May 2018

DID YOU KNOW?

The European Commission submitted amendments (COM 2018/252 final; COM 2018/302 final) to the existing EU visa policy (Regulation 2009/810) to address irregular migration, threats to security and facilitate lawful travel.

EDC News: European Commission upgrades EU Common Visa Policy

The EU Common Visa policy (Regulation 2009/810) harmonises rules, Visa Code, for countries whose nationals require a visa for short-term visits to Schengen areas; including 22 European Union Member States and Associated States: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The policy was enforced to simplify and encourage leisure and business travel to the EU and to contribute to EU’s economy, growth and intercultural connections. The impact of the policy is demonstrated in the increase of the number of Schengen visas issued from 10.2 million in 2009 to 14.7 million in 2017. This increase led to the implementation of the Visa Information System (VIS), which is a centralised IT system linking Schengen States national systems for the enabling of visa data exchange.

Since the introduction of the Visa Code (2010), changes in migration and security challenges called for a revision of the code that will create a balance between migration & security concerns, financial considerations and general external relations. For instance, the policy has to be flexible enough to support tourism’s contribution to the EU GDP (13 %) but secure enough to protect EU’s borders, namely, against the 1 million illegal immigrants which were apprehended in 2016. In addition, the financial resources for processing visa applications are diminishing and the application procedure burdensome and time consuming. Taking these challenges into consideration, the European Commission put forward a proposal (COM 2018/252 final; COM 2018/251) consisting of amendments to the original policy (Regulation 2009/810):

• to strengthen visa policy so that it becomes a more effective tool to respond to the increase and complexity of migration and security challenges

• use of digital visa will be introduced in order to, reduce the stress associated with visa processing for both applicants and consulates

• the current visa fee will be increased to enhance efficiency of visa processing by ensuring the availability of adequate staffs and resources in the consulate

• introducing a harmonised approach to issuing multiple-entry visas with long validity

• more streamlined visa procedures and facilitating short-term tourism

• improve security by significantly revising of the Visa Information System (VIS) to facilitate greater interoperability of systems to close information gaps and enhance internal security

It is expected that the implementation of these amendments will reduce security risks, the level of irregular migration, develop improved return and readmission agreements and migration management between the EU and the immigrants country of origin, and a more efficient visa processing and data exchange system.

For more information:

• Overview of EU common visa policy (including statistics on short-stay visas issued, Visa facilitation agreements), Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs

• EU migrant crisis: facts and figures (including infographics on asylum applications from 2011 – 2017), European Parliament

• Letter of intent and presentation of a Roadmap for a More United, Stronger and More Democratic Union from the European Commission to the Parliament (September 2017)

• Tourism and the European Union; Recent trends and policy developments (September 2015), European Parliament

• Infographics on migration challenges in the EU (including detection of illegal border crossings & number of asylum applications in EU-28 in 2016), European Parliament

• Legislation and other relevant legal documents

  • Communication from the European Commission on adapting Common Visa policy to new challenges (COM 2018/251 final)

  • Proposal for regulation (COM 2018/252 final) establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) amending Regulation 810/2009

  • Executive summary of the impact assessment for a proposal establishing a Community Code on Visas (COM 2018/252 final) amending Regulation 810/2009

  • European Agenda on strengthening Cross-Border and internal Security in the EU (COM 2015/185 final)

  • Agenda for a more united, stronger and more democratic Europe (COM 2017/650 final); Visa Code amendment considerations

  • Framework for interoperability between EU information systems - borders and visa (COM 2018/478 final; amending Decision 2004/512/EC, Decision 2008/633/JHA, Regulation 2016/399 andRegulation 2017/2226)

  • Progress report on the Implementation of the European Agenda on Migration (COM 2018/250 final)

• Statistics

  • Third country nationals illegally present in the EU (2008 -2017 table), Eurostat

  • Asylum statistics, Eurostat

  • Asylum quarterly report, Eurostat

• Official EU institution publications

  • Visa Information System – EU-LISA : supporting secure and hassle-free travel in the EU

  • Feasibility and implications of lowering the fingerprinting age for children and on storing a scanned copy of the visa applicants’ travel document in the Visa Information System (VIS) (study 2018, Executive Study)

  • Study on the economic impact of short stay visa facilitation on the tourism industry and on the overall economies of EU Member States being part of the Schengen Area (study 2014)

  • European Parliament’s positions on key issues related to asylum and migration (briefing)

  • EU asylum, borders and external cooperation on migration (study)

  • Towards an EU humanitarian visa scheme? (study)

• Press Releases/News

  • Commission puts forward proposals to make EU visa policy stronger, more efficient and more secure (14 March 2018)

  • Questions and Answers: Adapting the common EU visa policy to new challenges (14 March 2018)

  • EU border controls and managing migration, European Parliament (30 June 2017)

  • Irregular immigration in the EU: Facts and Figures, European Parliament Research Service Blog (27 April 2015)