How the New EU Visa Rules Affect Africans

Ten years after it introduced the Schengen visa, the European Union has finally updated the rules of application, introducing a few changes in a bid to facilitate the procedures while at the same time enhancing security.

The new rules affect everyone who needs to apply for a Schengen visa to enter the borderless European zone, which means most of the third-country citizens.

“Our procedures for visa applications have not changed since 2010, and we just needed to update them to make them less cumbersome, but keep the same level of security,” EU spokesman Adalbert Jahnz told DW.

Fort most travellers to the EU, in particular for frequent travellers, the new rules mean an easier process to obtain a visa, yet the case is not for all.

Many Africans planning to travel to the Schengen Area one the pandemic is over, and the block opens its borders, may find it even more difficult to apply for a Schengen visa, in particular, those who do not qualify as “frequent travellers”.

The main difficulty Africans will encounter is the increase of the price for a visa fee, which up until February 2, 2020, has been €60, but with the new rules it has hiked up to €80. At the same time children aged 6 to 12 will that had to pay €35 now need to pay €40.

The European Union has argued that the visa fee increase brings it in line with the level where it would be today if it had been aligned to the general EU-wide inflation rate since 2006 while noting that despite the increase, Schengen visa fees remain much lower than the ones for other countries.

However, the fees may increase in case a particular country does not collaborate in the readmission of the illegal migrants in the EU, and vice versa.

Besides, applications are no longer just made on paper but also electronically.

In addition, previously Africans could file a Schengen visa application as early as three months in advance of their trip to the borderless Schengen area. But now this rule has changed as the updated code makes it possible for Africans to apply six months before their trip.