Article 37 — Organisation of visa sections

Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009

What does VISA-CODE Article 37 say?

Short answer, straight from the official text

1. Member States shall be responsible for organising the visa sections of their consulates. In order to prevent any decline in the level of vigilance and to protect staff from being exposed to pressure at local level, rotation schemes for staff dealing directly with applicants shall be set up, where appropriate.

Source: Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, read 2026-10-13.

In the actEC 810/2009
CELEX32009R0810
Read on2026-10-13

Official text

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1. Member States shall be responsible for organising the visa sections of their consulates.

In order to prevent any decline in the level of vigilance and to protect staff from being exposed to pressure at local level, rotation schemes for staff dealing directly with applicants shall be set up, where appropriate. Particular attention shall be paid to clear work structures and a distinct allocation/division of responsibilities in relation to the taking of final decisions on applications. Access to consultation of the VIS and the SIS and other confidential information shall be restricted to a limited number of duly authorised staff. Appropriate measures shall be taken to prevent unauthorised access to such databases.

2. The storage and handling of visa stickers shall be subject to adequate security measures to avoid fraud or loss. Each consulate shall keep an account of its stock of visa stickers and register how each visa sticker has been used.

3. Member States’ consulates shall keep archives of applications. Each individual file shall contain the application form, copies of relevant supporting documents, a record of checks made and the reference number of the visa issued, in order for staff to be able to reconstruct, if need be, the background for the decision taken on the application.

Individual application files shall be kept for a minimum of two years from the date of the decision on the application as referred to in Article 23(1).

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