30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/23 
 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1932/2006 
of 21 December 2006 
amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 
listing the third countries whose na tionals must be in possession 
of visas when crossing the external borders 
and those whose nationals are ex empt from that requirement 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing th e European Community, and in particular 
Article 62(2)(b)(i) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament, 
L 405/24 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Whereas: 
(1) The composition of the lists of third count ries in Annexes I and II to Regulation (EC) 
No 539/2001 of 15 March 20011 should be, and should remain, consistent with the criteria 
laid down in recital (5) theret o. Some third countries should be transferred from one Annex 
to the other, particularly with regard to illegal immigrati on and public policy. 
(2) Bolivia should be transferred to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. The date of 
application of the visa requirement for Boliv ian nationals should be  such as to allow 
Member States to rescind in good time the bilate ral agreements with Bo livia and to take all 
the necessary administrative and organisa tional measures for introducing the visa 
requirement in question. 
(3) Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados , Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the 
Seychelles should be transferred to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. 
Exemption from the visa requirement for nationals  of those countries should not come into 
force before a bilateral agreement on exemption from the visa requirement between the European Community and the country in question has been concluded. 
                                                
 
1 OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1. 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/25 
 (4) The two Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 should be exhaustive. To that end, a 
heading making it possible to determine the visa arrangements to be applied by the 
Member States to categories of persons made  subject to the visa requirement by certain 
Member States and exempted therefrom by othe rs should be added to each of the Annexes 
to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. Various catego ries of "British" persons who are not 
nationals of the United Kingdom within the meaning of Community law should be added 
to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 an d British Nationals (Overseas) should be 
added to Annex II thereto. 
(5) Member States may provide for exemptions  from the visa requirement for holders of 
certain passports other than or dinary passports. The designations  of these passports require 
clarification. Reference need s also to be made in Regul ation (EC) No 539/2001 to the 
procedures applicable where recour se is had to such exemptions. 
(6) Member States may exempt from the visa requirement recognised refugees, all stateless 
persons, both those under the Conve ntion relating to the Status  of Stateless Persons of 
28 September 1954 and those outside of the sc ope of that Conven tion, and school pupils 
travelling on school excursions where the persons of these cate gories reside in a 
third country listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. 
A full exemption from the visa requirement ex ists already for these three categories of 
persons residing within the Schengen area when th ey enter or re-enter that area; a general 
exemption should be introduced for persons of those categories residing in a Member State 
which has not or not yet joined the Schengen area , as far as their entry or re-entry into the 
territory of any other Member State bound by the Schengen acquis is concerned. 
L 405/26 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 (7) Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the Eur opean Parliament and of the Council of 20 
December 2006 laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the 
Member States and amending the pr ovisions of the Schengen Convention 1 makes it 
necessary to provide for a new exemption from the visa requirement for holders of a local 
border traffic card. 
(8) The arrangements governing exemptions from  the visa requirement should fully reflect 
actual practices. Certain Member States gran t exemption from the visa requirement for 
nationals of third countries  listed in Annex I to Regul ation (EC) No 539/2001 who are 
members of the armed forces travelling on NAT O or Partnership for Peace business. For 
reasons of legal certainty, these exemptions , which are based on inte rnational obligations 
external to Community law, should nevertheless be referr ed to in that Regulation. 
(9) Because of the successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, it is necessary to 
improve its structure and make it easier to read, to which end it should be recast at a later 
date. 
                                                 
1 See this Official Journal.  
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/27 
 (10) As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of the 
provisions of the Schengen acquis, within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the 
Council of the European Union and the Republic  of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway 
concerning the latter's association with th e implementation, application and development 
of the Schengen acquis1, which falls within the area referred  to in Article 1(B) of Council 
Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain a rrangements for the application of that 
Agreement2. 
(11) The United Kingdom and Ireland are not  bound by Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. They 
are therefore not taking part in the adopti on of this Regulation and are not bound by or 
subject to the application thereof. 
(12) As regards Switzerland, this Regulation cons titutes a development of  the provisions of the 
Schengen acquis, within the meaning of the Agreement signed by the European Union, the 
European Community and the Swiss Confed eration on the association of the Swiss 
Confederation with the implementation, app lication and development of the Schengen 
acquis, which falls within the area re ferred to in Article 1(B) of Council 
Decision 1999/437/EC, read in conjunc tion with Article 4(1) of Council 
Decision 2004/860/EC of 25 October 2004 on th e signing, on behalf of the European 
Community, and on the provision al application of certain provisions of the Agreement 
between the European Union, the European  Community and the Swiss Confederation, 
concerning the Swiss Confederation's associat ion with the implementation, application and 
development of the Schengen acquis3, 
                                                 
1 OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36. 
2 OJ L 368, 15.12.2004, p. 26. 
3 OJ L 370, 17.12.2004, p. 78. 
L 405/28 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 is hereby amended as follows: 
1) Article 1 shall be amended as follows: 
(a) the following subparagraph sh all be added to paragraph 1: 
"Without prejudice to the requirements stemming from the European Agreement on 
the Abolition of Visas for Refugees  signed at Strasbourg on 20 April 1959, 
recognised refugees and stateless persons sh all be required to be in possession of a 
visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States if the third country in 
which they are resident and which has issued them with their travel document is a third country listed in Annex I to this Regulation."; 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/29 
 (b) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 2:  
"The following shall also be exempt from the visa requirement: – the nationals of third countries listed in Annex I to this Regulation who are 
holders of a local border traffic card issued by the Member States pursuant to 
Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the Eur opean Parliament and of the Council 
of 20 December 2006 laying down rules on lo cal border traffic at the external 
land borders of the Member States and amending the pr ovisions of the 
Schengen Convention
* when these holders exercise  their right within the 
context of the Local Border Traffic regime; 
– school pupils who are nationals of a th ird country listed in Annex I and who 
reside in a Member State appl ying Council Decisi on 94/795/JHA of 
30 November 1994 on a joint action adopted by the Council on the basis of 
Article K.3.2.b of the Treaty on European Un ion concerning travel facilities for 
school pupils from third countries  resident in a Member State** and are 
travelling in the context of a school ex cursion as members of a group of school 
pupils accompanied by a teacher from the school in question; 
– recognised refugees and stateless pers ons and other persons who do not hold 
the nationality of any country who reside in a Member State and are holders of 
a travel document issued by that Member State. 
______________ 
 
* OJ L 405, 20.12.2006. 
 
** OJ L 327, 19.12.1994, p. 1."; 
L 405/30 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 2) Article 3 of Regulation (EC)  No 539/2001 shall be repealed. 
3) Article 4 shall be amended as follows: 
(a) paragraph (1)(a) shall be  replaced by the following: 
 "(a) holders of diplomatic passports, serv ice/official passports  or special passports  
in accordance with one of the procedures laid down in Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of 
Regulation (EC) No 789/2001 of 24 Ap ril 2001 reserving to the Council 
implementing powers with regard to certa in detailed provis ions and practical 
procedures for examining visa applications*. 
____________ 
 
* OJ L 116, 26.4.2001, p. 2. Regulation as amended by Decision 2004/927/EC 
(OJ L 396, 31.12.2004, p. 45)."; 
(b) paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following: 
"2. A Member State may exempt from the visa requirement: 
(a) a school pupil having the nationality of  a third country listed in Annex I 
who resides in a third co untry listed in Annex II  or in Switzerland and 
Liechtenstein and is travelling in th e context of a school excursion as a 
member of a group of school pupils accompanied by a teacher from the school in question; 
(b) recognised refugees and stateless pe rsons if the third country where they 
reside and which issued their trav el document is one of the third 
countries listed in Annex II; 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/31 
 (c) members of the armed forces tr avelling on NATO or Partnership for 
Peace business and holders of iden tification and movement orders 
provided for by the Agreement of 19 June 1951 between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisati on regarding the status of their 
forces."; 
4) Annex I shall be amended as follows: 
(a) in Part 1: 
(i) a reference to Bolivia shall be inserted; (ii) the references to Antigua and Barb uda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, 
Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Seychelles shall be deleted; 
(iii) the reference to "East Timor" shall be replaced by a reference to 
"Timor-Leste"; 
(iv) the reference to "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia- Montenegro)" shall 
be replaced by references to "Serbia" and to "Montenegro"; 
(v) the reference to "Western Samoa" sha ll be replaced by a reference to "Samoa"; 
L 405/32 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 (b) the following Part shall be added: 
"3. BRITISH CITIZENS WHO AR E NOT NATIONALS OF THE 
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRIT AIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND 
FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY LAW: 
 British Overseas Territories Citizens who do not have the right of abode in the 
United Kingdom 
 British Overseas Citizens   British Subjects who do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom  British Protected Persons"; 
5) Annex II shall be amended as follows: 
(a) in Part 1: 
(i) the reference to Bolivia shall be deleted; 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/33 
 (ii) the following references shall be inserted: 
 "Antigua and Barbuda*  Bahamas*  Barbados*  Mauritius*  Saint Kitts and Nevis*  Seychelles*"; (iii) the following footnote shall be inserted: 
"* The exemption from the visa requirement will apply from the date of 
entry into force of an agreement on vi sa exemption to be concluded with 
the European Community."; 
(iv) the reference to "Brunei" sh all be replaced by a reference to 
"Brunei Darussalam"; 
(b) the following Part shall be added: 
"3. BRITISH CITIZENS WHO ARE NOT NATIONALS OF THE UNITED 
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN A ND NORTHERN IRELAND FOR THE 
PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY LAW: 
 British Nationals (Overseas)". 
L 405/34 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 2 
Member States shall apply the visa requireme nt for Bolivian nationals with effect from 
1 April 2007. 
Member States shall apply the exemption from th e visa requirement for nationals of Antigua and 
Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint K itts and Nevis and the Seychelles from the date 
of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemptions to be concluded by the European 
Community with the third country in question.  
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union . 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in 
accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community. 
Done at Brussels, 21 December 2006.  
 For the Council 
 The President 
 J. KORKEAOJA