According to EU Helpers, Liechtenstein officials adopted the VIS reform declaration during the conference, which aims to lower the age of those taking fingerprints for minors from 12 to 6 years old and exempt people over 75 years old from this obligation.
Two distinct EU regulations, Regulation (EU) 2021/1133 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1134, govern the Visa Information System (VIS) reform. These regulations carry on the evolution of the Schengen acquis, which includes agreements and regulations that grant passport-free travel between European nations.
As a member of Schengen, Lichtenstein must abide by these regulations. Furthermore, the VIS renewals are based on EU legislation, with the majority of the modifications being technical.
By revising the Aliens Act and the Asylum Act, specific requirements of the VIS regulation are codified into national legislation.
The overall technical performance of VIS and BMS, with 99.93 percent availability in 2022 and 99.98 percent the following year, satisfied the service level agreement (SLA) for the VIS Technical Report 2022.
Even though the Central VIS has been prepared for participation since October 2019, its next step is to link to Europol. Adopted in 2921, one of the most recent VIS amendments featured system reform and the addition of new features, like the fusion of residency permits and long-stay visas.
Perhaps Bulgaria and Romania, who obtained read-only access to VIS in July 2021, can expedite their European integration until the reform is put into effect. Finalized in January 2020 and lasting two years, the capacity for VIS was increased from 100 million for BMS to 85 million for the VIS and BMS background databases.
Aside from the ability to record long-term visas and residency permits, some of the new features also involve the integration of an information system (VISMail) connected to prior consultation and notification of visa issue.
A list of approved travel documents will also be incorporated, along with live facial-image enrollment and matching.
The Schengen area benefits from VIS because it improves border security, expedites the issuing of visas, and discourages visa shopping—the practice of applying for a Schengen visa for one country and then residing in another—which is very widespread among third-country nationals.