Scope

Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation) and Council Decision 2004/512/EC establishing the Visa Information System (VIS)

Evaluation findings

The evaluation found that the VIS has been effective in facilitating the visa application procedure while the costs of setting up the system were assessed as being reasonable. In certain cases, the VIS contributed to enforcing synergies at European level, hence limiting costs at national level. The effects of the system in terms of administrative burden were limited and outweighed by the gains in simplifying the visa procedure. The VIS is bringing operational benefits by facilitating checks at external borders, combating visa fraud and enabling the rapid identification of people who may not or no longer fulfil the conditions for entry or stay in the EU territory. It supports asylum authorities by providing relevant information for determining the Member State responsible and for examining asylum applications.

The evaluation showed that Member States need to do more to implement the VIS to reap its full benefits. Its use for checks at external borders or within the territory, and for asylum, return or law enforcement purposes, needs to be enhanced. Member States should also improve the practical implementation of the decision related to the law enforcement access to the VIS.

Overall, given the general political objective of increased cooperation between Member States in the field of migration and borders and stepping up controls at external borders, including through increased interoperability between the systems, the evaluation showed that the VIS added value is consolidating.

The evaluation led to recommendations as regards the development of the system regulatory framework to respond to new challenges in visa, border and security policies.

Estimated savings and benefits

The main benefits of the system include:

• contributing to the enforcement of a common visa policy and consular cooperation and providing easily available and secure means of consultation between central visa authorities;

• making it possible to identify 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;

• facilitating the application of criteria and mechanisms to determine which Member State is responsible for examining an asylum application and when examining the application for asylum itself;

• contributing to prevent, detect and investigate serious criminal offences.

Given data limitations, the quantification of these benefits has not been possible.

The cost of setting up the VIS amounted to €EUR 151 million over six years (2005 to 2011). Additionally, Member States incurred costs ranging from EUR 1-2 million to EUR 30 million to set up their national systems. This resulted in a total of approximately EUR 600 million, including maintenance costs for the first years. Member States’ costs depended on their consular network and the level of equipment used.

On the other hand, with nearly 23 million applications stored in the system by the end of February 2016, over EUR 1.380 million were collected by Member States to process these applications. Given the massive initial cost of the investment, the relatively low cost of subsequent maintenance, and even considering all other administrative costs incurred by the Member States when processing visas, the initial cost of setting up the system appears to have been largely amortised.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The evaluation showed that some of the identified areas for improvement can be addressed through non-legislative measures, such as guidance, including through technical standards at the level of eu-LISA, improved implementation in practice. However, some problems can only be addressed through legislative amendments to provide the system and the Member States applying it with more effective tools to properly implement the VIS objectives.

The proposed upgrade of the VIS database will enhance internal security and improve border management through the following measures:

• Enhanced security checks across all databases: all visa applications recorded in the VIS will be automatically checked against all other EU information systems for security and migration. This obligatory crosscheck will detect applicants using multiple identities and identify anyone posing security or irregular migration risks.

• Better data and information exchange: the VIS will include information held at EU level on long-stay visas and residence permits, allowing border guards to quickly determine whether a long-stay visa or a residence permit used to cross the Schengen external borders is valid and in the hands of its legitimate holder – closing an important security gap;

• More efficient return procedures: copies of the visa applicant's travel document will be included in the VIS database. This measure will facilitate the identification and readmission of undocumented irregular migrants, increasing the efficiency of the EU's return policy;

• Strengthened capacity to prosecute and prevent crime: law enforcement authorities and Europol will have a more structured access to the VIS for the prevention, detection or investigation of terrorist offences or other serious crimes, under strict conditions and in full respect of the EU's data protection rules. Access to the VIS will be also opened to law enforcement authorities for the purpose of searching or identifying missing or abducted persons and victims of trafficking.

Estimated savings and benefits

Travellers and genuine non-EU holders of a long-stay visa or residence permit will benefit from faster border checks. Member States should also substantially benefit from:

• fewer assistance requests for supporting documents from migration and return authorities
• fewer requests for copies of travel documents
• an easier return procedure for migrants overstaying on a non-EU national visa.

In quantitative terms, the impact assessment prepared by the Commission estimate that by providing a reliable means of systematically presenting evidence of the nationality of anyone overstaying on a non-EU national visa, the proposed measures should facilitate the execution of return decisions which could result in savings between EUR 6.7 and 32.1 million.

Reduced delays in return procedure will also help decrease costs related to pre-removal detention centres, subsistence, etc. by EUR 46.3 million to 92.6 million.

Additional savings worth EUR 3.9 to EUR15.5 million are expected in related administrative costs.

Another major benefit will be that including fingerprints of children in the VIS will enable the authorities to verify their identity, and so any claimed relationship between children and adults presenting themselves as their parents or guardians. This will help reunite unaccompanied children in the Schengen area with their parents, family or care givers, and it will facilitate the application of the Dublin Regulation (the rules for determining which EU member state is responsible for processing individual asylum applications).

Outcome of Legislative Procedure:

The upgraded VIS database will enhance internal security and improve border management through the following measures:

- Enhanced security checks across all databases - All visa applications recorded in the VIS will now be automatically checked against all other EU information systems, such as the Entry-Exit System, the Schengen Information System and the European Criminal Records Information System on non-EU citizens etc., through the European Search Portal. This obligatory cross-check will detect applicants using multiple identities and identify anyone posing security risks or not respecting immigration rules;

- Better data and information exchange - Currently no information is held at EU level on long-stay visas and residence permits. The upgraded VIS database will extend its scope to include such information. This will allow border guards to quickly determine whether a long-stay visa or a residence permit used to cross the Schengen external borders is valid and in the hands of its legitimate holder, thus closing an important security gap.

- More efficient return procedures - From now on, copies of the applicant's travel document will also be included in the VIS database. This measure, coupled with the authorisation for Frontex teams to have access to the VIS, will facilitate the identification and readmission of people subject to a return procedure who do not have travel documents.

- Strengthened capacity to prosecute and prevent crime - Law enforcement authorities and Europol will now have a more structured access to the VIS for the prevention, detection or investigation of terrorist offences or other serious crimes, under strict conditions.