EU presents plans for new secure visas for visitors

Photo: EU presents plans for new secure visas for visitors

EU presents plans for new secure visas for visitors

The new visas are part of a wider European upgrade of identity documents to make travel more secure and to make it easier for authorities to find fake travel documents, officials said.

The new short-stay visas currently used by 13 EU nations will be upgraded with a biometric chip containing a fingerprint of the visa holder. Later upgrades foresee adding a facial scan to the identity chip.

EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said the other plan to set up so-called common application centers abroad will streamline the procedure and cut the time in which applicants receive their travel documents.

The EU proposal foresees a pilot project whereby two or more participating EU member states pool consular staff and equipment in taking visa applications.

Officials said they expect the new visas to be endorsed by EU governments and be available within the next year, the AP reports.

EU justice and interior ministers in May approved plans to nearly double the price of travel visas to Ђ60 (US$75) to help pay for the security upgrades.

EU nations will also have to start issuing new biometric passports with a chip containing facial features by the end of August and prepare to add fingerprint data by 2009, EU officials said Thursday.

Countries like the United States, Canada and Japan which enjoy visa-free travel to most EU countries will not be affected by the new measures.