Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) No …/... of […] laying down a uniform format for visas (codified version)
Date: 2008-12-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU national, European standard, admission of aliens, codification of EU law, confidentiality, identity document, technical specification

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 19.12.2008 
COM(2008) 891 final 

2008/0265 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No …/... 

of […] 

laying down a uniform format for visas (codified version) 

(presented by the Commission) 

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2008/0265 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No …/… 

of […] 

laying down a uniform format for visas 

(Codified version) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  the  context  of  a  people’s  Europe,  the  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to 
simplifying  and  clarifying  Community  law  so  as  to  make  it  clearer  and  more 
accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance 
to make use of the specific rights it gives him. 

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended 
several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought 
partly  in  the  original  instrument  and  partly  in  later  amending  ones.  Considerable 
research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the 
current rules. 

For  this  reason  a  codification  of  rules  that  have  frequently  been  amended  is  also 
essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent. 

On  1  April  1987  the  Commission  therefore  decided1  to  instruct  its  staff  that  all 
legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that 
this  is  a  minimum  requirement  and  that  departments  should  endeavour  to  codify  at 
even  shorter  intervals  the  texts  for  which  they  are  responsible,  to  ensure  that  the 
Community rules are clear and readily understandable. 

The  Conclusions  of 
the  Edinburgh  European  Council 
(December 1992) confirmed this2, stressing the importance of codification as it offers 
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time. 

the  Presidency  of 

Codification  must  be  undertaken  in  full  compliance  with  the  normal  Community 
legislative procedure. 

Given  that  no  changes  of  substance  may  be  made  to  the  instruments  affected  by 
codification, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, 
by  an  interinstitutional  agreement  dated  20  December  1994,  that  an  accelerated 
procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments. 

is 

this  proposal 

to  undertake  a  codification  of  Council 
The  purpose  of 
Regulation (EC)  No  1683/95  of  29  May  1995  laying  down  a  uniform  format  for 
visas3.  The  new  Regulation  will  supersede  the  various  acts  incorporated  in  it4;  this 
proposal  fully  preserves  the  content  of  the  acts  being  codified  and  hence  does  no 
more than bringing them together with only such formal amendments as are required 
by the codification exercise itself. 

COM(87) 868 PV. 
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions. 
Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final. 
See Annex II to this proposal. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

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5. 

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, 
in  all  official  languages,  of  Regulation  (EC) No 1683/95  and  the  instruments 
amending  it,  carried  out  by  the  Office  for  Official  Publications  of  the  European 
Communities, by means of a data-processing system. Where the Articles have been 
given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown 
in a table contained in Annex III to the codified Regulation. 

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Proposal for a 

(cid:208) 1683/95 (adapted) 

 (COD) 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No …/... 

of […] 

laying down a uniform format for visas (codified version) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format 
for visas2 has been substantially amended several times3. In the interests of clarity and 
rationality the said Regulation should be codified. 

(cid:208)  

(cid:208) 334/2002 Recital 4 and 1683/95 
Recital 2 

(2) 

The  establishment  of  a  uniform  format  for  visas  is  an  essential  element  in  the 
harmonisation  of  visa  policy.  Article  14  of  the  Treaty  stipulates  that  the  internal 
market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of 
persons is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty.  

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OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1.  
See Annex II. 

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(cid:208) 1683/95 Recital 3 

(3) 

It  is  essential  that  the  uniform  format  for  visas  should  contain  all  necessary 
information  and  meet  very  high  technical  standards,  notably  as  regards  safeguards 
against  counterfeiting  and  falsification.  It  should  also  be  suitable  for  use  by  all  the 
Member  States  and  bear  universally  recognisable  security  features  which  are  clearly 
visible to the naked eye. 

(4) 

In  addition,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  for  common  standards  relating  to  the 
implementation  of  the  uniform  format  for  visas,  in  particular  common  rules  on  the 
technical methods and standards to be used for filling in the form. 

(cid:208) 334/2002 Recital 5 

(cid:208) 334/2002 Recital 6 (adapted) 

(5)  ⌦ In  that  respect, ⌫  the  integration  of  a  photograph  produced  according  to  high 
security  standards  is  a  first  step  towards  the  use  of  elements  establishing  a  more 
reliable link between the visa and the holder as an important contribution to ensuring 
that  the  uniform  format  for  visas  is  protected  even  against  fraudulent  use.  The 
in  ICAO  (International  Civil  Aviation  Organization) 
specifications  set  out 
document 9303 on machine-readable visas should be taken into account. 

(cid:208) 1683/95 Recital 4 (adapted) 

(6) 

This  Regulation  only  lays  down  such  specifications  as  are  not  secret.  Those 
specifications  need  to  be  supplemented  by  further  specifications  ⌦ for ⌫  which 
⌦ it ⌫  should  ⌦ be  possible  to  decide  that  they ⌫  remain  secret  in  order  to 
prevent  counterfeiting  and  falsification  and  which  may  not  include  personal  data  or 
references to such data. Powers to adopt further specifications should be conferred on 
the Commission. 

(7) 

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted 
in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the 
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission4. 

(cid:208)  

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OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.  

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(8) 

(9) 

(cid:208) 1683/95 Recital 5 

To ensure that the information referred to is not made available to more persons than 
necessary, it is also essential that each Member State should designate not more than 
one body having responsibility for printing the uniform format for visas, with Member 
States  remaining  free  to  change  the  body,  if  need  be.  For  security  reasons,  each 
Member  State  should  communicate  the  name  of  the  competent  body  to  the 
Commission and the other Member States. 

(cid:208) 1683/95 Recital 6 (adapted) 

To  be  effective,  this  Regulation  should  apply  to  all  visas  ⌦ as  defined  in  this 
Regulation ⌫. Member States should be free also to use the uniform visa format for 
visas  for  purposes  other  than  those  ⌦ defined  in  this  Regulation ⌫  provided 
differences  visible  to  the  naked  eye  are  incorporated  to  make  confusion  with  the 
uniform visa impossible. 

(10)  With  regard  to  the  personal  data  to  be  entered  on  the  uniform  format  for  visas  in 
accordance with Annex I hereto, compliance should be ensured with Member States' 
data-protection provisions as well as with the relevant Community legislation. 

(cid:208) 1683/95 Recital 7 

(11)  The  measures  provided  for  in  this  Regulation  should  not  affect  the  rules  currently 

governing recognition of the validity of travel documents. 

(cid:208) 334/2002 Recital 10 

(cid:208) 856/2008 Recital 5 

(12)  As  regards  Iceland  and  Norway,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of 
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  acquis5  which  fall  within  the  area  referred  to  in 
Article 1, point B of Council Decision 1999/437/EC6 on certain arrangements for the 
application of that Agreement. 

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OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36. 
OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31. 

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(cid:208) 856/2008 Recital 6 

(13)  As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of provisions of the 
Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement signed between the European 
Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  concerning  the 
association  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development  of  the  Schengen  acquis,  which  fall  within  the  area  referred  to  in 
Article 1, point A of Decision 1999/437/EC, read in conjunction with Article 4(1) of 
Council Decisions 2004/849/EC7 and 2004/860/EC8. 

(cid:208) 856/2008 Recital 7 

(14)  As  regards  Liechtenstein,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  provisions  of 
the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol signed between the European 
Union,  the  European  Community,  the  Swiss  Confederation  and  the  Principality  of 
Liechtenstein  on  the  accession  of  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  to  the  Agreement 
between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation 
on  the  Swiss  Confederation’s  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development  of  the  Schengen  acquis,  which  fall  within  the  area  referred  to  in 
Article 1,  point  A  of  Decision  1999/437/EC,  read  in  conjunction  with  Article  3  of 
Council Decision 2008/261/EC9. 

(cid:208) 856/2008 Recital 8 

(15) 

In  accordance  with  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, the United Kingdom and Ireland are not participating in the 
adoption of this Regulation. As a result, and without prejudice to Article 4 of the said 
Protocol,  the  provisions  of  this  Regulation  do  not  apply  to  the  United  Kingdom  and 
Ireland, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

(cid:208) 1683/95 

Article 1 

Visas issued by the Member States in conformity with Article 2 shall be produced in the form 
of a uniform format (sticker). 

They shall conform to the specifications set out in Annex I. 

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OJ L 368, 15.12.2004, p. 26. 
OJ L 370, 17.12.2004, p. 78. 
OJ L 83, 26.3.2008, p. 3. 

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(cid:208) 1683/95 Art. 5 

Article 2 

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘visa’ shall mean an authorisation given by or a decision 
taken by a Member State which is required for entry into its territory with a view to: 

(a) 

(b) 

an intended stay in that Member State or in several Member States of no more than 
three months in all; 

transit  through  the  territory  or  airport  transit  zone  of  that  Member  State  or  several 
Member States. 

(cid:208) 334/2002 Art. 1 pt. 1 

Article 3 

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). 

(cid:208) 856/2008 Art. 1 pt. 1 (adapted) 

3.  In  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  6(2),  it  may  be  decided  that  the 
specifications  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  ⌦ of  this  Article ⌫  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. 

Article 4 

(cid:208) 1683/95 Art. 3 

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

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(cid:208) 1683/95 Art. 4 

Article 5 

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  Annex  I,  or  unless  it  is 
mentioned in the relevant travel document. 

(cid:208) 334/2002 Art. 1 pt. 2 

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. 

Article 6 

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

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

(cid:208) 1683/95 

Article 7 

Where Member States use the uniform visa format for purposes other than those covered by 
Article 2, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that confusion with the visa referred 
to in Article 2 is not possible. 

(cid:208)  

Article 8 

Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 is repealed. 

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and 
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III. 

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This Regulation shall enter into force on ⌦ 1 May 2009 ⌫. 

Article 9 

(cid:208) 1683/95 Art. 8 (adapted) 

(cid:208) 1683/95 

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

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the Council 
The President 
[…]

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(cid:208) 1683/95 

ANNEX I 

(cid:208) 856/2008 Art. 1 pt. 3 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Security features 

An integrated photograph produced to high security standards. 

An  optically  variable  mark  (‘kinegram’  or  equivalent)  shall  appear  in  this  space. 
Depending on the angle of view, 12 stars, the letter ‘E’ and a globe become visible in 
various sizes and colours. 

The  logo  consisting  of  a  letter  or  letters  indicating  the  issuing  Member  State  (or 
‘BNL’ in the case of the Benelux countries, namely Belgium, Luxembourg and the 
Netherlands)  with  a  latent  image  effect  shall  appear  in  this  space.  This  logo  shall 
appear light when held flat and dark when turned by 90°. The following logos shall 
be used: A for Austria, BG for Bulgaria, BNL for Benelux, CY for Cyprus, CZE for 
the Czech Republic, D for Germany, DK for Denmark, E for Spain, EST for Estonia, 
F  for  France,  FIN  for  Finland,  GR  for  Greece,  H  for  Hungary,  I  for  Italy,  IRL  for 
Ireland,  LT  for  Lithuania,  LVA  for  Latvia,  M  for  Malta,  P  for  Portugal,  PL  for 

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4. 

5. 

5a. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

Poland, ROU for Romania, S for Sweden, SK for Slovakia, SVN for Slovenia, UK 
for the United Kingdom. 

The word ‘visa’ in capital letters shall appear in the middle of this space in optically 
variable colouring. Depending on the angle of view, it shall appear green or red. 

This box shall contain the 9-digit national number of the visa sticker, which shall be 
pre-printed. A special type shall be used. 

This  box  shall  contain  the  three-letter  country  code  as  set  out  in  ICAO 
Document 9303  on  machine-readable  travel  documents1,  indicating  the  issuing 
Member State. 

The “number of the visa sticker” is the three-letter country code as set out in box 5a 
and the national number as referred to in box 5. 

Sections to be completed 

This box shall begin with the words ‘valid for’. The issuing authority shall indicate 
the territory or territories for which the visa is valid. 

This box shall begin with the word ‘from’ and the word ‘until’ shall appear further 
along the line. The issuing authority shall indicate here the period of validity of the 
visa. 

This  box  shall  begin  with  the  words  ‘type  of  visa’.  The  issuing  authority  shall 
indicate the category of visa in conformity with Articles 2 and 7 . Further along the 
line  the  words  ‘number  of  entries’,  ‘duration  of  stay’  (i.e.  duration  of  applicants' 
intended stay) and again ‘days’ shall appear. 

This box shall begin with the words ‘issued in’ and shall be used to indicate the place 
of issue. 

This box shall begin with the word ‘on’ (after which the date of issue shall be filled 
in by the issuing authority) and further along the line the words ‘number of passport’ 
shall appear (after which the holder's passport number shall appear). 

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

This box shall begin with the word 'remarks'. It shall be used by the issuing authority 
to  indicate  any  further  information  which  is  considered  necessary,  provided  that  it 
complies with Article 5 . The following two and a half lines shall be left empty for 
such remarks. 

This  box  shall  contain  the  relevant  machine-readable  information  to  facilitate 
external border controls. The machine-readable area shall contain a printed text in the 
background  printing,  indicating  the  Member  State  issuing  the  document.  This  text 

1 

Exception  for  Germany:  ICAO  document  9303  on  machine  readable  travel  documents  provides  for 
Germany the country code “D”. 

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shall not affect the technical features of the machine-readable area or its ability to be 
read. 

The paper shall have a natural colouring with red and blue markings. 

The  words  designating  the  boxes  shall  appear  in  English  and  French.  The  issuing 
Member  State  may  add  a  third  official  Community  language.  However,  the  word 
‘visa’ in the top line may appear in any one official language of the Community. 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX II 

Repealed Regulation with list of its successive amendments 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 
(OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 334/2002 
(OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 7) 

Articles 1 and 3 only 

Point 18.B.1 of Annex II to the 2003 Act of 
Accession 
(OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 718) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 
(OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 856/2008 
(OJ L 235, 2.9.2008, p. 1) 

_____________ 

Only as regards the reference to 
Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 in the 
eleventh indent of Article 1(1) and 
Annex, Part 11, point B.1 

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ANNEX III 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 

This Regulation 

Article 1, first sentence 

Article 1, first paragraph 

Article 1, second sentence 

Article 1, second paragraph 

Article 2 

Article 3(2) 

Article 4 

Article 3 

Article 4 

Article 5 

Article 5, introductory wording 

Article 2, introductory wording 

Article 5, first indent 

Article 5, second indent 

Article 2(a) 

Article 2(b) 

Article 6(1) and (2) 

Article 6(1) and (2) 

Article 6(3) 

Article 7 

- 

Article 8, first paragraph 

Article 8, second paragraph 

Article 8, third paragraph 

Annex 

- 

- 

- 

Article 7 

Article 8 

Article 9 

- 

- 

Annex I 

Annex II 

Annex III 

_____________ 

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