VIS
Published 8 November 2026, 22:47
VIS — Visa Information System, in Portuguese Sistema de Informação sobre Vistos: the common visa database of the Schengen countries
A single database in which the Schengen countries store data on visa applications: what a person applied for, which visas they were issued or refused, and which were annulled, revoked or extended, together with the date of each decision and who made it. It was set up by Regulation (EC) No 767/2008; under Article 23, an application file is kept in the system for up to five years, precisely so that a consulate can see previous applications when a person applies again.
Where you come across it. Applying for a Schengen visa at a consulate or visa centre, especially reapplying after a refusal.
Do not count on a refusal “staying” with the consulate that issued it: the next one will see both the date and the grounds. So a new application should address exactly the reason you were refused, rather than be an attempt to get in through another country.
Official website: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PT/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32008R0767