22nd October 2007

Biometrics 2007: VIS, A long way to go

Eleanor Dallaway

The implementation of a pan-European Visa Information System (VIS) has many challenges, said Nikolaos Isaris, VIS head of sector at the European Commission. But the advantages of such a system will outweigh the challenges, he argued at the Biometrics 2007 conference on 19 October.

The main objective of the system is to fight against fraud by improving exchanges of information between the member states of the European Commission (a full list of objectives can be found on: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/consulting_public/news_consulting_vis_en.htm).

The Visa Information System, of which the legal framework was agreed in June 2007, will store data on up to 70 million people applying visas for visits or transit through Europe. This data will include the applicant's photograph and his or her ten fingerprints. The information will be collected by consulates in the member states and transferred to a central database, VIS, where it will be accessible by all member states.

“Each individual member state would remain responsible for its national systems, but the EC would be responsible for the national interface and central database,” said Isaris. “The major benefit is that the system will connect up the chain of immigrant control process, enabling the exchange of visa data between authorities.”

”As is stands pre-VIS, there are gaps in the whole process. For example, someone who gets refused a German visa could get a visa from another member state, [as an example] say France. That person could then cross the French-German border into Germany,” he said. Citizens from 134 countries require visas to enter the EU. Therefore, it has been possible for an applicant to get rejected by one country’s consulate and continue applying to other consulates.

VIS will not allow this to happen, as information on previous applicants and reasons for rejection will be available through the new system. Photo and fingerprint verification will be needed to allow border checks to verify whether the person presenting the visa is the person to whom it was issued, and will tighten up border controls.

“Equipping consulates with the hardware and a reliable infrastructure is a huge challenge,” admitted Isaris, “as is ensuring the efficient and secure integration of biometric processes into the workplace.” The system demands physical space for additional applicants, processes, staff and equipment, “And training costs are another consideration,” said Isaris.

The implementation of VIS will demand a service from its member states. “They’ll need to be able to cope with the fingerprints, and secure the data during and after the transactions. Admittedly at the moment, each member state is at a different level of readiness and advancement,” said Isaris.

“These technologies will need to be used not only in airports, but in ports and land borders too,” he added.

The system was established in 2004. It is currently in the testing and build-out phases, with a set deadline for operation at the end of 2008.

Fingerprint biometrics — lessons from Belgium (25 August 2005)

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