Visa exemption

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Visa-free regime is a untechnischer term to refer to the exemption from the visa requirement or the visa obligation.

Definition of terms

  • In a broader sense it includes the right of individuals in a foreign country without a purchased prior to travel visa to enter. This right represents a considerable relief for the persons concerned, as they do not have to go through a (often lengthy) visa procedure before the intended trip.
  • Visa exemption in the narrower sense is the right to enter a country without any formal entry permit. In this case, no free or mandatory permits will be entered, stamped or stuck on the passport or certificates issued during the immigration control. This procedure is used, among others, by the Schengen states.
  • Visa exemption is often used synonymously with the exemption from the requirement of a residence permit. These exemptions are essentially identical in the Schengen countries. Other countries allow certain people to enter the country without a visa, but then require a foreign registration or a residence permit to be obtained after entering the country.

Basics

Whether or not citizens of other countries are made subject to the visa requirement is determined solely by the law of the country of entry. The decision as to who is admitted to a state under which conditions or who is allowed to enter it is subject to the complete decision-making power of the individual states and is a core area of ​​their sovereignty. The reasons that lead to the abolition of the visa requirement are usually complex and are determined by, among other things

  • relations at the state level (politically, economically and militarily allied, neutral, in competition or even hostile / in a state of war)
  • economic considerations (could important investors be attracted by visa exemption, is tourism an important source of income, are there potential tourists in the country in question, are high visa fees a source of income)
  • Immigration policy considerations (how high is the proportion of visa-free travelers who will try to go into hiding after entering the country or to apply for protection (ASYL), is there an unrestricted readmission of the country of origin for its citizens, how high is the protection against forgery of the travel documents, how high is this Corruption level)
  • security policy considerations (will the granting of the visa exemption lead to a considerable increase in the entry of criminals / terrorists from the relevant state).

reciprocity

As a rule, visa exemptions are agreed between states by means of a treaty under international law (so-called visa agreement) and are based on the principle of reciprocity. The termination of such an agreement by one side automatically entails the introduction of the visa requirement for its nationals in the other country.

Sometimes such agreements only exist in favor of certain citizens of the states concerned (e.g. holders of diplomatic or service passports ).

There are also multilateral agreements on mutual exemption from visa requirements, such as the Council of Europe's European Convention on the Movement of Persons, which has largely become obsolete . These contracts are also largely based on reciprocity. (For example, Ukraine ratified this convention on July 1, 2006 and granted the nationals of the contracting parties a visa waiver; however, this was subject to the proviso that this preference ceases to exist if these states themselves make a reservation against the visa waiver for Ukrainians.)

A good example of the principle of reciprocity are the regulations of the European Union on visa requirements and visa exemption in Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001 (EU Visa Regulation) . After the accession of the Central and Eastern European states on May 1, 2004, there was no longer any reciprocity of visa exemption for foreigners in the EU on the one hand and for Union citizens in third countries. In order to improve the negotiating position of the European Commission, Regulation (EG) 851/2005 changed the visa regulation and introduced a reciprocity mechanism that allows the EU to maintain or introduce the visa requirement by third countries for nationals of all or individual states of the EU to respond adequately. As a result, a number of third countries also exempted the nationals of the new member states, while other countries (such as the USA, Canada, Australia) retained the visa requirement (temporarily), but granted extensive simplifications in the visa procedure.

However, the visa exemption can also be granted unilaterally by one state for citizens of another state. There is no general principle of international law according to which visa reciprocity should or should not be granted. A different regulation could lead to a state that might even be problematic in terms of security policy by granting its citizens universal visa exemption by making all foreigners visa exempt.

Beneficiaries

As a rule, citizens of certain countries who can prove their citizenship by holding a national passport are granted a visa-free waiver, sometimes also limited to the holders of official passports. However, visa exemption is not only granted to foreign nationals, but also to other groups of people.

For example, due to the European Convention on the Abolition of the Mandatory Visa for Refugees, holders of a travel document issued by a contracting party do not have a visa for refugees in the other contracting states. In Germany, holders of a travel document for stateless persons are also exempt from the requirement for a visa if the stateless person's identity card was issued by a country whose nationals enjoy visa-free travel in Germany. Article 46 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations prescribes an exemption from the requirement for a visa for consular officers and their family members. Due to Article 4 of the Reich Concordat, which continues to apply , according to Section 20 of the Residence Ordinance, holders of Vatican passports in Germany are visa-free. There are further exemptions for on-board personnel in maritime shipping, inland waterway traffic and in air traffic.

The EU's short stay regulations also contain a number of visa-free regulations that apply regardless of the nationality of the privileged persons. According to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EU Visa Regulation), the holders of travel documents for refugees or stateless persons or of alien passports confirming the statelessness of the passport holder are exempt from the visa requirement in the Schengen area , provided that these passports pass through an EU country (except GB and IRL) were issued. There are also exemptions for third-country nationals (who actually require a visa due to their nationality) who visit a Schengen state on a school trip, exemptions for members of the NATO troops, etc.

The right to visa-free short-term stays was extended by Directive 2004/38 / EC to include family members ( third-country nationals ) of EEA citizens who are actually subject to a visa and who exercise their right to free movement . If you have a residence card in accordance with Article 10 of the Directive and on the condition that the trip is either shared with the EEA citizen or is followed up, family members can stay in any other EEA member state for up to 90 days without an additional visa. However, some member states do not implement this provision of the directive or do so incorrectly (as of November 2009), so that difficulties can still arise when traveling between Schengen and non-Schengen EU countries (refusal to use the means of transport by the transport company, refusal entry by border protection authorities). There is a separate agreement on the free movement of persons with Switzerland .

requirements

A visa exemption does not usually grant an individual legal right to entry, but only the basic possibility of being able to enter without a visa. This right is usually only granted under certain conditions, mostly for limited purposes and for a certain length of stay.

These requirements, permissible purposes and the maximum length of stay differ from state to state and are partly regulated differently in the individual states for different target groups. Typically, the permit of visa-free entry requires the possession of a certain (often valid for several months) border crossing paper and the bona fide quality, i.e. the will to not violate the legal system of the destination country, which is to be demonstrated during the immigration control. The maximum permissible duration of a visa-free stay ranges from a few weeks to six months.

Visa exemption in the Schengen area

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According to Art. 62 Paragraph 2 b (i) and Paragraph 3 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the EU is now responsible for regulating visa requirements and exemptions for short stays, although its regulations usually allow a number of accompanying national exception provisions. The regulations on visa-free entry and residence in the Schengen area can, however, be found in various legal acts of the European Union. Even the basic regulations do not apply in all member states of the EU, but also in other states.

scope

The regulations outlined below are fully applicable in the following countries:

  • Category I: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary

In the new member states of the EU, only some of the regulations apply temporarily (or some regulations only partially, see the individual regulations for more details):

  • Category II:
    • Cyprus (2010 at the earliest)
    • Bulgaria, Romania (date for full application not yet foreseeable)

In these member states the regulations do not apply:

  • Category III:
    • Liechtenstein (application will probably be suspended until the end of 2009)
  • Category IV:
    • Ireland, United Kingdom (not applicable)

Individual regulations

In principle, third-country nationals (no citizenship of categories I to IV) require a visa to enter and stay in accordance with Article 5, Paragraph 1b of the Schengen Borders Code, unless they are exempt from this visa requirement. (This regulation applies in the states of categories I and II)

The exemption from the visa requirement for crossing the external borders results primarily from Article 1 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EU Visa Regulation) . The group of people named there can then stay in the entire Schengen area without a visa on the basis of Article 20 of the Schengen Implementation Convention. (Also applies in the territory of the states according to Category I and II.)

Since October 18, 2013, in accordance with Article 5 (1) of the Schengen Borders Code, a  new calculation method has been in effect for the permitted length of stay,  both for a Schengen visa and for third-country nationals entering the country without a visa. Instead of the previous "forward view" ("90 days within 180 days", ie calculated forward from entry), a "flexible backward view" is used ("90 days per period of 180 days", ie calculated backwards from the date of inspection). This rule must be fulfilled at all times of a stay or entry. Days of entry and exit also count towards the stay.

Example:  The visa is valid from April 15, 2015 to April 14, 2016. It will be entered with this visa for the first time on April 23, 2015. In principle, you can then stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days (until July 21, 2015). However, if you have already had another Schengen visa and have been in the Schengen area in the past few months, you have to include the corresponding periods of stay when calculating the maximum possible length of stay of 90 days within a 180-day period. In principle, the next entry would then be possible again from October 20, 2015 (in this example the 181st day after the first entry) for 90 days.

According to Art. 5 Para. IV a of the Schengen Borders Code, holders of a residence title from a Schengen state of category I or II for the purpose of re-entry into the issuing state are exempt from the visa requirement for the necessary transit through the other Schengen states of categories I and II. The residence permits from which this right can be derived have been published in the Official Journal of the EU. This right is granted almost without any preconditions, not even a valid border crossing document is required, as long as the identity can also be proven otherwise.

According to Decision 895/2006 / EC, holders of residence permits from countries of categories I to III (each without EST, LIT), of Schengen visas and national visas of category I are now entitled to transit through category II countries Art. 5 IV a SGK, transit is possible in both directions, both from a third country to the issuing country of the title and in the opposite direction. However, the entry requirements must be met. For holders of titles in category III (CH, LIE), there is a supplementary and analogously regulated right of transit through the states of category I according to decision 896/2006 / EC.

Article 18 of the Schengen Implementation Agreement grants a visa-free right to travel through the category I states to the issuing state of a national visa, similar to Art. 5 IV a SGK, but this is limited to the first outward journey to this state and under other conditions. (Applies only to national visa type "D" from countries of category I.)

Finally, Art. 21 CISA grants a more far-reaching right of residence without a visa for holders of category I national residence permits in the other Category I Schengen countries, but also under restrictive conditions.

requirements

Entry without a visa is only possible under the conditions set out in the individual legal provisions. These regulations refer regularly to Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Schengen Borders Code.

After that, a valid border crossing document, proof of travel destination, purpose of travel and the funds required for its financing are required. Furthermore, the third-country national may not be advertised in the Schengen information system for refusal of entry and his entry and stay may not endanger the public order, security or health of one of the Schengen states. There may also be no national advertisement based on a residence ban for the states in which the foreigner is staying.

Visa exemption in Germany

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Exemptions from the visa requirement for foreigners in Germany, Austria and the other Schengen states are primarily regulated by Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EU visa regulation) and Directive 2004/38 / EC.

National exceptions are regulated in Germany by Sections 16 to 30 of the Residence Ordinance. The existing visa-free agreements are taken into account in Sections 16 and 41 of the Residence Ordinance and do not apply directly.

Visa exemption for German citizens

The freedom of movement as EU citizens within the EU has only those who are gainfully employed in the host Member State as an employee or self-employed in the economy or looking for work. Other - economically inactive - Union citizens only have this right if they have sufficient means of subsistence and adequate health insurance coverage in the host Member State. Apart from that, stays of up to three months are also possible without these requirements.

German, Austrian and Swiss citizens are entitled to freedom of movement in the countries of the European Union , the European Economic Area and Switzerland and are therefore generally visa-free. In these countries, the visa exemption does not depend on the possession of a specific border crossing document and is based solely on EU citizenship or nationality. The visa exemption in other countries is subject to their sovereignty and can in principle also be changed unilaterally.

The information service of the Federal Foreign Office offers detailed information about the entry requirements for German citizens in the respective destination countries. However, only the competent diplomatic missions in the target country can provide binding information. The foreign ministries of Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein accordingly refer directly to the foreign representations on their websites.

The Travel Information Manual, which is subject to a fee and is updated monthly by the IATA, provides an up-to-date overview of the various exemption regulations . The travel agencies also provide information.

Remarks

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b European Agreement on the Regulation of the Movement of Persons between the Member States of the Council of Europe CETS No .: 025
  2. ^ Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
  3. ^ Concordat between the Holy See and the German Empire
  4. ↑ a b Articles 5 (2) and 6 (2) of Directive 2004/38 / EC of the European Parliament and Council of April 29, 2004
  5. ↑ Entry formalities for your family members who are not EU citizens themselves
  6. ↑ Right of Union citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the Union, Guide on how to get the best out of Directive 2004/38 / EC
  7. ↑ Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No. 158/2007 of December 7, 2007 amending Annex V (Free movement of workers) and Annex VIII (Right of establishment) of the EEA Agreement .
  8. ^ Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 1003 - The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 . Great Britain only accepts self-issued residence permits (see definition of “residence card” in section 2).
  9. ↑ Point 3.2 in Report from the Comission to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Directive 2004/38 / EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of Member States
  10. ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 562/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council of March 15, 2006
  11. ↑ Schengen Implementing Agreement
  12. ↑ German Embassy Kiev - calculation of the permissible length of stay for short stays. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 14, 2017 ; accessed on June 13, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / m.kiew.diplo.de
  13. ↑ Andras SZILAGYI: Short-stay Visa Calculator - Migration and Home Affairs - European Commission. December 8, 2016, accessed June 13, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 562/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council of March 15, 2006 (SGK)
  15. ↑ Schengen Implementation Convention (SDÜ) ( Memento of March 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 9, 2016 on a Community code for people crossing borders (Schengen Borders Code) , accessed on June 13, 2017
  17. ↑ Residence ordinance
  18. ↑ Travel Information Manual (TIM) ( Memento from March 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (Travel Information Manual)