01995R1683 — EN — 17.08.2017 — 006.001

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►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format for visas (OJ L 164 14.7.1995, p. 1)

Amended by:





Amended by:









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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1683/95

of 29 May 1995

laying down a uniform format for visas







Article 1

Visas issued by the Member States in conformity with Article 5 shall be produced in the form of a uniform format (sticker). They shall conform to the specifications set out in the Annex.

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Article 2

1. Further technical specifications for the uniform format for visas relating to the following shall be established in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2):

(a) additional elements and security requirements including enhanced anti-forgery, counterfeiting and falsification standards;

(b) technical standards and methods to be used for the filling in of the uniform visa.

2. The colours of the visa sticker may be changed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2).

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3. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2), it may be decided that the specifications referred to in Article 2 shall be secret and not be published. In that case they shall be made available only to the bodies designated by the Member States as responsible for the printing and to persons duly authorised by a Member State or the Commission.

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Article 3

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2. Each Member State shall designate one body having responsibility for printing visas. It shall communicate the name of that body to the Commission and the other Member States. The same body may be designated by two or more Member States for this purpose. Each Member State shall be entitled to change its designated body. It shall inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly.

Article 4

1. Without prejudice to the relevant more extensive provisions concerning data protection, an individual to whom a visa is issued shall have the right to verify the personal particulars entered on the visa and, where appropriate, to ask for any corrections or deletions to be made.

2. No information in machine-readable form shall be given on the uniform format for visas unless it also appears in the boxes described in points 6 to 12 of the Annex, or unless it is mentioned in the relevant travel document.

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Article 5

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘visa’ means a visa as defined in Article 2(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) ( 1 ).

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Article 6

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC ( 2 ) shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months.

3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

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Article 7

Where Member States use the uniform visa format for purposes other than those covered by Article 5, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that confusion with the visa referred to in Article 5 is not possible.

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Upon request from Ireland or the United Kingdom, the Commission shall enter into appropriate arrangements with the requesting Member State to exchange technical information referred to in Article 2 for the purposes of issuing national visas by the requesting Member State.

Costs to which Ireland and the United Kingdom do not contribute in accordance with Article 5 of Protocol No 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, shall be borne by Ireland or the United Kingdom respectively if they make such a request.

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Article 8

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 1 shall become applicable six months after the adoption of the measures referred to in Article 2.

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The integration of the photograph provided for in point 2a of the Annex shall be implemented at the latest five years after the adoption of the technical measures provided for the adoption of this measure in Article 2.

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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

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ANNEX

Security features

1. An integrated colour portrait of the holder shall be produced to high security standards.

2. A diffractive optically variable device (‘Kinegram’ or equivalent) shall appear in this space. Depending on the angle of view, the letters ‘EU’, ‘EUE’ and kinematic guilloche lines shall become visible in various sizes and colours.

3. This box shall contain the three-letter country code as set out in ICAO Document 9303 on machine-readable travel documents of the issuing Member State, or the acronym ‘BNL’ if issued by Belgium, Luxembourg or the Netherlands, in optically variable colouring. Depending on the angle of view, it shall appear in different colours.

4. The following shall appear, in capital letters, in this space:

(a) the word ‘VISA’. The issuing Member State may include the equivalent term in another official language of the institutions of the Union;

(b) the name of the issuing Member State, in English, French and another official language of the institutions of the Union;

(c) the three-letter country code of the issuing Member State, as set out in ICAO Document 9303.

5. This box shall contain the nine-digit national number of the visa sticker in horizontal orientation, which shall be pre-printed in black. A special font type shall be used.

6. This box shall contain the nine-digit national number of the visa sticker in vertical orientation, which shall be pre-printed in red. A special font type shall be used, different from that used in box 5. The ‘number of the visa sticker’ is the three-letter country code as set out in ICAO Document 9303 and the national number as referred to in boxes 5 and 6.

7. This box shall contain the letters ‘EU’ with a latent image effect. Those letters shall appear dark when tilted away from the viewer and light when then turned by 90°.

8. This box shall contain the code as referred to in box 3 with a latent image effect. That code shall appear dark when tilted away from the viewer and light when then turned by 90°.

Sections to be completed

The captions for the boxes shall appear in English and French. The issuing Member State may add a translation in another official language of the institutions of the Union.

9. This box shall begin with the words ‘valid for’. The issuing authority shall indicate the territory in which the visa holder is entitled to travel.

10. This box shall begin with the word ‘from’ and the word ‘until’ shall appear further along the line. The issuing authority shall indicate the period of the visa holder's stay as authorised by the visa. Further along the line the words ‘duration of stay’ (i.e. the duration of the applicant's intended stay) and again ‘days’ shall appear.

11. This box shall begin with the words ‘type of visa’. The issuing authority shall indicate the category of visa. Further along the line the words ‘Passport No’ and ‘number of entries’ shall appear.

12. This box shall begin with the words ‘issued in’ and shall be used to indicate the location of the issuing authority. Further along the line the word ‘on’ (after which the date of issue shall be filled in by the issuing authority) shall appear.

13. This box shall begin with the words ‘Surname, Name’.

14. This box shall begin with the word ‘remarks’. The area below the word ‘remarks’ shall be used by the issuing authority to indicate any further information.

15. This box shall contain the relevant machine-readable information to facilitate external border controls. The machine-readable zone shall contain a printed text in the visible background printing with the words ‘European Union’ in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union. This text shall not affect the technical features of the machine-readable zone or its ability to be read.

16. This box shall be reserved for the possible addition of a common 2D barcode.