Resume
Visa Digitization as a Security Practice Tool
JUDr. Miloslav Smetana, Police Academy of the Czech Republic, Faculty of Security and Law, Department of Police Activities
The presented article is a legal analysis of the European Union’s partial results achieved in the upcoming visa digitization project, and above all its impact on increasing security practice through the new way of granting short-term Schengen visas. It was developed as part of the research project of the program of the Faculty of Security and Law of the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague for 2017-2023 “Current security threats of an anthropogenic nature and the possibilities of their elimination” (research direction “Needs and forms of strengthening the competences and cooperation of security entities”). Specifically, it is scientific research task no. 3.1 entitled “Analysis and expected development of the competences of the Police of the Czech Republic and police security entities in selected areas”. The newly prepared project for issuing digital visas should become a means to prevent fraudulent actions in the visa process and to eliminate unwanted (unregulated) migration of people to the European area. This is an ambitious goal, the result of which will be new procedures in the visa granting regime at consular sections of the embassies of member states in third countries, new procedures of police (border) authorities at the external Schengen borders, and police units in the interior of the Schengen area. The upcoming changes will also affect the tasks performed by the Police of the Czech Republic, especially the tasks of the foreign police service units.
Keywords: Visa digitization, short-term visa, external Schengen border, border control, Schengen area, consular offices, internal security, public order, ETIAS information system, visa information system, European Union visa platform.