Twenty-seven European countries have announced they are to introduce a biometric visa application system, allowing East Africans to travel more easily to the region.
The new Visa Information System (VIS) will see East African consulates cut down on paperwork by collecting fingerprints and digital photos from applicants.
The system will only affect the 27 Schengen states and will roll out on June 6. It is set to enhance authenticity, faster processing of documents and track previous visa information, unlike the manual process which compels applicants to appear in person for every fresh application.
“This new technology will benefit the growing number of Kenyan citizens who are travelling, enabling them to easily prove their identity and help their visa applications when wishing to visit European Schengen countries,” the EU Ambassador to Kenya Lodewijk Briet said on Tuesday.
“For all visitors – including Kenyans – the Schengen visa system allows freer movement around the 26 European member countries and is part of building bridges with the rest of the world.”
VIS will only be waived for children under 12, applicants whose fingerprinting is physically impossible, and high ranking government officials.
The rollout of the biometric system in the region follows a similar move in West Africa and is in line with the ongoing reforms by all Schengen States’ consulates around the world to adopt VIS in phases over the next two years.
