Italy has chosen 22 February 2026 to unveil the most ambitious digital-border upgrade that the Schengen Area has seen since the introduction of the automated passport gate a decade ago. In a dawn press conference at Rome-Fiumicino, Interior-Minister Daniela Fusco confirmed that all Italian consulates will cease issuing the familiar visa sticker and will instead email travellers a cryptographically-signed PDF containing a QR code that border officers—and airlines—can scan in seconds.
![Italy launches Schengen-wide pilot of e-Visa PDFs and biometric e-gates]()
For Czech citizens and residents looking for practical assistance during this transition, VisaHQ provides an easy-to-use online portal that already supports digital visa workflows, secure document storage and real-time status updates. Through its Czech site (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/), travellers and corporate mobility teams can upload the new Italian e-visa, track forthcoming ETIAS authorisations, and receive expert guidance to keep policies and itineraries fully compliant.
Running in parallel, the ministry has ordered the installation of 150 biometric e-gates at Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino, Venice-Marco Polo and Bologna—airports used heavily by Czech holiday-makers and business travellers. The gates capture facial and fingerprint data on first use and store an encrypted template that works seamlessly with the EU’s forthcoming Entry/Exit System (EES). According to the ministry, queues at the test terminals fell by 35 % during last month’s closed beta involving airport staff and diplomats. Although the reform is being driven in Rome, it has Schengen-wide ramifications. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs confirmed that the pilot meets the technical standards that all member states will be required to follow when they digitise their national entry visas in 2027. The change therefore gives advance warning to Czech employers that still rely on paper visas when sending technicians to Italian client sites: HR departments will need to update their compliance check-lists and teach mobile staff how to store the e-visa securely on a phone or laptop. Corporate-travel managers have welcomed the move. Kamil Novotný, Global Mobility Lead at Škoda Auto, told Schengen Travel News that a digital document is harder to lose and easier to re-issue. “Our engineers often transit through Italy on the way to African assembly plants. If a passport is stolen en-route, getting a replacement sticker has been a nightmare. A re-sent PDF buys us time.” Airlines are equally keen: the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that eliminating sticker inspection will save carriers €85 million a year in check-in delays and denied-boarding claims. Travellers who do **not** need a visa will also notice a change. The Italian government used the same announcement to remind visitors that the €20 ETIAS travel-authorisation fee will apply to all visa-exempt nationals—including Czechs—“by the end of 2026”. Companies that run last-minute sales meetings in Milan or Turin should therefore budget for the small but mandatory pre-registration cost, and factor in the 96-hour ETIAS processing window when issuing tickets. A three-month real-world pilot will begin in July 2026, with full nationwide roll-out scheduled for December 2026. Czech global-mobility teams have a short window to update policy documents, traveller briefings and vendor systems before the paper visa finally disappears.
For Czech citizens and residents looking for practical assistance during this transition, VisaHQ provides an easy-to-use online portal that already supports digital visa workflows, secure document storage and real-time status updates. Through its Czech site (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/), travellers and corporate mobility teams can upload the new Italian e-visa, track forthcoming ETIAS authorisations, and receive expert guidance to keep policies and itineraries fully compliant.
Running in parallel, the ministry has ordered the installation of 150 biometric e-gates at Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino, Venice-Marco Polo and Bologna—airports used heavily by Czech holiday-makers and business travellers. The gates capture facial and fingerprint data on first use and store an encrypted template that works seamlessly with the EU’s forthcoming Entry/Exit System (EES). According to the ministry, queues at the test terminals fell by 35 % during last month’s closed beta involving airport staff and diplomats. Although the reform is being driven in Rome, it has Schengen-wide ramifications. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs confirmed that the pilot meets the technical standards that all member states will be required to follow when they digitise their national entry visas in 2027. The change therefore gives advance warning to Czech employers that still rely on paper visas when sending technicians to Italian client sites: HR departments will need to update their compliance check-lists and teach mobile staff how to store the e-visa securely on a phone or laptop. Corporate-travel managers have welcomed the move. Kamil Novotný, Global Mobility Lead at Škoda Auto, told Schengen Travel News that a digital document is harder to lose and easier to re-issue. “Our engineers often transit through Italy on the way to African assembly plants. If a passport is stolen en-route, getting a replacement sticker has been a nightmare. A re-sent PDF buys us time.” Airlines are equally keen: the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that eliminating sticker inspection will save carriers €85 million a year in check-in delays and denied-boarding claims. Travellers who do **not** need a visa will also notice a change. The Italian government used the same announcement to remind visitors that the €20 ETIAS travel-authorisation fee will apply to all visa-exempt nationals—including Czechs—“by the end of 2026”. Companies that run last-minute sales meetings in Milan or Turin should therefore budget for the small but mandatory pre-registration cost, and factor in the 96-hour ETIAS processing window when issuing tickets. A three-month real-world pilot will begin in July 2026, with full nationwide roll-out scheduled for December 2026. Czech global-mobility teams have a short window to update policy documents, traveller briefings and vendor systems before the paper visa finally disappears.
