Preparing Your Business for Upcoming Schengen Area Developments: Considerations and Action Items

2023 was a milestone year for the Schengen Area: There were stop-starts with delays to the rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS), and progress made on the digitisation of the Schengen C visa process.

2024 is positioned to be just as eventful, with Bulgaria and Romania partially joining the Schengen Area beginning on 31 March.

This blog provides an overview of the most significant updates, their impacts and business strategies for employers to consider as they prepare for the year ahead.

Schengen Area

The Schengen Area is a border-free zone currently consisting of 27 countries. The Area guarantees freedom to travel without border controls at its internal borders. There are also harmonised rules for external border checks, and visa and document requirements for non-EU citizens visiting the Schengen Area for short-term tourism, family visits, business or other purposes.

Typically, short-term stays in the Schengen Area are allowed for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. Days spent both for personal travel and business visits count towards this allowance.

Certain nationalities may benefit from additional days, but this depends on individual circumstances. Nationals of non-EU countries require a Schengen C Visa to travel to the Schengen Area as visitors for business or tourist purposes unless they are visa-exempt.

Note that overstaying in the Schengen Area can bring consequences, even if unintentional, with only limited exceptions.

Q1 2024 – Bulgaria and Romania Partially Join Schengen Area

One major development in 2024 is the partial integration of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen Area.

By the end of March 2024, the border checks with these two countries will be removed at air and sea borders. Starting at the end of March, days spent in these two countries will be considered as “Schengen days” (reducing flexibility even further for short-term stayers in Europe) and, finally, the two countries will start issuing Schengen C visas instead of national visas.

Q4 2024 – Entry/Exit System (EES)

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated border check system designed to register non-EU nationals each time they enter or exit the external borders of 27 Schengen Area countries and two forthcoming Schengen Area countries (Bulgaria and Romania). It replaces manual passport stamping and automates border control procedures. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

The EES will digitally identify travellers who have the right to enter and make it easier to detect travellers who have overstayed or made use of false identities and passports. It will work in tandem with other European information systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) and ETIAS to facilitate the correct and complete identification of travellers.

Q2 2025 – European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is an electronic system that will issue a pre-travel authorization and monitor visitors from visa-exempt countries entering the 27 Schengen Area countries, two forthcoming Schengen Area countries (Bulgaria and Romania) and one non-Schengen Area country (Cyprus). It is expected to be operational by mid-2025.

The system will perform detailed security checks to determine whether a person is allowed to enter ETIAS-required countries. To receive a pre-travel authorisation, travelers must complete an ETIAS application online, pay the application fee, and provide, for example, passport details. An ETIAS authorisation is a travel formality granting the right to travel; it is not a visa.

2028 – Schengen C Visa Digitisation

The Council of the European Union recently approved rules to digitise the C Visa application process to allow visa nationals to apply for visas online and replace the current visa sticker with a digital visa (cryptographically signed 2D bar-code).

The current in-person visa application processes for the 27 Schengen Area countries will largely be replaced, and applications will instead be processed digitally through a single visa application platform. In-person appointments will remain necessary for initial applicants, individuals with a new travel document and individuals whose biometric data has expired. The platform is expected to be operational by 2028.

Impact

These upcoming developments will impact non-EU short-term travellers to Europe, whether they are travelling for business or personal reasons.

• Monitoring. Non-EU short-term travellers will increasingly be on authorities’ radar with the digitisation of EU borders (EES). Visa-exempt nationals who have historically enjoyed relatively frictionless travel will need to adjust to ETIAS requirements.
• Overstay detection. These new systems will retain personal data for up to three years (and even five years in some cases). Although access to it is well regulated – who and for what purpose it can be consulted – this will help authorities detect overstays and other non-compliant behaviours and keep these on their radar for longer.
• Non-compliance consequences. With these rules and technological changes, authorities are more equipped than ever to detect violations of the Schengen rules. Additionally, with the increase in internal border checks, infringements may now also be detected when travelling within the Schengen Area.

Strategies

• Preparation. Frequent travellers to the Schengen Area must ensure they are aware of the new requirements and their implementation timeline. This includes understanding the ETIAS authorisation application process and keeping an eye on days spent (along with understanding new rules for calculating them, as well as activities that are undertaken in ETIAS-required countries).
• Compliance. Ensuring that data declared to authorities matches the one the traveller will themselves be tracking with these new tools. Although for now only immigration, visa and border authorities (also police, in some cases) are expected to have access to traveller’s data, we cannot exclude other authorities gaining access in the future (for instance, social security, tax, labour, etc.). Travel and documentation must be properly tracked. Technology tools can be used to help record travel dates, store travel documents, get expiry tracking notices and more.
• Business continuity. Business operations are highly dependent on the ability of people to travel, explore markets, talk to clients and meet with colleagues from other offices. An entry ban on a business traveller can have major implications on the business but also potentially on the future immigration prospects of the individual. A recent Fragomen survey shows that some businesses are taking action to get ready for these changes, yet only 3% indicated they are fully prepared.

Need to know more?

Complex situations require professional advice and support. These may include but are not limited to accidental overstays, urgent extensions of stay, previous travel history or criminal sanctions leading to an ETIAS rejection or entry refusal at the border.

For further information, please read our previous alerts, blogs and listen to our podcast. Please reach out to the Fragomen Consulting Europe team at [email protected] with queries.

This blog was published on 2 February 2024, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.