1,000 Schengen visa stickers 'stolen' from Italian embassy in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: As many as 1,000 Schengen visa stickers have been reportedly stolen from the locker room of the Italian Embassy in Islamabad.

According to details, the embassy wrote a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 16, seeking its help in investigating the theft of the visa stickers.

It stated that 1,000 Schengen visa stickers had been stolen from the embassy’s locker room and shared the serial numbers of the stolen stickers. Italian authorities were conducting an internal investigations to fix the responsibility for the theft, it added.

Acting on the letter, the Foreign Affairs Ministry asked the Ministry of Interior and Federal Investigation Agency to investigate the matter and “keep track of these visa stickers at all entry and exit points and report any seizure to the this ministry.”

What is a Schengen Visa?

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any members of the Schengen Area (the European Union), per stays up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes.

The Schengen visa is the most common visa for Europe. It enables its holder to enter, freely travel within, and leave the Schengen zone from any of the Schengen member countries. There are no border controls within the Schengen Zone.