Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement
Date: 2006-07-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, Schengen Agreement, admission of aliens, external border of the EU, foreign national

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.07.2006 
COM(2006) 84 final 

2006/0022 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must 
be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those 
whose nationals are exempt from that requirement 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In proposing amendments to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001,1 as last amended by Regulation 
(EC) No 851/2005,2 the Commission is pursuing the following objectives:  

-  ensuring  in  the  context  of  the  periodic  review  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  that  the 
current composition of its annexes – which contain the list of third countries whose nationals 
must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States (Annex I) 
and the list of those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (Annex II) – complies 
with the criteria set out in recital 5, in particular as regards the illegal immigration and public 
policy criteria and transferring countries from one annex to another as appropriate; 

- amplifying the two annexes to the Regulation so that they give full effect to the objective set 
by Article 62(2)(b)(i) of the Treaty, viz. the Regulation must determine exhaustively whether 
a third-country national is to be subject to or exempt from the visa requirement;  

- adjusting the rules applicable to refugees and stateless persons so that they remain eligible 
for a visa exemption if they reside in a third country listed in Annex II but enjoy automatic 
exemption if they reside in a Member State;  

- adding a new case of exemption for holders of local border traffic cards; 

-  providing  for  a  visa  exemption  for  members  of  the  armed  forces  travelling  on  NATO  or 
Partnership for Peace business; 

- clarifying the categories of passports other than ordinary passports. 

Cases of non-reciprocity  in  visa  matters are not covered  by  this  proposal for amendment of 
Regulation 
the 
reciprocity mechanism as amended by Regulation (EC) No 851/2005.  

(EC)  No  539/2001.  They  are  dealt  with 

the  context  of 

in 

1. Review of the annexes to the Regulation 

1.1. Transferring a third country from one annex to the other 

The Seville European Council for the first time highlighted the need to review the annexes to 
Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001.  The  first  review  resulted  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  453/2003,3 
which transferred Ecuador from Annex II  to  Annex I. For the purposes of the new periodic 
review,  the  Commission  has  gathered  information  by,  in  particular,  approaching  the 
Member States direct to check whether the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 as they 
stand  still  correspond  to  the  criteria  determined  by  the  Regulation.  The  information 
transmitted  by  the  Member  States  in  response  has  been  cross-checked  against  other 
information  and  statistics  supplied  under  the  CIREFI.  Having  analysed  the  information,  the 
Commission has come to the following conclusions: 

First of all, the information received points to persistent and intense migratory pressure from 
Bolivia.  The  effect  is  being  felt  in  the  large  number  of  refoulements  at  the  external  borders 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 2. 
OJ L 141, 4.6.2005, p. 3. 
OJ L 69, 13.3.2003, p. 10. 

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and in expulsions in several Member States. Nor can the public policy dimension be neglected 
since  detention  orders  and  convictions  of  Bolivians  for  criminal  offences  and  illegal 
immigration are also rising. In addition, nationals of Latin American countries subject to the 
visa  requirement  are  seeking  to  circumvent  the  requirement  by  fraudulently  acquiring 
Bolivian  passports.  For  all  these  reasons,  the  Commission  believes  that  there  are  good 
grounds, in view of the criteria in recital 5 to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, for proposing to 
transfer Bolivia from Annex II to Annex I. 

Secondly,  the  Commission  has  observed  that  imposing  the  visa  requirement  on  nationals  of 
certain third countries is no longer justified by the statistics or other information confirming 
that  the  country  represents  a  risk  in  terms  of  the  criteria  in  recital  5  to  Regulation  (EC) 
No 539/2001, in particular illegal immigration and public policy. Nor is maintaining the visa 
requirement  justified  in  terms  of  regional  consistency  or  the  Union’s  international  relations. 
Apart from that, the Commission has not confined its attention to facts observed in countries 
that apply Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. It has also had regard to the visa policy of Ireland, 
the  United  Kingdom  and  Switzerland  and  has  drawn  valuable  conclusions  regarding  the 
illegal  immigration  and  public  policy  criteria.  It  is  accordingly  proposed  that  Antigua  and 
Barbuda,  the  Bahamas,  Barbados,  Mauritius,  Saint  Kitts  and  Nevis,  and  the  Seychelles  be 
transferred from  Annex  I to Annex II. This amendment will also make it possible to put an 
end  to  the  practical  difficulties  currently  encountered  with  those  countries  given  that  no 
Member State has a consulate in four of them and only one Member State has a consulate in 
the  other  two.  The  plan  is  that  the  visa  exemption  will  be  applied  to  nationals  of  those 
countries  in  parallel  with,  and  at  the  same  time  as,  the  entry  into  force  of  a  visa  exemption 
agreement with them, thereby ensuring reciprocity and the benefit of the visa exemption for 
nationals of all the Member States.  

1.2.  Determining  the  visa  regime  applicable  to  certain  specific  categories  of  third-
country national 

Thirdly,  the  Commission  wishes  to  put  an  end  to  a  situation  that  is  contrary  to 
Article 62 (2)(b)(i) of the EC Treaty and to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, which was adopted 
on  that  basis.  There  is  no  doubting  that  the  lists  of  third  countries  must  be  exhaustive  and 
must cover all third-country nationals. That interpretation is clear from the text of the Article 
itself and is confirmed, should that be necessary, by the historical evolution of the common 
visa  policy,  which  began  with  the  establishment  of  a  single  list  of  third  countries  whose 
nationals must be in possession of a visa. But the fact is that certain categories of people who 
are not Union citizens are in neither Annex I nor Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. 
These include British Nationals (Overseas) and people who are “British” to differing degrees 
but  are  not  regarded  as  UK  nationals  for  the  purposes  of  Community  law.4  The 
Member States, faced with this gap in Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001,  have  adopted  varying 
solutions,  some  of  them  imposing  the  visa  and  others  applying  the  exemption.  The 
Commission communication concerning Regulation (EC) No 539/20015 reflects this practical 
reality, which runs counter to the full harmonisation imposed by Community law. 

To put an end to this unsatisfactory situation, the Commission proposes that these categories 
be placed in either Annex I or Annex II so that the lists can be exhaustive. The Commission’s 

4 
5 

See Declaration by the United Kingdom, most recently in 1983 (OJ C 23, 28.1.1983, p. 1). 
OJ L 68, 21.3.2003, p. 11. 

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option  for  one  or  the  other  list  is  based  on  the  criteria  in  recital  5  to  Regulation  (EC) 
No 539/2001. 

It proposes that British Nationals (Overseas) be listed in Annex II. They are attached to the 
territory  of  Hong  Kong,  and  most  of  them  also  hold  a  Hong  Kong  SAR  passport  and  are 
accordingly exempt from the visa requirement in the Member States. There is no evidence to 
suggest that, as British Nationals (Overseas), they will constitute a migratory risk or a risk in 
terms of public policy, as the Member States have already pointed out on several occasions in 
discussions  in  Council  working  parties.  British  Nationals  (Overseas)  are  readmissible  in 
Hong Kong.  And  the  passport  issued  to  them  by  British  offices  exclusively  have  highly 
reliable security features.  For all these reasons, the visa exemption  (already applied by nine 
Member States without any problems so far) is fully justified. The purpose of Article 5(2) of 
the proposal is to draw that conclusion and to add British Nationals (Overseas) to Annex II to 
Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001.  But  there  will  have  to  be  a  specific  heading  as  they  do  not 
have the nationality of a third country and cannot be regarded as nationals of the territory of 
Hong Kong from the point of view of the travel document they hold.  

On  the  other  hand,  the  Commission  is  proposing  that  British  Overseas  Territories  Citizens 
(BOTC),  British  Overseas  Citizens  (BOC),  British  Subjects  and  British  Protected  Persons 
(BPP) be placed in Annex I. The United Kingdom nationality laws were extensively amended 
by  the  British  Territories  Act  2002,  which  made  most  BOTC  eligible  to  apply  to  become 
British citizens and therefore Union citizens. As regards BOTC who have not become British 
citizens and BOC, British Subjects and BPP, these categories of people have what can only be 
regarded as a tenuous link with the United Kingdom as they have no right of abode and are 
subject to immigration controls. There is also considerable uncertainty as to possible links to 
other States and the exact nature of such links. The Commission accordingly concludes that 
these  categories  should  be  subject  to  the  visa  requirements  as  there  is  a  risk  of  illegal 
immigration.6  Article  5(1)  places  them  in  Annex  I.  But  there  will  have  to  be  a  specific 
heading as they do not have the nationality of a third country.  

2. Rules applicable to bearers of passports other than ordinary passports  

Under Article 4(1) of the Regulation, the Member States retain the possibility of exempting 
“holders  of  diplomatic  passports,  official-duty  passports  and  other  official  passports”,  while 
Annex  2  to  the  Common  Consular  Instructions  (CCI)7  refers  to  “holders  of  diplomatic, 
official and service passports”. The Table of travel documents which may be endorsed with a 
visa  refers  to  three  categories  –  diplomatic,  service  and  special  passports.8  The  varying 
typologies used in all these instruments is a source of ambiguities and can engender practical 
difficulties where a specific scheme is to be applied (visa requirement or exemption) to this or 
that type of passport. To remedy these difficulties and to clarify the matter, the Commission 
proposes  that  a  more  precise  distinction  be  made  between  three  categories  of  passports 
(“diplomatic passports, service/official passports, special passports”). Such is the purpose of 
Article 1(2) of the proposal. The distinction will also have to be made, of course, in Annex 2 
to  the  CCI  and  the  Table  of  travel  documents.  Proposals  for  decisions  will  have  to  be 
presented for that purpose.  

6 

7 
8 

It can be seen from the Commission’s 2003 communication that most Member States subject BOTC to 
the visa requirement. 
Latest edition: document 12357/05, VISA 230 COMIX 586, 27.9.2005. 
Latest edition: document 11599/05, VISA 200 COMIX 527, 29.07.2005.  

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The  Commission  is  also  planning  to  clarify  the  rules  applied  to  this  category  of  passport 
holder. Article 4(1)(a) in its current form suggests that the Member States are free to decide 
whether to grant an exception to the visa requirement. But that is not the case, as can be seen 
from the combined provisions of Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 789/2001 of 24 
April  2001  reserving  to  the  Council  implementing  powers  with  regard  to  certain  detailed 
provisions  and  practical  procedures  for  examining  visa  applications.9  Article  1(2)  of  this 
proposal  accordingly  adds  to  Article  4(1)(a)  a  reference  to  the  procedures  referred  to  in 
Regulation (EC) No 789/2001.  

3.  Converting  certain  possibilities  for  the  Member  States  to  grant  an  exception  to  the 
visa requirement into harmonised exemption cases 

Articles  3  and  4  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  as  its  stands  provide  for  a  number  of 
possibilities for Member States to decide on exceptions to the visa requirement. In view of the 
criteria in recital 5, and in particular the illegal immigration and public policy criteria, there is 
every justification for taking harmonisation a stage further by providing for an automatic visa 
exemption for two categories of people residing in a Member State.  

3.1. Recognised refugees and stateless persons 

Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  provides  that  recognised  refugees  and  stateless 
persons “may be exempted from the visa requirement if the third country where they reside 
and  which  issued  their  travel  document  is  one  of  the  third  countries  listed  in  Annex  II”. 
Enlargement of the European Union to include ten new Member States on 1 May 2004 had 
the  paradoxical  effect  of  reducing  the  scope  of  the  possibility  of  granting  a  visa  exemption 
since  the  Regulation  does  not  provide  for  a  visa  exemption  for  recognised  refugees  and 
stateless  persons  who  reside  in  a  Member  State  that  does  not  yet  fully  apply  the  Schengen 
acquis.10  

The  Commission  intends  to  remedy  this  unsatisfactory  situation,  especially  as  it  has  been 
expressly asked to do so by Parliament and the Council in the course of the negotiations on 
the  proposal  for  a  Regulation  establishing  a  Community  Code  on  the  rules  governing  the 
movement  of  persons  across  borders  (Schengen  Borders  Code).11  In  view  of  the  criteria 
relating to illegal immigration and public policy, the Commission considers that it is possible 
to  go  further  than  merely  providing  for  the  possibility  of  exemption.  It  therefore  proposes 
adding to Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 an automatic visa exemption for refugees 
and stateless persons resident in a Member State. This exemption will resolve, for example, 
the situation of “Latvian non-citizens”, who cannot yet benefit from the equivalence between 
residence permits and visas because the Council has not yet adopted the ad hoc decision on 
full application of the Schengen rules to the new Member States. Article 1(2) of this proposal 
thus maintains in Article 4(2) of the Regulation the possibility of a visa exemption for school 
pupils residing in a third country listed in Annex II. 

9 
10 

11 

OJ L 116, 24.6.2001, p. 2. 
In the Technical Adaptations made by the Act of Accession, it was decided quite logically to delete the 
reference to the new Member States from Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.  
Declaration on holders of aliens’ passports and non-citizens’ passports: “The European Parliament and 
the  Council  call  on  the  Commission  to  present  proposals  within  the  framework  of  the  review  of 
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 with a view to exempting from the visa requirements holders of aliens’ 
passports and non-citizens’ passports who reside in a Member State”.  

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3.2. School pupils travelling on school excursions 

Article  4(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 539/2001  provides  for  the  possibility  of  an  exemption 
from the visa requirement for school pupils who reside in a third country listed in Annex II. 
As  in  the  case  of  recognised  refugees  and  stateless  persons,  school  pupils  residing  in  a 
Member  State  that  does  not  yet  fully  apply  the  Schengen  acquis  are  not  entitled  to  a  visa 
exemption.  With  a  view  to  minimising  the  administrative  obstacles  to  the  organisation  of 
school  trips  in  Europe,  the  Commission  proposes  adding  to  Article  1  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 539/2001 an automatic visa exemption for school pupils residing in a Member State who 
are travelling in the context of school excursions. Article 1(2) of this proposal thus maintains 
in Article 4(2) of the Regulation the possibility of a visa exemption for school pupils residing 
in a third country listed in Annex II. 

4.  Adding  a  new  exemption  from  the  visa  requirement  for  persons  travelling  in  the 
context of local border traffic  

On 22 February 2005 the Commission presented a proposal for a Regulation of the European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  laying  down  rules on local border traffic at the external land 
borders  of  the  Member  States  and  amending  the  Schengen  Convention  and  the  Common 
Consular  Instructions.12  The  Council’s  discussions  on  this  proposal  highlighted  the  need  to 
provide for the issue of a special border card that would entitle holders who were nationals of 
third countries subject to the visa requirement under Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 to travel 
without a visa in the border area. The Commission is prepared to adopt this approach since it 
does not affect the main purpose of the Regulation, i.e. facilitating border crossings for bona 
fide border residents. For reasons relating to the legal basis, such an exemption from the visa 
requirement cannot be included in the proposed regulation on local border traffic but must be 
added  to  Article  1(2)  of  Regulation  No 539/2001,  which,  as  it  stands,  does  not  provide  for 
such an eventuality. Such is the purpose of Article 1(1) of this proposal. 

The proposed regulation on local border traffic, which is still at the discussion stage, will be 
adopted  by  the  codecision  procedure.  Should  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament 
ultimately adopt arrangements that do not provide for the combination of exemption from the 
visa  requirement  and  travel  in  the  border  area  with  a  special  local  border  traffic  card,  the 
Commission would have to amend its proposal. 

5. Adding a possible exception to the visa requirement for members of the armed forces 
travelling on NATO or Partnership for Peace business 

The possibility for Member States to allow an exception to the visa requirement provided for 
in  Article  4(1)(d)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 539/2001  concerns  only  officials  of  international 
organisations. It appears that the Member States which apply Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 
(with the exception of Austria, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus and Malta) have given undertakings 
in  the  North  Atlantic  Treaty  Organisation  (NATO)  concerning  travel  by  members  of  the 
armed  forces.  Article  III  of  the  Agreement  concluded  between  the  parties  to  the  North 
Atlantic  Treaty  in  London  on  19 June  1951  regarding  the  status  of  their  forces  states  that 
members of the armed forces “shall be exempt from passport and visa regulations”. However, 
it  provides  for  presentation  of  a  personal  identity  card  and  an  individual  or  collective 
movement order. The scope of this visa exemption was extended by the Agreement concluded 

12 

COM(2005)56 final. 

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in Brussels on 19 June 1995 by the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and the other States 
participating in the Partnership for Peace regarding the status of their forces. Article I of this 
Agreement  thus  stipulates  that,  as  otherwise  provided  for,  the  provisions  of  the  1951 
Agreement also apply, in principle, within the framework of the 1995 Agreement. The 1995 
Agreement does not provide for any exception to the above-mentioned Article III of the 1951 
Agreement. 

It therefore follows  from  the provisions of the 1951 and 1995 Agreements  that  members of 
the armed forces of the States that are parties to those agreements may travel without being 
subject  to  passport  and  visa  regulations.  This  exemption  from  the  visa  requirement,  which 
must  be  complied  with  by  the  signatory  states  of  the  above  agreements,  is  not  reflected  in 
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, although it can benefit members of the armed forces who are 
nationals of third countries listed in Annex I to the Regulation. Consequently, on the grounds 
of  transparency  and  legal  certainty,  a  reference  to  the  exemption  from  the  visa  requirement 
resulting from the agreements within the framework of NATO and the Partnership for Peace 
should  be  added  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 539/2001.  Such  is  the  purpose  of  the  proposed 
addition to Article 4(2). 

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2006/0022 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must 
be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those 
whose nationals are exempt from that requirement 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,13 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,14 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The composition of the lists of third countries in Annexes I and II to Regulation must 
be,  and  must  remain,  consistent  with  the  criteria  laid  down  in  recital  5  to  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 of Member 
States  and  those  whose  nationals  are  exempt  from  that  requirement.15  Some  third 
countries must be transferred from one annex to the other, particularly with regard to 
illegal immigration and public policy. 

Bolivia must be transferred to Annex I. The date of application of the visa requirement 
for Bolivian nationals must be such as to allow Member States to rescind in good time 
the bilateral agreements with Bolivia and to take all the necessary administrative and 
organisational measures for introducing the visa requirement in question. 

(3) 

Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and 
the Seychelles must be transferred to Annex II. 

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.  

(4) 

The two annexes to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 must be exhaustive. To that end, a 
heading  making  it  possible  to  determine  the  visa  arrangements  to  be  applied  by  the 

13 
14 
15 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L […], […], p. […]. 

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Member  States  to  categories  of  persons  made  subject  to  the  visa  requirement  by 
certain Member States and exempted therefrom by others should be added to each of 
the  annexes  to  the  Regulation.  Various  categories  of  “British”  persons  who  are  not 
nationals  of  the  United  Kingdom  within  the  meaning  of  Community  law  should  be 
added to Annex I to the Regulation and British Nationals (Overseas) should be added 
to Annex II.  

The Member States may provide for exceptions to the visa requirement for holders of 
certain  passports  other  than  ordinary  passports.  The  designations  of  these  passports 
require  clarification.  Reference  needs  also  to  be  made  in  Regulation  (EC) 
No 539/2001 to the procedures applicable where recourse is had to such exceptions.  

The  Member  States  may  exempt  from  the  visa  requirement  recognised  refugees  and 
stateless  persons  residing  in  a  third  country  listed  in  Annex  II  and  school  pupils 
travelling on school excursions who reside in one of those countries. A full exemption 
from the visa requirement should be introduced for these two categories of person if 
they reside in a Member States.  

The  developments  in  the  discussions  on  the  introduction  of  local  border  traffic 
arrangements  make  it  necessary  to  provide  for  a  new  exemption  from  the  visa 
requirement for holders of a local border traffic card.  

The  arrangements  governing  exceptions  to  the  visa  requirement  must  fully  reflect 
actual practices. Certain Member States grant dispensation from the visa requirement 
for nationals of third countries listed in Annex I who are members of the armed forces 
travelling on NATO or Partnership for Peace business. For reasons of legal certainty, 
these  dispensations,  which  are  based  on  international  obligations  external  to 
Community law, must nevertheless be referred to in Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.  

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(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. 

(10)  With regard to Iceland and Norway, this Regulation represents 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  latters'  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development  of  the  Schengen  acquis,16  which  falls  within  the  area  referred  to  in 
Article  1(B)  of  Council  Decision  1999/437/EC  of  17  May  1999  on  certain 
arrangements for the application of that Agreement.17 

(11)  The  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  are  not  bound  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 539/2001. 
Consequently, they are not participating in the adoption of this Regulation and are not 
bound by or subject to the application thereof. 

(12)  With regard to Switzerland, this Regulation represents 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  Confederation  on  the  association  of 

16 
17 

OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36. 
OJ L 368, 15.12.2004, p. 26. 

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the Swiss Confederation with the implementation, application and development of the 
Schengen  acquis,18 which  falls within  the area referred to in Article 1(B)  of Council 
Decision  1999/437/EC,  read  in  conjunction  with  Article  4(1)  of  Council  Decision 
2004/860/EC  of  25  October  2004  on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community, and on the provisional application of certain provisions of the Agreement 
between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation, 
concerning 
implementation, 
application and development of the Schengen acquis,19 

the  Swiss  Confederation’s  association  with 

the 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 1 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

The following subparagraph is 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  shall  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.” 

(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  who  are  holders  of  a 
local  border  traffic  card  issued  by  the  Member  States  pursuant  to 
Regulation (EC) No ...... 

school pupils who are nationals of a third country listed in Annex I and 
who  reside  in  a  Member  State  and  are  travelling  in  the  context  of  a 
school excursion as members of a group of school pupils accompanied 
by a teacher from the school in question; 

recognised refugees and stateless persons who reside in a Member State 
and are holders of a travel document issued by that Member State.” 

(2) 

Article 4 is amended as follows:  

(a) 

Paragraph (1)(a) is replaced by the following: 

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Council document 13054/044, available on http://register.consilium.eu.int. 
OJ L 370, 17.12.2004, p. 78. 

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“(a) holders of diplomatic passports, service/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;”.  

(b) 

Paragraph 2 is 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 country listed in Annex II and is travelling in the 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 persons  if  the third country where  they reside 
and which issued their travel document is one of the third countries listed in Annex 
II;  

(c)  members  of  the  armed  forces  travelling  on  NATO  or  Partnership  for  Peace 
business  and  holders  of  identification  and  movement  orders  provided  for  by  the 
Agreement  of  19 June  1951  between  the  Parties  to  the  North  Atlantic  Treaty 
regarding the status of their forces.” 

(3) 

Annex I is amended as follows: 

(a) 

a reference to Bolivia is inserted; 

(b) 

the  references  to  Antigua  and  Barbuda,  the  Bahamas,  Barbados,  Mauritius, 
Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Seychelles are deleted; 

(c) 

the following point 3 is added: 

“3)  BRITISH  CITIZENS  WHO  ARE  NOT  NATIONALS  OF  THE  UNITED 
KINGDOM  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  NORTHERN  IRELAND  FOR  THE 
PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY LAW: 

British Overseas Territories Citizens 

British Overseas Citizens 

British Subjects 

British Protected Persons”; 

(4) 

Annex II is amended as follows: 

(a) 

the reference to Bolivia is deleted; 

(b) 

the following lines are inserted: 

Antigua and Barbuda 

Bahamas 

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Barbados 

Mauritius 

Saint Kitts and Nevis 

Seychelles 

(c) 

the following point 3 is added: 

“3)  BRITISH  CITIZENS  WHO  ARE  NOT  NATIONALS  OF  THE  UNITED 
KINGDOM  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  NORTHERN  IRELAND  FOR  THE 
PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY LAW: 

British Nationals (Overseas)”. 

Article 2 

The Member States shall apply the visa requirement for Bolivian nationals with effect from ... 

The  Member  States  shall  apply  the  exemption  from  the  visa  requirement  for  nationals  of 
Antigua  and  Barbuda,  the  Bahamas,  Barbados,  Mauritius,  Saint  Kitts  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.  

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

Article 3 

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,  

For the Council 
The President 

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