electronic copy of the biographic data page of the new travel document; (f) proof of loss or theft of the travel document; (g) where applicable, identity changes since the issuance of that visa.

3 The visa holder shall pay the visa confirmation fee of EUR 20.

4 The visa holder shall be required to appear in person as communicated by the Member State.

5 The new travel document shall fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 12 and shall be verified in accordance with that Article.

6 Without prejudice to the respective consultation rights, the competent consulate or central authorities of the competent Member State may consult the databases referred to in Article 9a(3) of the VIS Regulation when a confirmation of visa is requested.

7 Where the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State determine that a valid visa can be confirmed in a new travel document, they shall enter the data in the application file in the VIS in accordance with Article 12a of the VIS Regulation.

8 As soon as a decision on the confirmation of a visa in a new travel document has been taken by the competent authority and made available in the secure account in accordance with Article 7g(2) of the VIS Regulation, the EU VAP shall send an electronic message to the visa holder in accordance with Article 7g(1) of that Regulation. The decision on the confirmation of a visa in a new travel document shall be made available to the visa holder in the secure account. That confirmation shall be attested by a confirmation number.

9 Where the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State cannot determine whether a valid visa can be confirmed in a new travel document, in particular because of doubts regarding the identity of the visa holder, they shall refuse the confirmation and revoke the valid visa, in accordance with Article 34.

10 A negative decision regarding the confirmation of a valid visa in a new travel document shall not preclude the visa holder from submitting a new visa application. This shall be without prejudice to the right of the applicant to appeal in accordance with Article 34(7).’

‘6 The EU VAP shall consist of the following components: (a) a public website and an app for mobile devices; (b) temporary storage capacity; (c) a secure account service; (d) a verification tool for applicants; (e) a web service for visa holders; (f) an email service; (g) a payment tool; (h) a tool for managing appointments (the appointment tool); (i) an external service provider gateway; (j) a configuration module for eu-LISA, central authorities and consulates; (k) software to generate and read encrypted 2D barcode; (l) a secure web service enabling the components of the EU VAP to communicate; (m) a helpdesk function to be managed by eu-LISA; (n) read-only copy of VIS database.; (o) a functionality allowing the applicant to print documents; (p) a chatbot; (q) a secured communication infrastructure for Member States to access the EU VAP.

7 A Member State which does not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full may request eu-LISA to introduce links to the relevant national application procedure of the Member State concerned through the inclusion of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the website referred to in paragraph 6 point (a).’

1 The EU VAP shall provide general information to the public as referred to in Article 47 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009. The Commission and the Member States shall be responsible for providing the information, in accordance with their respective responsibilities set out in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.

2 The EU VAP shall display the entry conditions laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399.

3 eu-LISA shall be responsible for publishing and updating the following general public information on the EU VAP upon receiving the following information from the Commission or the Member States: (a) the visa requirements, including visa lists, visa waiver agreements, waivers for diplomatic and service passports, and cases of possible suspension of visa-free travel, under Articles 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Annexes I and II to that Regulation; as well as information under Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, that provides the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens, and the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (“EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement”); (b) the amount of the visa fees as referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 and the amount of reduced or higher fees as applicable, such as: (i) in the case of a visa facilitation agreement, or a readmission-related measure stemming from Article 25a of that Regulation; (ii) where Directive 2004/38/EC applies; (iii) in the case of an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, that provides the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens, and (iv) where the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement applies; (c) where applicable, harmonised lists of supporting documents, adopted in accordance with Article 14(5a) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009; (d) where applicable, travel medical insurance requirements, in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009. Where a Member State provides the information, eu-LISA shall configure the EU VAP upon confirmation of this information from the Commission.

4 The central authorities shall be responsible for entering the following elements into EU VAP: (a) locations of consulates and their territorial competence referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009; (b) representation agreements or arrangements referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009; (c) use of external service providers and their locations referred to in Article 43 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009; (d) supporting documents referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, as well as those applicable pursuant to Directive 2004/38/EC and the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement; (e) optional visa waivers referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806; (f) optional visa fee waivers referred to in Article 16(5) Regulation (EC) No 810/2009.

5 The consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State shall be responsible for entering the following elements into the EU VAP: (a) access rights of external service providers, including for the appointment tool; (b) the available appointments in the appointment tool and contact details of consulates and external service providers.

6 The EU VAP shall include a chatbot. The chatbot shall be designed to dialogue with its users by providing answers on the visa application procedure, the rights and obligations of applicants and visa holders, the entry conditions for third-country nationals, contact details, and data protection rules.

1 Without prejudice to Article 9(1b) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, each applicant shall submit an application referred to in Article 11 of that Regulation, using the EU VAP.

2 The EU VAP shall provide each applicant with the information as referred to in Articles 37 and 38.

3 Without prejudice to Article 7c, if applicable, the applicant shall provide the data in the application form as set out in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009. All such data shall be recorded and stored in the temporary storage capacity in accordance with the data retention periods set out in Article 7d.

4 The EU VAP shall contain a secure account service. The secure account service shall enable the applicant to keep the data provided for subsequent applications, but only if the applicant freely and explicitly consents to such storage, within the meaning of Article 4, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The secure account service shall enable the applicant to submit the application in several steps.

5 The alphabetic characters in the data provided by the applicant in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be Latin alphabet characters.

6 On submission of the application, the EU VAP shall collect the IP address from which the application was submitted and add it to the data of the application file.

7 The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 48a to supplement this Regulation by setting out simplified application forms in the EU VAP to be used in the procedures for confirmation of valid visas in a new travel document under Article 32a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 or for extension of visas under Article 33 of that Regulation, respectively, where those procedures are carried out using the EU VAP.

1 A third-country national who is a family member of a Union citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national enjoying the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, may lodge an application for a visa without using the EU VAP and shall be entitled to lodge the application in person at the consulate or at the external service providers premises, as that third-country national chooses.

2 Where a third-country national who is a family member of a Union citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national enjoying the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, applies for a visa using the EU VAP, the application process shall be carried out in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC or with an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country on the other, that provides the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens.

3 In particular, the EU VAP shall be designed so as to ensure that the following specific rules apply: (a) the visa fee shall be waived; (b) in the visa application form, the applicant shall not be required to provide the following personal data: (i) current occupation; (ii) employer and employer’s address and telephone number; or for students, name and address of educational establishment; (iii) surname and first name of the inviting person(s) in the Member State(s), if not applicable, name of hotel(s) or temporary accommodation(s) in the Member State(s); (iv) name and address of inviting company/organisation; (v) means of how the cost of travelling and living during the applicant’s stay is to be covered; (c) the applicant shall be able to submit documents establishing that he or she is a family member of a Union citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national enjoying the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other; the applicant shall not be requested to submit supporting documents as referred to under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 or proof of possession of adequate and valid travel medical insurance in accordance with Article 15 of that Regulation; (d) by way of derogation from Article 7d(7), the automated admissibility pre-check shall only verify whether: (i) all the required fields of the application form are filled in; (ii) proof is provided of holding a valid passport in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC or with an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, that provides the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens; (iii) the biometric data of the applicant have been collected, if applicable; (e) where a visa is issued, in the notification laid down in Article 7g, the applicant shall receive a reminder that the family member of a citizen exercising the right to free movement who is in possession of a visa only has a right to enter if that family member is accompanied by or joining the Union citizen or other third-country national exercising his or her right to free movement.

4 Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall also apply where a third-country national who is a family member of a Union citizen to whom Directive 2004/38/EC applies or of a third-country national enjoying the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens under an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, requires a visa extension or a confirmation of the visa in a new travel document. The visa extension fee and the visa confirmation fee shall be waived.

5 Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to family members of UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement in the host State, as defined in that Agreement, for which the visa application is made.

1 Upon submission of the application form pursuant to Article 7b the EU VAP shall determine the type of visa applied for and conduct an automated competence pre-check to pre-determine the competent Member State on the basis of the number of days for the applicant’s intended stay and the Member State of first entry, provided by the applicant. However, the applicant may indicate that his or her application be processed by another Member State according to the main purpose of stay. This shall not preclude the manual verification of the competence by the Member States in accordance with Article 18(3) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009. The EU VAP shall enable applicants to indicate whether they are legally present, but not residing in a jurisdiction, as referred to in Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009.

2 Applicants shall be able to use the EU VAP to submit an electronic copy of the travel document in digital format, as well as supporting documents and proof of travel medical insurance in digital format, as applicable, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 or Directive 2004/38/EC or an agreement between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and a third country, on the other, that provides the right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens.

3 Where applicable, the applicant shall be able to use the secure payment tool referred to in Article 7e to pay the visa fee through the EU VAP.

4 The EU VAP shall be able to check the read-only copy of VIS database to verify whether the applicant’s biometric identifiers were taken in the last 59 months and whether the applicant has already applied with the same travel document. Where the applicant’s biometric identifiers were taken in the last 59 months and the applicant has already applied with the same travel document the EU VAP shall inform that applicant that no visit to the consulate or an external service provider is required to lodge the application. Where the applicant’s biometric identifiers were not taken in the last 59 months or where the applicant has not already applied with the same travel document the EU VAP shall inform that applicant of the need to arrange a visit to the consulate or an external service provider, as required, to lodge the application.

5 If a visit to consulate or external service provider is required pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, a Member State may decide to use the appointment tool referred to in Article 7e for that purpose.

6 The applicant shall submit the application, including the declaration of the authenticity, completeness, correctness and reliability of data.

7 After the applicant submits the application via the EU VAP, the EU VAP shall conduct an automated admissibility pre-check. The automated admissibility pre-check shall verify whether: (a) the application has been lodged within the period referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, if applicable; (b) all the required fields of the application form are filled in; (c) proof is provided of holding a travel document in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009; (d) the biometric data of the applicant have been collected, if applicable; (e) the visa fee has been collected, if applicable.

8 If the application is admissible according to the automated admissibility pre-check, the EU VAP shall send a notification to the consulate or the central authorities of the Member State concerned with the combined result of the automated competence and admissibility pre-checks. If the application is not admissible according to the automated admissibility pre-check, the EU VAP shall inform the applicant of which part of the application file is missing. The EU VAP shall be designed so as to ensure that Article 19(4) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 can apply, in order to allow applications to be considered admissible.

9 Following the notification referred to in paragraph 8 of this Article, the consulate or the central authorities of the Member State concerned shall perform a manual verification of the competence, in accordance with Article 18(3) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, and subsequently if needed, a manual verification of admissibility in accordance with Article 19 of that Regulation.

10 If the competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State accept the application submitted via the EU VAP the data shall be transferred to the national system from temporary storage. The data shall be immediately deleted from temporary storage, with the exception of contact data linked to the secure account service.

11 If, after the verification, the notified consulate or central authorities of the Member State find that they are not competent and the application is not re-submitted to the competent consulate or central authorities, Article 18(4) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 shall apply.

12 The competent consulate or the central authorities of the competent Member State may use the secure account service to communicate with the applicants.

13 In relation to the data transferred to the Member State referred to in paragraphs 10 and 11 of this Article, that Member State shall designate a competent authority which is to be considered as the data controller for the purposes of Article 4, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and which shall have central responsibility for the processing of data by that Member State.

1 A secure payment tool shall be used to pay the visa fee to the competent Member State via the EU VAP.

2 The appointment tool may be used by Member States or external service providers. Where the appointment tool is used, the Member State shall be responsible for setting the available appointments.

1 External service providers shall have access to the EU VAP using the external service provider gateway only to: (a) verify and perform quality checks and pre-checks on the data uploaded in the temporary storage capacity, in particular the electronic copy of the travel document; (b) upload the biometric identifiers and check whether biometric identifiers are already available; (c) upload supporting documents, if needed; (d) use the appointment tool to indicate available appointments, if applicable; (e) forward the application to the consulate or the central authorities for further processing.

2 An authentication scheme, reserved exclusively for external service providers, shall be set up by Member States in order to allow access by the duly authorised staff members to the gateway for the purposes of this Article. When setting up the authentication scheme, information security risk management and the principles of data protection by design and by default shall be taken into account.

3 External service providers shall not have access to the VIS.

1 Once the competent authority has taken a decision on an application or on an issued visa and has made such a decision available in the secure account in accordance with paragraph 2, the EU VAP shall send the applicant or visa holder an electronic message, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 810/2009.

2 The competent authorities shall notify applicants and visa holders of decisions taken pursuant to points (a), (b) and (c) by making those decisions available in the respective secure accounts of the applicants and visa holders. Such notification shall include the following data: (a) for an issued, confirmed or extended visa: the data contained on the digital visa in accordance with the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 and with the rules for filling in the data fields of the digital visa established under the procedure referred to in Article 27(1) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009; (b) for the refusal of a visa: the data listed in Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 and Article 12 of this Regulation; (c) for an annulled or revoked visa: the data listed in Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 and Article 13 of this Regulation.

1 The verification tool shall allow applicants and visa holders to check the following: (a) the status of their application; (b) the status and validity of their visa.

2 The verification tool shall be based on the secure account service referred to in Article 7b(4).

3 The EU VAP shall offer a web-service functionality for applicants and other entities, such as employers or universities or local authorities, to verify the digital visa without the secure account service.

1 The development and implementation of the EU VAP shall comprise the following costs: (a) costs related to the development by eu-LISA of the EU VAP and of its interconnection with the national visa information systems, under strict cost control and monitoring, (b) costs related to the operation, including maintenance, by eu-LISA, of the EU VAP, (c) costs related to necessary adaptations by the Member States to existing national visa information systems.

2 Costs under paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), shall be borne by the general budget of the Union.

3 Member States may use the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy, which is part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, as established by the Regulation (EU) 2021/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council to finance the costs referred to in paragraph 1, point (c), in accordance with the eligibility rules and co-financing rates set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1148.

1 Each Member State shall designate a competent authority as data controller in accordance with this Article. Member States shall communicate those authorities to the Commission, eu-LISA and the other Member States. All the competent authorities designated by Member States shall be joint controllers in accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 for the purposes of processing of personal data in the EU VAP.

2 eu-LISA shall be a processor in accordance with Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 for the purposes of processing of personal data in the EU VAP. eu-LISA shall ensure that the EU VAP is operated in accordance with this Regulation.

1 Where a decision has been taken to confirm a visa, the visa authority that has taken the decision shall add the following data to the application file: (a) status information; (b) authority that confirmed the visa; (c) place and date of the decision; (d) new travel document data, including number, issuing country and authority, issuing date, expiry date; (e) confirmation number; (f) an electronic copy of the biographic data page of the new travel document and, if applicable, the data uploaded in accordance with Article 12(6), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009.

2 Where a decision has been taken to confirm a visa, the EU VAP shall immediately retrieve and export from the VIS into the EES the data listed in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226.’

1 Where it is technically impossible to proceed with the consultation referred to in Article 18 because of a failure of any part of the VIS, eu-LISA shall notify the border authorities of the Member States.

2 Where it is technically impossible to perform the search referred to in Article 18 because of a failure of the national border infrastructure in a Member State, the border authorities of that Member State shall notify the eu-LISA. eu-LISA shall then inform the Commission.

3 In cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the border authorities shall follow their national contingency plans. Member States shall adopt their national contingency plans using the model contingency plans referred to in Article 45(2), point (o), as a basis, to be adapted as necessary at the national level. The national contingency plan may authorise the border authorities to derogate temporarily from the obligation to consult the VIS as referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399.’

1 Facilitated Transit Documents (FTD) issued by the Member States as referred to in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 shall be issued in digital format referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 and contain the data fields set out in Annex I to this Regulation. They shall have the same value as limited territorial validity visas with the purpose of transit. In addition, the digital format shall clearly indicate that the issued document is an FTD.

2 Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD) issued by the Member States as referred to in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 shall be issued in digital format referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 and contain the data fields set out in Annex II to this Regulation. They shall have the same value as limited territorial validity visas with the purpose of transit. In addition, the digital format shall clearly indicate that the issued document is an FRTD.’

‘1 Visas for stays exceeding 90 days (long-stay visas) shall be national visas issued by one of the Member States in accordance with its national law or with Union law. Such visas shall be issued in digital format in accordance with Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 , with the type of visa being indicated with the letter “D”. Long-stay visas issued in digital format shall be filled out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Commission implementing act setting out the rules for filling in the data fields of the visa, adopted in accordance with Article 27(1) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

‘1a Long-stay visas issued in digital format shall be communicated to applicants by electronic means by the competent authorities of the issuing Member State.’

‘3 The FTD/FRTD shall be issued in digital format in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 694/2003.’

‘5 The application for an FTD/FRTD shall be carried out using an online application tool. The online application tool shall contain the data referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4.’

‘2 No FTD/FRTD shall be issued for a travel document that has expired.

3 The period of validity of the travel document for which the FTD/FRTD is issued shall be longer than that of the FTD/FRTD.

4 No FTD/FRTD shall be issued for a travel document if that travel document is not valid for any of the Member States. If a travel document is only valid for one Member State or for a number of Member States, the FTD/FRTD shall be limited to the Member State or Member States in question.’

‘7 Where a decision has been taken to confirm a valid visa in a new travel document, the visa authority which has taken the decision shall immediately retrieve the data provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article from the VIS and import them directly into the EES in accordance with Articles 12a of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.’

1 The Commission shall adopt a decision setting the date on which operations of the EU VAP start under Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 as amended by this Regulation. That decision shall be adopted not later than six months after verification by the Commission that the following conditions have been met: (a) the implementing acts referred to in Article 45(2), points (g) to (r) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 and the delegated acts referred to in Article 7b(7) of that Regulation have been adopted; (b) eu-LISA has declared the successful completion of the comprehensive tests which are to be conducted by eu-LISA in cooperation with the Member States; (c) eu-LISA has validated the technical and legal arrangements, including that sufficient capacity and functionalities of the EU VAP exist, and notified them to the Commission.

2 The Commission decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3 By way of derogation from paragraph 1 and without prejudice to the obligation to issue visas in digital format pursuant to Article 26a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, a Member State may decide not to avail itself of the EU VAP for a period of up to 7 years from the date referred to in paragraph 1 and shall notify the Commission regarding its decision. The Commission shall publish the notification from the Member State in the Official Journal of the European Union. During the transitional period of 7 years referred to in the first subparagraph, visa holders shall be able to verify the validity and the information in the digital visas using the web service of the EU VAP referred to in Article 7h of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 if the Member State processing their visa application decided not to avail itself of the EU VAP.

4 A Member State may notify the Commission and eu-LISA that it wishes to avail itself of the EU VAP before the end of the transitional period referred to in paragraph 3. The Commission shall determine the date from which that Member State shall avail itself of the EU VAP. The Commission decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

5 By 1 December 2026 and every year thereafter until the decision of the Commission referred to in paragraph 1 has been taken, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the progress with regard to the implementation of this Regulation. That report shall contain detailed information about the costs incurred and information on any risks which impact the overall costs.

1 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2 This Regulation shall apply from the date set by the Commission in accordance with Article 7(1).

3 By way of derogation from paragraph 2 of this Article, Article 1, points (1), (3), (15), (30), (34), (35) and (36) shall apply from 28 June 2024. Article 2, points (21) and (22) shall apply from 27 December 2023.