24/09/2019
I have already submitted my biometric data when I last applied for a visa. Do I have to come in person and submit them again if I apply for a new visa?
Biometric data already collected for a Schengen visa are valid for 59 months from the date the biometric data capture was done. If you have already provided your biometric data for a previous successful Schengen visa application with one Schengen country, then you do not need to come in person to submit them again if you apply for a new Schengen visa, even with a different Schengen country. You will only have to provide the visa sticker number and photocopy of the visa as a proof during the new visa application procedure. The VIS is a common database to all Schengen countries. After expiry of 59 months, you have to provide fingerprint scans again. You can view the list of Schengen countries here.
This exemption does not apply to long stay visa applicants and applicants visiting the DROM-CTOM. Applicants have to go through the biometric data capture step for any new long stay visa application, even if they already submitted their fingerprints for a previous visa application