Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 on a uniform visa format

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
European Union flag

Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95

Title: Council Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 on a uniform format for visas
Scope: EEA and Switzerland , without Great Britain [obsolete] and Ireland and (still) without Bulgaria , Croatia , Romania
Legal matter: Immigration law
Basis: EGV , in particular Art. 100c Para. 3
Procedure overview: European Commission
European Parliament
IPEX Wiki
To be used from: August 3, 1995
Reference: OJ L 164 of July 14, 1995, pp. 1-4
Full text Consolidated version (not official)
basic version
Regulation has entered into force and is applicable.
Please note the information on the current version of legal acts of the European Union !

The 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 on a uniform format for visas Regulation (EC) No. Defines a standard format for all forms of Visa determined that the Schengen area will be issued. While Great Britain and Ireland still followed the original version of the 1995 regulation, Great Britain only accepted the 2002 amendment, while Ireland did not accept any of the later amendments. Since both countries have refused to adopt the new visa sticker model that has been in force since May 2009, the regulation in its current form does not apply in these two countries.

Subject matter

Sample of the visa sticker valid since May 2009

The subject of the regulation is a uniform appearance of the visa sticker across Schengen.

The visa sticker is not only valid for the uniform visa i. See Article 29 of the Visa Code, which is valid in the area of ​​all Member States, but also for national visas, which generally have the code letter “D” and are only valid for the country whose authority issued it.

The following must be entered on the visa sticker in accordance with the official instructions:

  1. Integration of a photograph produced in accordance with high security standards.
  2. An optically variable symbol (“kinegram” or equivalent) appears here. Depending on the viewing angle, twelve stars, the symbol “E” and the globe are visible in different sizes and colors.
  3. The country code of the issuing Member State (or 'BNL' in the case of the Benelux countries, ie Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), consisting of one or more letters, appears here with a tilting effect. This code appears light when viewed from a flat angle and dark when rotated 90 degrees. The following country codes apply: A for Austria, BG for Bulgaria, BNL for Benelux, CY for Cyprus, CZE for the Czech Republic, D for Germany, DK for Denmark, E for Spain, EST for Estonia, F for France, FIN for Finland , GR for Greece, H for Hungary, HR for Croatia, I for Italy, IRL for Ireland, LT for Lithuania, LVA for Latvia, M for Malta, P for Portugal, PL for Poland, ROU for Romania, S for Sweden, SK for Slovakia, SVN for Slovenia, UK for the United Kingdom.
  4. In the middle area, the word “VISUM” appears in capital letters with optically variable colors. Depending on the viewing angle, it appears green or red.
  5. The already pre-printed nine-digit national number of the visa appears in this field. A special type of printing is used.
    5a. The three-digit country code in accordance with ICAO Document 9303 on Machine Readable Documents to identify the issuing Member State appears in this field. The “number of the visa” is the three-digit country code according to field 5 a in conjunction with the national number recorded in field 5.
  6. This field begins with the words “valid for”. The issuing authority shall indicate the territory or territories to which the visa is valid.
  7. This field begins with the word "from", further back in the line is the word "to". The issuing authority specifies the period of validity of the visa here.
  8. This field begins with the words “Type of Visa”. The issuing authority shall register the visa category in accordance with Articles 5 and 7 of this Regulation. The words “number of entries”, “length of stay” (ie length of stay planned by the applicant) and “days” appear further down the line.
  9. This field begins with the words "issued in" and indicates the place of issue.
  10. This field begins with the word “on” (the issuing authority indicates the date of issue); the words “passport number” appear further down the line (followed by the passport holder's passport number).
  11. This field begins with the words "Name, First Name".
  12. This field begins with the words "Notes". It is used by the issuing authority to enter further information which it deems necessary and which is compatible with Article 4 of this Regulation. The following two and a half lines must be kept free for such comments.
  13. This field contains the machine-readable information necessary to facilitate external border controls. The name of the Member State issuing the document appears in the background print in the machine-readable area. This text does not change the technical characteristics of the machine-readable area or its readability. The paper to be used has a natural color and is labeled with red and blue. The entry fields are marked in English and French. In addition, the issuing state can add another official language of the community. However, the word “VISUM” in the header may appear in another official Community language.

Change history

The regulation has been amended six times so far, namely by

date Change / reason Legal regulation
February 18, 2002 Regulation (EC) No. 334/2002
April 16, 2003 Accession of the Czech Republic , Estonia , Cyprus , Latvia , Lithuania , Hungary , Malta , Poland , Slovenia and Slovakia Act on the Conditions of Accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded - Annex II: List under Article 20 of the Act of Accession - 18. Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs - B. Visa policy
November 20, 2006 Accession of Bulgaria and Romania Regulation (EC) No. 1791/2006
July 24, 2008 New sample of the visa sticker Regulation (EC) No. 856/2008
13th of May 2013 Accession of Croatia Regulation (EU) No. 517/2013
June 26, 2013 Regulation (EU) No. 610/2013

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Council Regulation (EC) No. 856/2008 of July 24, 2008 . In: OJ. L 235 of September 2, 2008, p. 1.
  2. ↑ OJ. L 53 of 23 February 2002, p. 7.
  3. ↑ OJ. L 236 of 23 September 2003, pp. 718-725.
  4. ↑ OJ. L 363 of December 20, 2006, p. 1.
  5. ↑ OJ. L 235 of September 2, 2008, p. 1.
  6. ↑ OJ. L 158 of June 10, 2013, p. 1.
  7. ↑ OJ. L 182 of June 29, 2013, p. 1.