The applicants for Schengen visa who are residing in the UK could register their biometric information at four centres that are located at Manchester, London, Cardiff and Edinburgh, as part of the latest EU mandated rule since 20th November 2015.
The biometric information which comprises of the facial photograph, fingerprints should be submitted with application for visa at any of the four application centres for visa in the UK.
This rule was started by the member states of Schengen on 11th October 2011, and it being implemented universally in phases.
This biometric registration is applied only to the new applications from 20th November, as the Schengen visas which already exist would be still valid under their expiry dates. As earlier, individuals who are living in the UK need a Schengen visa could visit a VFS International Schengen application centre for visa to submit the applications.
In the UK, biometric registration applies only to those citizens that require a visa for travelling to the Schengen nations. And once the biometric information is registered it would stay valid for two months. Children under the age of 12 would be exempted from the biometric registration.
For arranging the biometric information registration, the applicants could book the appointments online at the website of VFS Global and could also view the address and working hours of these centres in different cities.
Features of Biometric registration for Schengen visas
Once the information is submitted, the biometric information would be entered into the EU’s System for Visa Information (VIS), it is a system for exchange of visa information among the member states of Schengen. The applicant would not require to register for biometric every time, once registered they are exempted for the two month period.
