Many people applying for Schengen visas have heard of the Visa Information System (VIS). VIS allows Schengen countries to exchange visa data. It consists of a central IT system and the communication infrastructure connecting this central system to national systems. It processes data and decisions related to applications for short-stay visas for visiting or transiting the Schengen area. The system can perform biometric matching (mainly fingerprints) for identification and verification purposes. A common use in Schengen visa applications is to store applicants’ fingerprints (so that applicants only need to provide them once every 5 years).
The introduction of VIS also mentions that “Data is kept in the VIS for five years. This retention period is calculated from the expiry date of the visa issued, the date of the decision to refuse a visa or the date of the decision to amend a visa issued. Any person has the right to be informed about his/her data in the VIS. Any person may request rectification of inaccurate data concerning him/her and deletion of unlawfully recorded data.” However, it is difficult to find information online about how individuals can obtain this data from immigration authorities. In this article, I attempt to apply to the French Consulate General in China for personal data from a previous Schengen visa application, and also attempt to answer the rumor of whether “travel plans and other supporting documents submitted are stored in VIS”.
Submitting a Data Export Request
Taking France as an example, according to CNIL (similar to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in Hong Kong), if the applicant resides outside of France, the corresponding data export request should be submitted to the local embassy. Therefore, I first sent an email to the visa-related consultation mailbox of the French Consulate General in Guangzhou ([email protected], which can be found at https://cn.ambafrance.org/-Consulat-Canton- ) ( The automatic reply email from the French Consulate mentions that consultation must include full name, date of birth, passport number and phone number, otherwise it may not be replied, I am not sure if this is necessary):
Dear Consular Officer,
I hope this message finds you well. My name is [NAME] (Date of Birth [DOB]), Passport Number [PN]), and I applied for a Schengen visa through the French Consulate in Guangzhou (VISA No. FRAXXXXX). In line with my rights and following the instructions from CNIL (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés https://www.cnil.fr/en/visa-information-system-vis ), I wish to access the information about me entered into the VIS and any other national data system that stores information related to my visa application and entry/exit record.
Could you kindly guide me on:
• The appropriate contact or department for this request.
• Any specific documents I should provide for verification.
• The necessary procedures I should follow.
I truly appreciate your assistance and patience in this matter.
A few days later, I received a reply from the Consulate mentioning that I need to send a letter to the Consulate, including a photocopy of my passport, a photocopy of my ID card and a signed application, and they will forward my request to France (Please send us a formal signed mail stating your request with a photocopy of your passport and identification and we will forward this to the headquaters in France).
Then, I prepared a photocopy of my passport, a photocopy of my ID card, a photocopy of my visa (black and white is enough), and a letter applying for data export. The data export application letter was written based on the data export applicationPDF of Slovenia:
Dear Officer,
According to Art. 38 of the Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation) in connection with Art. 15 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), I hereby demand:
- Information about the personal data relating to me being processed in the Visa Information System (VIS).
(If EES is established in the future, you can also apply for your entry and exit data here)
Then I attached my personal information: name, passport, address, date of birth, nationality, visa number
I sent these materials by registered mail and sent an email to remind the Consulate.
Receiving the Exported Data
After one month, I received another email from the Consulate, with a PDF attached, which contains the exported VIS data.
The file includes 5 chapters: photo, applicant’s basic information, applicant’s citizenship, travel document information, visa information (fields with information are marked with a *, but personal information is hidden):
| Original | English Translation or Brief Explanation | Information |
|---|---|---|
| N° | Number | FRA* |
| Pays autorité de saisie | Authority of the receiving country | China (Central Authority) |
| Lieu autorité de saisie | Place of reception | Guangzhou |
| Nom autorité de saisie | Name of the receiving institution | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Type autorité de saisie | Type of receiving institution | Consulate |
| Lieu dépôt | Place of application submission | Guangzhou |
| Pays dépôt | Country where the application was submitted | China (Central Authority) |
| Date demande | Request date | * |
| Type demande visa | Type of visa request | |
| Statut | Status | Visa Issued |
| Motif séjour | Reason for stay | |
| Durée prévue du séjour / transit | Expected duration of stay/transit | |
| État membre responsable | Responsible member state | France |
| Autorité représentée | Authority represented | |
| Exemption prise empreintes | Fingerprint exemption | No |
| Prise d’empreintes impossible | Unable to collect fingerprints | No |
| Raisons absence empreintes | Reasons for lack of fingerprints | |
| Personne invitante | Inviter | |
| Nom | Name | * |
| Prénom | First name | * |
| Adresse | Address | |
| Compagnie invitante | Inviting company | |
| Nom compagnie invitante | Company name | Hotel where you stayed |
| Adresse compagnie invitante | Company address | * |
| * | ||
| Prénom personne à contacter | Contact person’s first name | * |
| Détails du Séjour | Details of the Stay | |
| Destination principale | Main destination | |
| Date arrivée | Arrival date | * |
| Date prévue départ | Expected departure date | * |
| Frontière première entrée prévue | Expected first entry border | |
| Route prévue transit | Planned transit route |
| 3. Etat civil du demandeur | Civil status of the applicant | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom | Surname | * |
| Nom de naissance | Name at birth | |
| Ancien noms de famille | Previous surnames | |
| Prénoms | Given names | * |
| Sexe | Gender | * |
| Age | Age | * |
| Date naissance | Date of birth | * |
| Ville naissance | City of birth | * |
| Pays naissance | Country of birth | China |
| Nationalité actuelle | Current nationality | Chinese |
| Nationalité naissance | Nationality at birth | |
| Profession | Profession | * |
| Nom employeur | Employer name | |
| Nom établissement scolaire | School name | |
| Adresse | Address | |
| Nom autorité parentale / tuteur | Name of parent/guardian | |
| Prénom autorité parentale / tuteur | First name of parent/guardian |
| 4. Document de voyage | Travel document | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Type | Ordinary passport |
| N° | Number | * |
| Pays de délivrance | Issuing country | |
| Date délivrance | Issuing date | * |
| Ressortissant | Nationality | |
| Date fin de validité | Expiration date | * |
| Original | English Translation or Brief Explanation | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | Visa | Visa |
| Statut | Status | Visa émis |
| Pays autorité de délivrance | Authority of the issuing country | CHINE (Autorité centrale) |
| Nom autorité de délivrance | Name of the issuing institution | Ministère des Affaires Étrangères |
| Lieu autorité de délivrance | Place of the issuing institution | Canton |
| Type autorité de délivrance | Type of issuing institution | Poste Consulaire |
| Date délivrance | Issuing date | * |
| Lieu délivrance | Place of issue | Canton |
| Pays délivrance | Country of issue | CHINE (Autorité centrale) |
| Etat membre responsable | Responsible member state | FRANCE |
| Autorité représentée | Authority represented | |
| Date création décision | Decision creation date | * |
| N° | Number | FRA* |
| Délivrance sur feuillet séparé | Issued on separate sheet | FAUX |
| Territoire autorisé à circulation | Territory authorized for circulation | ETATS SCHENGEN |
| Valable pour | Valid for | ETATS SCHENGEN |
| Type | Type (C: Short stay) | C : court séjour |
| Date début validité | Start date of validity | * |
| Date fin de validité | Expiration date | * |
| Durée de validité | Duration of validity | * |
| Nombre entrées autorisées | Number of permitted entries | Plusieurs |
| Durée séjour autorisé | Allowed duration of stay | * |
Conclusion
It can be seen that the exported information from VIS only includes the applicant’s own document information and the information of the inviter in the application country. It does not include more information about the travel plan, flight booking and other attachments submitted during the application. However, it is not excluded that the embassy/consulate that reviews the application will store these attachments separately in other places (but at least they should not be shared with other Schengen review institutions, nor will they be displayed to border control officers at ports of entry).
