Italy Resumes Schengen Visa Processing Worldwide After One‑Week System Suspension
After a one‑week suspension linked to an upgrade of its visa‑processing IT system, Italy officially resumed, as of 18 February 2026, the receipt and handling of Schengen visa applications at all of its diplomatic missions worldwide, including those in Tunisia.
What caused the interruption?
According to notices published by several Italian embassies, the outage affected the VIS (Visa Information System), which is essential for:
- Recording biometric data
- Processing visa files
- Issuing entry visas
From the evening of 12 February until midnight on 18 February, no applications could be submitted or processed, and visa issuance was suspended.
Impact on Tunisia
The Italian consular office in Tunis clarified that this technical interruption would temporarily halt all visa‑related activities, including operations at outsourced centers responsible for collecting applications and biometric fingerprints.
Current status
Since the system was brought back online, Italian consulates have resumed their normal activities. However, no official communication has announced an immediate acceleration of processing times.
- Applicants are advised to follow the usual procedure and book an online appointment before submitting any documents.
Why the outage was necessary
The worldwide interruption—unprecedented in scale—was undertaken to modernize the IT infrastructure used for managing Italian visas and to ensure long‑term service continuity.
Outlook
Sector specialists note that the backlog of postponed applications could temporarily lengthen processing times in some regions, but the system upgrade is expected to improve overall efficiency once the surge is cleared.
