Visa Information System (VIS)

The VIS is established by Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 and referred to throughout the Visa Code. Article 21(2) requires consultation of the VIS "in respect of each application"; Article 13(3) says fingerprints entered in the VIS less than 59 months earlier are copied to a new application; Article 32(5) requires refusals to be entered in it. In practice: your prior applications, issued visas and refusals are visible to any Schengen consulate examining you. Refusals are context, not an automatic bar (Article 21(9)).