AKD and the Ministry of the Interior have established a national system for the creation and issuance of Visible Digital Seals (VDS) on visa forms, fully integrated with the European Visa Information System. This solution ensures that the Republic of Croatia is fully compliant with the European Commission Implementing Decision C(2020) 2672, which introduces the digital seal on the unified visa format, in accordance with ICAO specifications (Doc 9303).
The VDS concept applied in the creation of the visa document was developed according to the specifications of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO Doc 9303) and ensures complete interoperability at the international level. This allows for fast and reliable document authenticity verification in all Schengen Area countries, without the need for an electronic chip.
The established system enables the automated receipt of applications, processing of personal data, digital signing, generation, and delivery of a unique 2D barcode to the national visa issuance information system, regardless of the document printing location.
Document authenticity is verified in real-time by scanning the 2D barcode, where the content is decoded, the cryptographic signature is checked via the issuer's public key (PKI), and the data in the code is compared with the printed information on the document. If the signature and data are correct, the document is considered authentic and unaltered.
Visible Digital Seal in Use
The Visible Digital Seal (VDS) according to ICAO specifications can be applied to a wide range of documents requiring a high level of security but without an electronic chip. In addition to visas, it is used for travel documents such as travel orders and temporary passports, identity cards without a chip, as well as residence and work permits.
In education, it enables secure verification of diplomas, certificates, and professional licenses, while in healthcare, it is used for vaccination certificates and health travel documents.
In the transport sector, VDS is applied to driver’s licenses, vehicle registration documents, and vessel registration papers.
Additionally, it is used in public documents such as birth or marriage certificates, as well as in commercial documents – for example, certificates of origin and export permits.
Thanks to a standardized cryptographic approach, VDS provides a universal solution for the protection, verification, and international recognition of physical documents.
