The Visa Information System (VIS) will start operations on 25 September 2014 in the Western Balkan region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia) and Turkey. The VIS is a central database which supports the exchange of data on short-stay visas between Schengen States.

The start of operations means that consulates of EU Member States will start collecting fingerprints and digital photos from visa applicants and that the applicants’ data will be stored in the VIS. The data can be consulted by all visa-issuing authorities of the Schengen States, and is counter-checked by border authorities at the entry of the visa holder into the Schengen area.

This will apply only to nationals of countries who need visas to enter the Schengen area. Nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM, Montenegro, and Serbia travel visa-free. People entering from Kosovo* and Turkey are under the visa requirement.

Therefore, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the VIS introduction will only affect residents who – due to their nationality – are under the visa requirement (e.g. a Turkish citizen residing in BiH). A person only has to give his/her fingerprints every five years, meaning that frequent travellers will not have to do it each time they apply for a visa.

As a rule, VIS data cannot be transferred or made available to a third country or an international organisation. In certain cases, some data registered in the VIS (name, nationality, travel document number, residence) may be communicated to a third country or an international organization when necessary in an individual case for proving the identity of a third country national, including for the purpose of return. Strict data protection rules are defined in the VIS Regulation and are subject to the control of national and European data protection authorities. Data is kept in the VIS for maximum 5 years.

The start of operations is part of the gradual worldwide deployment of the VIS, which started in October 2011 and will continue until June 2015 to cover all Schengen States’ consulates, and the Western Balkans region is the 16th where the system is being introduced.