Initiative of the Kingdom of Spain with a view to adopting a Council Regulation on the issue of visas at the border, including the issue of such visas to seamen in transit
Date: 2002-06-12
Institutions: Spain
Subjects: EU Member State, EU visa policy, Spain, admission of aliens, crew, foreign national, transit

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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II

(Preparatory Acts)

COUNCIL

Initiative of the Kingdom of Spain with a view to adopting a Council Regulation on the issue of
visas at the border, including the issue of such visas to seamen in transit

(2002/C 139/04)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
(2)(b)(ii)
Community, and in particular Article 62, point
thereof,

Having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Spain (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1) The rules for issuing visas at the border to seamen in
transit need to be clarified and updated,
in particular to
allow group transit visas to be issued at the border to
seamen who are of the same nationality and are travelling
in a group, as long as the period of transit is limited.

(2) It is therefore necessary to replace the rules contained in
the Schengen Executive Committee Decision of 19
December 1996 on issuing visas to seamen in transit
(SCH/Com-ex(96) 27) (3) by the rules
in the
present Regulation. In the interests of clarity, these rules
should be amalgamated with the general rules contained in
Schengen Executive Committee Decision of 26 April 1994
on the issue of visas at the border (SCH/Com-ex(94) 2) (4),
which also corresponds to Annex XIV of the Common
Manual. The said Decisions and Annex should therefore
be repealed.

set out

(3) When deciding on the format of

the separate sheet
mentioned in Annex I to which the group transit visa
should be
into
account the uniform format, as set out in Council Regu-

affixed, Member States

should take

(1) . . .
(2) . . .
(3) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 182.
(4) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 163.

lation (EC) No 333/2002 of 18 February 2002 on uniform
format for forms for affixing the visa issued by Member
States to persons holding travel documents not recognised
by the Member State drawing up the form (5).

(4) The Council reserves the right, during the transitional
period of five years referred to in Article 67(1) of the
the
Treaty, and pending a review by the Council of
conditions under which such implementing powers would
be conferred on the Commission after the end of that
transitional period, to amend the Annexes of this Regu-
lation as necessary. The reservation of such implementing
is necessary in order to have a
powers to the Council
flexible procedure in place for an initial period after the
adoption of this Regulation. This allows the Member States
or the Commission to propose urgent amendments to the
operational instructions contained in Annex I, as well as to
the form contained in Annex II,
the
experience gained in their use.

in the light of

participating

(5) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the
position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European
Union and to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, Denmark
the
is not
adoption of this Regulation, and is not bound by it or
subject to its application. Given that this Regulation aims
to build upon the Schengen acquis under the provisions of
Title
European
Community, Denmark shall, in accordance with Article 5
of the said Protocol, decide within a period of six months
after the Council has adopted this Regulation whether it
will implement it in its national law.

the Treaty

establishing

IV of

the

in

(6) As regards the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of
Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of the
provisions of the Schengen acquis falling within the area
referred to in Article 1, point A, of Council Decision
1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements
for the application of the Agreement 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 (6).

(5) OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 4.
(6) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.

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(7) Pursuant to Article 1 of the Protocol on the position of the
United Kingdom 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 of this Regulation.
Consequently, and without prejudice to the provisions
referred to in Article 4 of the Protocol, the provisions of
this Regulation apply neither to Ireland nor to the United
Kingdom,

the central authorities of other Member States shall not,
principle, be issued with a visa at the border.

in

Nevertheless, a visa may be issued at the border for such
persons in exceptional cases, in accordance with the provisions
of Article 5(2) of the Schengen Convention.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 2

Article 1

1.
In exceptional circumstances, a third-country national
who is required to be in possession of a visa when crossing
the external borders of the Member States, may be issued with
a short-stay visa at the border where the following conditions
are satisfied:

(a) he shall fulfil the conditions laid down by the provisions of
Article 5(1)(a),
the Convention
implementing the Schengen Agreement of 1985, signed
at Schengen on 19 June 1990 (1), hereinafter referred to
as the ‘Schengen Convention’;

and (e) of

(c),

(d)

(b) he

shall

submit

supporting documents

substantiating

‘unforeseeable and imperative’ reasons for entry; and

(c) return to his country of origin or transit to a third State

shall be assured.

A visa issued at the border when the conditions described

2.
in paragraph 1 are satisfied may, as appropriate, be either:

(a) a uniform visa; or

(b) a visa with limited territorial validity within the meaning of
the provisions of Article 10(3) of the Schengen Convention.

In both cases, the visa issued shall not be valid for more than
one entry. The validity of such short-stay visas shall not exceed
15 days.

A third-country national who applies for a transit visa at
3.
the border shall be in possession of the visas required to
continue his journey to States of transit other than Member
States, and for the State of destination. The transit visa issued
the
shall allow for direct
Member State or Member States concerned.

through the territory of

transit

1.
By derogation from Article 1(1), a seaman who is
required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the
external borders of the Member States may be issued with a
transit visa at the border where:

(a) he fulfils the requirements set out in Article 1(1)(a) and (c),

and

(b) he is crossing the border in question in order to embark on
or disembark from a ship on which he will work or has
worked as a seaman.

The transit visa shall include a mention that the holder is a
seaman.

Seamen who are of the same nationality and travelling in
2.
a group of between five and fifty individuals may be issued
with a group transit visa at the border where the requirements
of paragraph 1 above are met in respect of each of the seamen
in the group.

3.
Before issuing a visa at the border to a seaman or seamen
in transit, the competent national authorities shall comply with
the operational instructions set out in Annex I.

these operational

the
4. When carrying out
competent national authorities of
the Member States shall
exchange the necessary information concerning the seaman
or seamen in question by means of a duly completed form
for seamen in transit as set out in Annex II.

instructions,

Article 3

The Council, acting by qualified majority, at the initiative of
one of its members or on a proposal from the Commission,
shall amend Annexes I and II as necessary.

The validity of such a transit visa shall not exceed five days.

A third-country national

4.
falling within a category of
persons for which it is obligatory to consult one or more of

(1) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 19.

Article 4

This Regulation shall not affect the competence of Member
States with regard to the recognition of States and territorial
units and passports, travel and identity documents issued by
their authorities.

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Article 5

1.

The following shall be repealed:

Regulation (EC) No . . ./2002 of . . . on the issue of visas at the
border, including the issue of such visas to seamen in transit.’

(a) Schengen Executive Committee Decision (SCH/Com-ex(94)

2) of 26 April 1994;

(b) Schengen Executive Committee Decision (SCH/Com-ex(96)

27) of 19 December 1996, and

(c) Annex XIV of the Common Manual.

Article 6

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that
of
the European
Communities.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

2.
Point 5 and point 5.1 of Part II of the Common Manual
shall be replaced by a reference to the text of this Regulation as
follows:

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in the Member States in accordance with the
Treaty establishing the European Community.

‘The rules on issuing visas at the border are contained in
Council Regulation (EC) No . . ./2002 of . . . on the issue of
visas at the border, including the issue of such visas to seamen
in transit.’

The following sentence shall be added at the end of point

3.
2.1.4 of Part I of the Common Consular Instructions:

‘By derogation from the foregoing, group transit visas may be
issued to seamen in accordance with the provisions of Council

Done at Brussels, . . .

For the Council

The President

. . .

ANNEX I

OPERATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ISSUING VISAS AT THE BORDER TO SEAMEN IN TRANSIT WHO ARE
SUBJECT TO VISA REQUIREMENTS

instructions is to provide rules for the exchange of information between the
The objective of these operational
competent authorities of the Member States applying the Schengen acquis with respect to seamen in transit subject
to visa requirements. Insofar as a visa is issued at the border on the basis of the information that has been exchanged,
the responsibility lies with the Member State issuing the visa.

For the purposes of these operational instructions:

‘Schengen port’ means a port constituting an external border of a Member State applying in full the Schengen acquis;

‘Schengen airport’ means an airport constituting an external border of a Member State applying in full the Schengen
acquis; and

‘Schengen territory’ means the territory of the Member States in which the Schengen acquis is applied in full.

I. Signing on a vessel berthed or expected at a Schengen port

(a) Entry into Schengen territory via an airport situated in another Member State applying in full the Schengen

acquis:

— the shipping company or its agent shall inform the competent authorities at the Schengen port where the
ship is berthed or expected that seamen subject to visa requirements are due to enter via a Schengen airport.
The shipping company or its agent shall sign a guarantee in respect of those seamen,

— the said competent authorities shall verify as soon as possible whether the information provided by the
shipping company or its agent is correct and examine whether the other conditions for entry into the
Schengen territory have been satisfied. Within the framework of that examination the travel route within the
Schengen territory shall also be verified e.g. by reference to the airline tickets,

— the competent authorities at the Schengen port shall inform the competent authorities at the Schengen
airport of entry, by means of a duly completed form for seamen in transit who are subject to visa
requirements (as set out in Annex II), sent by fax, electronic mail or other means, of the results of the
verification and indicate whether a visa can in principle be issued at the border,

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— where the verification of the available data is positive and the outcome clearly concurs with the seaman's
declaration or documents, the competent authorities at the Schengen airport of entry or exit shall issue a
transit visa at the border with a maximum validity of five days. Furthermore, in such cases the seaman's
travel document referred to above shall be stamped with a Schengen entry or exit stamp and given to the
seaman concerned.

(b) Entry into the Schengen territory via a land or sea border situated in another Member State applying in full the

Schengen acquis:

— the procedure is the same as that for entry via a Schengen airport except that the competent authorities at

the border post via which the seaman concerned enters the Schengen territory shall be informed.

II. Leaving service from a vessel that has entered a Schengen port

(a) Exit from the Schengen territory via an airport situated in another Member State applying in full the Schengen

acquis:

— the shipping company or its agent shall inform the competent authorities at the said Schengen port of the
entry of seamen subject to visa requirements who are due to leave their service and exit from the Schengen
territory via a Schengen airport. The shipping company or its agent shall sign a guarantee in respect of those
seamen,

— the competent authorities shall verify as soon as possible whether the information provided by the shipping
company or its agent is correct and examine whether the other conditions for entry into the Schengen
territory have been satisfied. Within the framework of that examination the travel route within the Schengen
territory shall also be verified e.g. by reference to the airline tickets,

— where the verification of the available data is positive, the competent authorities shall issue a transit visa

with a maximum validity of five days.

(b) Exit from the Schengen territory via a land or sea border situated in another Member State applying in full the

Schengen acquis:

— the procedure is the same as that for exit via a Schengen airport.

III. Transferring from a vessel that entered a Schengen port to a vessel that will sail from a port situated in another

Member State applying in full the Schengen acquis

— The shipping company or its agent shall inform the competent authorities at the said Schengen port of the entry
of seamen subject to visa requirements who are due to leave their service and exit from the Schengen territory
via another Schengen port. The shipping company or its agent shall sign a guarantee in respect of those seamen,

— the competent authorities shall verify as soon as possible whether the information provided by the shipping
company or its agent is correct and examine the other conditions for entry into the Schengen territory have
been satisfied. The competent authorities at the Schengen port from which the seamen will leave the Schengen
territory by ship shall be contacted for the examination. A check shall be carried out to establish whether the
ship they are joining is berthed or expected there. Within the framework of that examination the travel route
within the Schengen territory shall also be verified,

— where the verification of the available data is positive, the competent authorities issue a transit visa with a

maximum validity of five days.

IV. Issue of group visas to seamen in transit at the border:

— seamen who are of the same nationality and are travelling in a group of between five and 50 individuals may be

issued at the border with a group transit visa, which shall be affixed to a separate sheet,

— this separate sheet shall include, numbered in sequence, the personal data of all the seamen (surname and
forename, date of birth, nationality and travel document number) covered by the visa. The data on the first and
last seaman shall appear in duplicate to avoid falsifications and additions,

— for the issue of this visa, the procedures laid down in these operational instructions for the issue of individual

visas to seamen shall be followed.

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ANNEX II

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The first four points deal with the identity of the seaman

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FORM

1. A. Surname(s) (1)

B. Forename(s)

C. Nationality

D. Rank/Grade.

2. A. Place of birth

B. Date of birth.

3. A. Passport number

B. Date of issue

C. Period of validity.

4. A. A. Seaman's book number

B. Date of issue

C. Period of validity.

Points 3 and 4 have been shown separately for clarity since, depending on the nationality of the seaman and the
Member State being entered, a passport or a seaman's book can be used for identification purposes.

The next four points deal with the shipping agent and the vessel concerned.

5. Name of shipping agent (the individual or corporation who represents the shipowner on the spot in all matters

relating to the shipowner's duties in fitting out the vessel).

6. A. Name of vessel

B. Flag (under which the merchant vessel is sailing).

7. A. Date of arrival of vessel

B. Origin (port) of vessel

Letter ‘A’ refers to the vessel's date of arrival in the port where the seaman is to sign on.

8. A. Date of departure of vessel

B. Destination of vessel (next port).

Points 7A and 8A give indications regarding the length of time for which the seaman may travel in order to sign on. It
should be remembered that the route followed is very much subject to unexpected interferences and external factors
such as storms, breakdowns, etc.

The next four points clarify the reason for the seaman's journey and his destination.

9. The ‘final destination’ is the end of the seaman's journey. This may be either the port at which he is to sign on or

the country to which he is heading if he is leaving service.

(1) Please give the surname(s) that appear in the passport.

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10. Reasons for application.

(a)

In the case of signing on, the final destination is the port at which the seaman is to sign on.

(b) In the case of transfer to another vessel within the Schengen territory, it is also the port at which the seaman is
to sign on. Transfer to a vessel situated outside the Schengen territory must be regarded as leaving service.

(c)

In the case of leaving service, this can occur for various reasons, such as end of contract, accident at work,
urgent family reasons, etc.

11. Means of transport

List of means used within the Schengen territory by the seaman in transit who is subject to a visa requirement to
reach his final destination. On the form, the following three possibilities are envisaged:

(a) Car (or coach)

(b) Train

(c) Aeroplane.

12. Date of arrival (on the Schengen territory)

Applies primarily to a seaman at the first Schengen airport or border-crossing point (since it may not always be an
airport) at the external border via which he wishes to enter the Schengen territory.

Date of transit

This is the date on which the seaman signs off at a port in the Schengen territory and heads towards another port
also situated in the Schengen territory.

Date of departure

This is the date on which the seaman signs off at a port in the Schengen territory to transfer to another vessel at a
port situated outside the Schengen territory or the date on which the seaman signs off at a port in the Schengen
territory to return to his home (outside the Schengen territory).

After determining the three means of travel, available information should also be provided concerning those means:

(a) car, coach: registration

(b) train: name, number, etc.

(c)

flight data: date, time, number.

13. Formal declaration signed by the shipping agent for the stay and, if applicable, repatriation costs.

If the seamen are travelling in a group, each one has to fill in the data for points 1A to 4C.