2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)No 539/2001
of 15 March 2001
listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external
borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement
(OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1)
Amended by:
OfficialJournal
No page date
►M1 CouncilRegul ation (EC) No 2414/2001 of 7 December 2001 L 327 1 12.12.2001
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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)No 539/2001
of 15 March 2001
listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of
visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals
are exempt from that requirement
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, andin particular Article 62, point (2)(b)(i) thereof,
Having regard to the proposalfrom the Commission (
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Whereas:
(1) Under Article 62, point (2)(b) of the Treaty, the Council is to
adopt rules relating to visas for intended stays of no more thanthree months, and in that context it is required to determine thelist of those third countries whose nationals must be in possession
of visas when crossing the externalborders and those whose
nationals are exempt from that requirement. Article 61 cites thoselists among the flanking measures which are directly linked to thefree movement of persons in an area of freedom, security andjustice.
(2) This Regulation follows on from the Schengen acquis inaccordance with the Protocolintegrating it into the frameworkof the European Union, hereinafter referred to as the ‘SchengenProtocol’. It does not affect Member States' obligations derivingfrom the acquis as defined in Annex A to Decision 1999/435/ECof 20 May 1999 concerning the definition of the Schengen acquis
for the purpose of determining, in conformity with the relevant
provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Communityand the Treaty on European Union, the legal basis for each of theprovisions or decisions which constitute the acquis (
3).
(3) This Regulation constitutes the further development of those
provisions in respect of which closer cooperation has been
authorised under the Schengen Protocol and falls within the areareferred to in Article 1, point B, of Decision 1999/437/EC of 17May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of theAgreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and
the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning
the association of those two States with the implementation,application and development of the Schengen acquis (
4).
(4) Pursuant to Article 1 of the Protocol on the position of the UnitedKingdom and Ireland annexed to the Treaty on European Union
and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Ireland
and the United Kingdom are not participating in the adoption ofthis Regulation. Consequently and without prejudice to Article 4of the aforementioned Protocol, the provisions of this Regulationapply neither to Ireland nor to the United Kingdom.
(5) The determination of those third countries whose nationals are
subject to the visa requirement, and those exempt from it, is
governed by a considered, case-by-case assessment of a variety ofcriteria relating inter alia to illegal immigration, public policy and
security, and to the European Union's externalrel ations with thirdcountries, consideration also being given to the implications of
regionalcoherence and reciprocity. Provision shoul d be made for
a Community mechanism enabling this principle of reciprocity tobe implemented if one of the third countries included in Annex II2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 177 E, 27.6.2000, p. 66.
(2) Opinion of 5 July 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.
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to this Regulation decides to make the nationals of one or more
Member States subject to the visa obligation.
(6) As the Agreement on the European Economic Area exemptsnationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway from the visarequirement, these countries are not included in the list in AnnexII hereto.
(7) As regards stateless persons and recognised refugees, withoutprejudice to obligations under international agreements signed bythe Member States and in particular the European Agreement onthe Abolition of Visas for Refugees, signed at Strasbourg on 20April1959, the decision as to the visa requirement or exemptionshould be based on the third country in which these persons reside
and which issued their traveldocuments. However, given the
differences in the national legislation applicable to statelesspersons and to recognised refugees, Member States may decidewhether these categories of persons shall be subject to the visarequirement, where the third country in which these persons
reside and which issued their traveldocuments is a third country
whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement.
(8) In specific cases where specialvisa rul es are warranted, MemberStates may exempt certain categories of persons from the visarequirement or impose it on them in accordance with public
internationall aw or custom.
(9) With a view to ensuring that the system is administered openly
and that the persons concerned are informed, Member Statesshould communicate to the other Member States and to theCommission the measures which they take pursuant to this
Regulation. For the same reasons, that information should also be
published in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
(10) The conditions governing entry into the territory of the Member
States or the issue of visas do not affect the rules currently
governing recognition of the validity of travel documents.
(11) In accordance with the principle of proportionality stated in
Article 5 of the Treaty, enacting a Regulation listing the thirdcountries whose nationals must be in possession of visas whencrossing the externalborders, and those whose national s are
exempt from that requirement, is both a necessary and an
appropriate means of ensuring that the common visa rules operateefficiently.
(12) This Regulation provides for full harmonisation as regards the
third countries whose nationals are subject to the visa requirement
for the crossing of Member States' externalborders and thosewhose nationals are exempt from that requirement,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. Nationals of third countries on the list in Annex I shall be required
to be in possession of a visa when crossing the externalborders of the
Member States.
2.►M1Nationals of third countries on the list in Annex II shall be
exempt from the requirement set out in paragraph 1 for stays of no more
than three months in all. ◄
3. Nationals of new third countries formerly part of countries on the
lists in Annexes I and II shall be subject respectively to the provisions ofparagraphs 1 and 2 unless and until the Council decides otherwise underthe procedure laid down in the relevant provision of the Treaty.
4. The establishment by a third country on the list in Annex II of the
visa requirement for nationals of a Member State shall give rise to theapplication of the following provisions, without prejudice to the2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 3
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provisions of any agreement which the Community may have concluded
with that third country granting exemption from the visa requirement:
(a) the Member State may notify the Commission and the Councilin
writing of the fact that the third country has established the visarequirement;
(b) in the case of such notification, Member States' obligation to subject
the nationals of the third country concerned to the visa requirementshall be established provisionally 30 days after notification unlessthe Council, acting by qualified majority beforehand, decides
otherwise;
(c) provisional introduction of the visa requirement shall be published
by the Councilin the Official Journal of the European Communities
before it takes effect;
(d) the Commission shall examine any request made by the Council or
by a Member State that it submit a proposalto the Councilamending
the Annexes to this Regulation to include the third countryconcerned in Annex I and remove it from Annex II;
(e) if, prior to the adoption by the Councilof such an amendment to the
Annexes to this Regulation, the third country repeals its decision toestablish the visa requirement, the Member State concerned shallimmediately notify the Commission and the Council in writingaccordingly;
(f) such notification shall be published by the Council in the Official
Journal of the European Communities . The provisionalintroduction
of the visa requirement for nationals of the third country concerned
shall be repealed 7 days after the date of publication.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘visa’ shall mean an authorisation
issued by a Member State or a decision taken by such State which is
required with a view to:
— entry for an intended stay in that Member State or in severalMember
States of no more than three months in total,
— entry for transit through the territory of that Member State or several
Member States, except for transit at an airport.
Article 3
Without prejudice to obligations under the European Agreement on the
Abolition of Visas for Refugees, signed at Strasbourg on 20 April 1959,recognised refugees and stateless persons:
— shall be subject to the visa requirement if the third country where
they reside and which issued their traveldocument is one of the thirdcountries listed in Annex I;
— may be exempted from the visa requirement if the third country
where they reside and which issued their traveldocument is one of
the third countries listed in Annex II.
Article 4
1. A Member State may provide for exceptions from the visa
requirement provided for by Article 1(1) or from the exemption from the
visa requirement provided for by Article 1(2) as regards:
(a) holders of diplomatic passports, official-duty passports and other
officialpassports;
(b) civilian air and sea crew;
(c) the flight crew and attendants on emergency or rescue flights and
other helpers in the event of disaster or accident;
(d) the civilian crew of ships navigating in international waters;
(e) the holders of laissez-passer issued by some intergovernmental
internationalorganisations to their official s.2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 4
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2. A Member State may exempt from the visa requirement a school
pupil having the nationality of a third country listed in Annex I whoresides in a third country listed in Annex II and is travelling in the
context of a schoolexcursion as a member of a group of schoolpupil s
accompanied by a teacher from the schoolin question.
3. A Member State may provide for exceptions from the exemption
from the visa requirement provided for in Article 1(2) as regards personscarrying out a paid activity during their stay.
Article 5
1. Within 10 working days of the entry into force of this Regulation,
Member States shall communicate to the other Member States and theCommission the measures they have taken pursuant to Article 3, second
indent and Article 4. Any further changes to those measures shall be
similarly communicated within five working days.
2. The Commission shall publish the measures communicated
pursuant to paragraph 1 in the Official Journal of the European
Communities for information.
Article 6
This Regulation shall not affect the competence of Member States with
regard to the recognition of States and territorialunits and passports,traveland identity documents issued by their authorities.
Article 7
1. CouncilRegul ation (EC) No 574/1999 (
1) shall be replaced by this
Regulation.
2. The finalversions of the Common Consul ar Instruction (CCI) and
of the Common Manual(CM), as they resul t from the Decision of the
Schengen Executive Committee of 28 April1999 (SCH/Com-ex(99) 13)
shall be amended as follows:
1. the heading of Annex 1, part I of the CCI and of Annex 5, part I of
the CM, shall be replaced by the following:
‘Common list of third countries the nationals of which are subject to
the visa requirement imposed by Regulation (EC) No 539/2001’;
2. the list in Annex 1, part I of the CCI and in Annex 5, part I of the CM
shall be replaced by the list in Annex I to this Regulation;
3. the heading of Annex 1, part II of the CCI and of Annex 5, part II of
the CM shall be replaced by the following:
‘Common list of third countries the nationals of which are exempted
from the visa requirement by Regulation (EC) No 539/2001’;
4. the list in Annex 1, part II of the CCI and in Annex 5, part II of the
CM shall be replaced by the list in Annex II to this Regulation;
5. part III of Annex 1 to the CCI and part III of Annex 5 of the CM shall
be deleted.
3. The decisions of the Schengen Executive Committee of 15
December 1997 (SCH/Com-ex(97)32) and of 16 December 1998(SCH/Com-ex(98)53, rev.2) shall be repealed.
Article 8
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 72, 18.3.1999, p. 2.▼M1
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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing theEuropean Community.2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 6
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ANNEX I
Common list referred to in Article 1(1)
1. STATES
Afghanistan
AlbaniaAlgeriaAngola
Antigua and Barbuda
ArmeniaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarus
Belize
BeninBhutanBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBurkina FasoBurma/Myanmar
Burundi
CambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCentralAfrican Republ icChadChinaColombia
Congo
Côte d'IvoireCubaDemocratic Republic of the CongoDjijboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEgypt
EquatorialGuinea
EritreaEthiopiaFederal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro)FijiFormer Yugoslav Republic of MacedoniaGabon
Gambia
GeorgiaGhanaGrenadaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 7
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Haiti
IndiaIndonesiaIran
Iraq
JamaicaJordanKazakhstanKenya
Kiribati
KuwaitKyrgyzstanLaos
Lebanon
LesothoLiberiaLibyaMadagascar
Malawi
MaldivesMaliMarshall Islands
Mauritania
MauritiusMicronesiaMoldovaMongolia
Morocco
MozambiqueNamibiaNauru
Nepal
NigerNigeriaNorth Korea
Northern Marianas
OmanPakistanPalauPapua New Guinea
Peru
PhilippinesQatarRussia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSão Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
SenegalSeychellesSierra Leone
Solomon Islands2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 8
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Somalia
South AfricaSri LankaSudan
Surinam
SwazilandSyria
Tajikistan
TanzaniaThailandThe Comoros
Togo
TongaTrinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
TurkeyTurkmenistanTuvalu
Uganda
UkraineUnited Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
VanuatuVietnamWestern Samoa
Yemen
ZambiaZimbabwe
2. ENTITIES AND TERRITORIAL AUTHORITIES THAT ARE NOT
RECOGNISED AS STATES BY AT LEAST ONE MEMBER STATE
East Timor
Palestinian Authority
Taiwan2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 9
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ANNEX II
Common list referred to in Article 1(2)
1. STATES
Andorra
ArgentinaAustraliaBoliviaBrazilBruneiBulgariaCanadaChileCosta RicaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicEcuadorEstoniaGuatemalaHoly SeeHondurasHungaryIsraelJapan
Latvia
LithuaniaMalaysiaMaltaMexicoMonacoNew ZealandNicaraguaPanamaParaguayPolandRomania ►
M1 ◄
SalvadorSan MarinoSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouth KoreaSwitzerlandUnited States of AmericaUruguayVenezuela2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 10
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2. SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
OF CHINA
Hong Kong SAR (1)
Macao SAR (2)2001R0539 — EN — 01.01.2002 — 001.001 — 11
(1) The visa requirement exemption applies only to holders of a ‘Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region’ passport.
(2) The visa requirement exemption applies only to holders of a ‘Região Administrativa
Especialde Macau’ passport.