Commission communication pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2317/95 of 25 September 1995 determining the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States (1) (97/C 180/04)

Update and revision of information published on 14 December 1996 pursuant to Articles 2 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2317/95 - Information provided by the Member States as at 15 April 1997

A.1. Inventory of visa regimes applied to countries not featured on the common list annexed to Council Regulation (EC) No 2317/95 (2)

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A.2. Inventory of countries whose nationals are exempted from the visa requirement by all Member States

Note: This information is not specifically required by the Regulation.

Andorra

Argentinia

Canada

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Hungary

Iceland

Japan

Liechtenstein

Malta

Mexico

Monaco

New Zealand

Norway

San Marino

Slovak Republik

Slovenia

South Korea (3h)

Switzerland

Uruguay

A.3. List of dependent territories of the Member States whose nationals are subject to the visa requirement by one or more Member States

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B. Territorial entities and authorities which are not recognized (Article 2 (3))

The nationals of territorial entities and authorities which are not recognized as States by any Member State are subject to the visa requirement by all Member States.

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The United Kingdom, while not recognising the authorities of the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus, accepts documents issued there, but solely as a proof of identity. Where such a document shows that the holder was born in Cyprus, the individual concerned will not be required to obtain a visa to come to the United Kingdom for a short visit.

C. Situation of Stateless persons and recognized refugees and the visa requirement for first entry into the territory (Article 2 (2))

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D. Categories of nationals of third countries on the common list who are exempt from the visa requirement within the meaning of Article 4 (1) of the Regulation

I. GENERAL COMMENTS:

Article 4 (1) refers to the following categories:

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For the categories referred to in 1, 2 and 3 the Member States have entered into international commitments which provide for general or specific exemption from the visa requirement. Examples of these agreements include the Vienna Convention of 18 April 1961 on Diplomatic Relations, or relating to transport, the Chicago Convention of 7 December 1944 on International Civil Aviation, and particularly its Annex 9 or the International Labour Organization's Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention, 1958 (No 108).

Under point 5, it should be noted that there is an exemption for third country schoolchildren resident in a Member State of the European Union travelling as part of a school trip in accordance with the joint action 94/795/JHA (OJ No L 327, 19. 12. 1994) with the exception of Portugal.

II. SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The information given below is more specific to the Member States, and varies depending on the agreements they have signed with the third countries concerned with a view to dispensing with the visa requirement for the categories of nationals of third countries listed pursuant to Article 4 (1) of the Regulation.

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(1) OJ No L 234, 3. 10. 1995, p. 1.

(2) 'V` whose nationals are subject to visa requirements by one or more Member States (Article 2 (1)).

(3h) Germany: For South Korea, holders of official duty passports are exempt for a maximum of 90 days.