Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the signature of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia on the facilitation of the issuance of visas
Date: 2012-11-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Armenia, EU visa policy, agreement (EU), signature of an agreement

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.11.2012  
COM(2012) 705 final 

2012/0333 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signature of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of 
Armenia on the facilitation of the issuance of visas 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

I. 

POLITICAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

In the context of the Eastern Partnership Summit Declaration of 7 May 2009, the EU and the 
partner  countries  stated  their  political  support  towards  liberalisation  of  the  visa  regime  in  a 
secure  environment  and  reaffirmed  their  intention  to  take  gradual  steps  towards  a  visa  free 
regime for their citizens in due course.  

On that basis and as a first concrete step forward, the Commission presented on 16 September 
2011  a  recommendation  to  the  Council  in  order  to  authorise  the  Commission  to  open 
negotiations with the Republic of Armenia on a Visa Facilitation Agreement. 

Following the authorisation given by the Council on 19 December 2011, the negotiations with 
the  Republic  of  Armenia  on  a  Visa  Facilitation  Agreement  were  opened  in  Yerevan  on  27 
February 2012. Two further rounds of negotiations took place on 24 April 2012 in Brussels 
and on 28 June 2012 in Yerevan. The final text of the Agreement was initialled in Brussels on 
18 October 2012 by the chief negotiators. 

By  Government  decision  adopted  on  4  October  2012,  Armenia  decided  to  exempt  all  EU 
citizens, as well as those from the Schengen associated countries, from the visa obligation as 
from 10 January 2013.  

Member States have been regularly informed and consulted in the relevant Council Working 
Groups at all stages of the negotiations. 

On the part of the Union, the legal basis for the Agreement is Article 77(2)(a), in conjunction 
with Article 218 of the TFEU. 

The attached proposal constitutes the legal instrument for the signature of the Agreement. The 
Council will decide by qualified majority. 

II. 

OUTCOME OF THE NEGOTIATIONS 

The Commission considers that the objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives 
were attained and that the draft Agreement is acceptable to the Union. 

The final content of it can be summarised as follows: 

–  in principle, for all visa applicants, a decision on whether or not to issue a visa will have to 
be  taken  within  10  calendar  days.  This  period  may  be  extended  up  to  30  calendar  days 
when further scrutiny is needed. In urgent cases, the period for taking a decision may be 
reduced  to  two  working  days  or  less.  As  a  rule,  the  visa  applicants  can  have  an 
appointment  for  lodging  their  application  within  a  period  of  two  weeks  from  the  date  of 
request and in cases of urgency immediately or without an appointment.  

–  the visa fee for processing applications of Armenian citizens shall amount to 35 €. This fee 
will be applied to all Armenian visa applicants and concerns both single and multiple-entry 
visas.  Moreover,  certain  categories  of  persons  benefit  from  a  full  waiver  of  the  visa  fee: 
pensioners,  close  relatives,  members  of  national  and  regional  governments,  members  of 

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official  delegations  participating  in  government  activities,  pupils  and  students,  persons 
with disabilities, journalists and the technical crew accompanying them, representatives of 
civil  society  and  persons  invited  by  Armenian  Community  non-profit  Organisations, 
children  under  the  age  of  12,  humanitarian  cases  and  persons  participating  in  scientific, 
cultural, artistic activities and sport events; 

–  the documents to be presented regarding the purpose of the journey have been simplified 
for  some  categories  of  persons:  close  relatives,  business  people,  members  of  official 
delegations,  pupils  and  students,  participants  in  scientific,  cultural  and  sporting  events, 
journalists,  persons  visiting  military  and  civil  burials,  representatives  of  civil  society  and 
participants  in  Pan-Armenian  community  non-profit  organisations,  members  of  the 
professions,  drivers  conducting  international  cargo  and  passenger  transportation  services 
and  persons  visiting  for  medical  reasons.  For  these  categories  of  persons,  only  the 
documents  listed  in  the  agreement  can  be  requested  for  justifying  the  purpose  of  the 
journey.  No  other  justification,  invitation  or  validation  provided  for  by  the  legislation  of 
the Member States is required;  

–  there  are  also  simplified  criteria  for  issuing  multiple-entry  visas  for  the  following 

categories of persons: 

(a) 

(b) 

for  members  of  national  and  regional  governments,  Constitutional  and  Supreme 
Court, permanent members of official delegations and spouses and children visiting 
citizens of Armenia legally residing in the Member States or EU citizens residing in 
the  territory  of  the  Member  States  of  which  they  are  nationals:  visas  valid  for  five 
years  (or  shorter,  limited  to  the  period  of  the  validity  of  their  mandate  or 
authorisation for legal residence). 

participants  in  scientific,  cultural,  official  exchange  programmes  and  sport  events, 
journalists,  students,  business  people,  representatives  of  civil  society  and  the  Pan-
Armenian diaspora non-profit organisations, members of the professions and drivers, 
provided  that  during  the  previous  two  years  they  have  made  good  use  of  1  year 
multiple-entry  visas  and  the  reasons  for  requesting  a  multiple-entry  are  still  valid: 
visas valid for a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years are issued; 

–  citizens of Armenia who are holders of valid diplomatic passports are exempted from the 

visa requirement for short-stays.  

–  a protocol addresses the specific situation of the Member States that do not fully apply the 
Schengen  acquis  yet  and  their  unilateral  recognition  of  Schengen  visas  and  residence 
permits  issued  to  Armenian  citizens  for  the  purpose  of  transit  through  their  territory  in 
accordance with Council Decision N° 582/2008/EC.  

–  A Joint Declaration is attached to the Agreement on the implementation of Article 10 on 

diplomatic passports. 

–  An  EU  Declaration  is  attached  to  the  Agreement  on  documents  to  be  submitted  when 

applying for short-stay visas. 

–  A Joint Declaration is attached to the Agreement on cooperation on travel documents and 

regular exchange of information on travel document security. 

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–  the  specific  situations  of  Denmark,  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  are  reflected  in  the 
preamble. The close association of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the 
implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis is reflected in a Joint 
Declaration to the Agreement. 

III. 

CONCLUSIONS 

In light of the above-mentioned results, the Commission proposes that the Council 

–  decide that the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia on 
the facilitation of the issuance of visas be signed on behalf of the Union and authorise the 
Commission  to  appoint  the  person(s)  duly  empowered  to  sign  on  behalf  of  the  Union.

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2012/0333 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signature of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of 
Armenia on the facilitation of the issuance of visas 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 77(2a), in conjunction with Article 218 (5), thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The Joint Declaration of the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit of 7 May 2009 stating 
the political support towards visa liberalisation and the intention to take gradual steps 
towards the visa free travel for their citizens in due course.  

On  19  December  2011  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  open  negotiations 
with the Republic of Armenia on an Agreement between the European Union and the 
Republic of Armenia on the facilitation of the issuance of visas. The negotiations were 
successfully concluded by the initialling of the Agreement on 18 October 2012. 

The Agreement should be signed by the negotiator on behalf of the European Union, 
subject to its conclusion at a later date. 

In accordance with the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in 
respect of the area of freedom, security and justice and the Protocol on the Schengen 
acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on 
European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and 
confirming that the provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom 
and Ireland,  

(5) 

In accordance with the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on 
European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and 
confirming that the provisions of the Agreement do not apply to Denmark, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  Commission  is  authorised  to  sign,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union,  the  Agreement 
between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia on the facilitation of the issuance 
of visas, and to designate the persons empowered to proceed to the signature. 

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The text of the Agreement to be signed is attached to this Decision. 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX  

AGREEMENT  
between 
the European Union and the Republic of Armenia  
on the facilitation of the issuance of visas  

THE EUROPEAN UNION hereinafter referred to as "the Union”, 

And 

THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA, hereinafter referred to as Armenia, 

hereinafter referred to as 'the Parties',  

DESIRING  to  facilitate  people  to  people  contacts  as  an  important  condition  for  a  steady 
development  of  economic,  humanitarian,  cultural,  scientific  and  other  ties,  by  facilitating  the 
issuing of visas to citizens of Armenia,  

BEARING IN MIND the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation establishing a Partnership 
between the Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Armenia, of the other part, as 
well as the intention of the Parties to conclude an EU-Armenia Association Agreement,  

HAVING  REGARD  to  the  Joint  Declarations  of  the  Prague  and  Warsaw  Eastern  Partnership 
Summits  held  respectively  on  7  May  2009  and  on  30  September  2011  stating  the  political 
support towards visa liberalization of the visa regime in a secure environment, 

REAFFIRMING the intention to take gradual steps towards a visa-free travel regime for their 
citizens  in  due  course,  provided  that  conditions  for  well-managed  and  secure  mobility  are  in 
place, 

BEARING  IN  MIND  that,  as  from  10  January  2013  all  citizens  of  the  Union  are  exempted 
from  the  visa  requirement  when  travelling  to  Armenia  for  a  period  of  time  not  exceeding  90 
days or transiting through the territory of Armenia,  

RECOGNISING that if Armenia reintroduces visa requirements for the citizens of the Union or 
certain categories of them, the same facilitations granted under this Agreement to the citizens 
of Armenia would automatically, on the basis of reciprocity, apply to the citizens of the Union 
concerned,  

BEARING IN MIND that these visa requirements can only be reintroduced for all citizens of 
the Union or certain categories of citizens of the Union, 

RECOGNISING that visa facilitation should not lead to irregular migration and paying special 
attention to security and readmission,  

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TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in 
respect  of  the  area  of  freedom,  security  and  justice  and  the  Protocol  of  the  Schengen  acquis 
integrated  into  the  framework  of  the  European  Union,  annexed  to  the  Treaty  on  European 
Union  and  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  confirming  that  the 
provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland,  

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on 
European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and confirming that 
the provisions of this agreement do not apply to the Kingdom of Denmark, 

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:  

Article 1 

Purpose and scope of application 

The purpose of this Agreement is to facilitate, the issuance of visas for an intended stay 

1. 
of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days to the citizens of Armenia.  

2.  If  Armenia  reintroduces  the  visa  requirements  for  the  citizens  of  the  Union  or  certain 
categories  of  them,  the  same  facilitations  granted  under  this  Agreement  to  the  citizens  of 
Armenia  would  automatically,  on  the  basis  of  reciprocity,  apply  to  the  citizens  of  the  Union 
concerned,  

Article 2 

General clause 

1. 
The  visa  facilitations  provided  in  this  Agreement  shall  apply  to  citizens  of  Armenia 
only insofar as they are not exempted from the visa requirement by the laws and regulations of 
the Union or the Member States, this Agreement or other international Agreements. 

The national law of Armenia or of the Member States or the Union law shall apply to 
2. 
issues  not  covered  by  the  provisions  of  this  Agreement,  such  as  the  refusal  to  issue  a  visa, 
recognition  of  travel  documents,  proof  of  sufficient  means  of  subsistence  and  the  refusal  of 
entry and expulsion measures.  

Article 3 

Definitions 

For the purpose of this Agreement:  

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(a) 'Member State' shall mean any Member State of the European Union, with the exception of 
the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom; 

(b) 'citizen of the Union' shall mean a national of a Member State as defined in point (a); 

(c)  'citizen  of  Armenia'  shall  mean  any  person  who  holds  the  citizenship  of  Armenia  in 
accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia; 

(d)  'visa'  shall  mean:  an  authorisation  issued  by  a  Member  State  with  a  view  to  transiting 
through or an intended stay of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period in the 
territory of Member States; 

(e) 'legally residing person' shall mean: a citizen of Armenia authorized or entitled to stay for 
more  than  90  days  in  the  territory  of  a  Member  State,  on  the  basis  of  Union  law  or  national 
legislation.  

Article 4 

Documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the journey 

1. For the following categories of citizens of Armenia, the following documents are sufficient 
for justifying the purpose of the journey to the other Party:  

(a) for close  relatives –  spouses, children  (including adopted), parents  (including custodians), 
grandparents, grandchildren visiting citizens of Armenia legally residing in the Member States, 
or citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State of which they 
are nationals: 

- a written request from the host person; 

(b) for members of official delegations including permanent members of such delegations who, 
following  an  official  invitation  addressed  to  Armenia,  shall  participate  in  meetings, 
consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of 
one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations: 

-a letter issued by a competent authority of Armenia confirming that the applicant is a member 
of its delegation, respectively a permanent member of its delegation, travelling to the territory 
of  the  other  Party  to  participate  in  the  aforementioned  events,  accompanied  by  a  copy  of  the 
official invitation; 

(c) for pupils, students, post-graduate persons and accompanying teachers who undertake trips 
for  the  purposes  of  study  or  educational  training,  including  in  the  framework  of  exchange 
programmes as well as other school-related activities: 

- a written request or a certificate of enrolment from the host university, college or school or 
student cards or certificates of the courses to be attended; 

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(d) for persons travelling for medical reasons and necessary accompanying persons: 

-  an  official  document  of  the  medical  institution  confirming  necessity  of  medical  care  in  this 
institution, the necessity of being accompanied and proof of sufficient financial means to pay 
for the medical treatment; 

(e) for journalists and technical crew accompanying them in a professional capacity: 

-  a  certificate  or  other  document  issued  by  a  professional  organisation  or  the  applicant's 
employer proving that the person concerned is a qualified journalist and stating that the purpose 
of  the  journey  is  to  carry  out  journalistic  work  or  proving  that  he/she  is  a  member  of  the 
technical crew accompanying the journalist in a professional capacity; 

(f)  for  participants  in  international  sport  events  and  persons  accompanying  them  in  a 
professional capacity: 

- a written request from the host organisation, competent authorities, national sport federations 
or national Olympic committees of the Member State;  

(g) for business people and representatives of business organisations: 

- a written request from the host legal person or company, organisation or an office or a branch 
of such legal person or company, state or local authorities of the Member States or organising 
committees or trade and industrial exhibitions, conferences and symposia held in the territories 
of  one  of  the  Member  States,  endorsed  by  the  competent  authorities  in  accordance  with  the 
national legislation;  

(h)  for  members  of  the  professions  participating  in  international  exhibitions,  conferences, 
symposia, seminars or other similar events: 

-  a  written  request  from  the  host  organisation  confirming  that  the  person  concerned  is 
participating in the event; 

(i)  for  representatives  of  civil  society  organisations  and  persons  invited  by  Armenian 
community non-profit organisations registered in the Member States when undertaking trips for 
the  purposes  of  educational  training,  seminars,  conferences,  including  in  the  framework  of 
exchange programmes or Pan-Armenian and community support programmes: 

-  a  written  request  issued  by  the  host  organisation,  a  confirmation  that  the  person  is 
representing  the  civil  society  organisation  or  participating  in  Pan-Armenian  or  community 
support  activities  and  the  certificate  on  establishment  of  such  organisation  from  the  relevant 
register issued by a state authority in accordance with the national legislation; 

(j)  for  persons  participating  in  scientific,  academic,  cultural  or  artistic  activities,  including 
university and other exchange programmes: 

- a written request from the host organisation to participate in the activities; 

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(k)  for  drivers  conducting  international  cargo  and  passenger  transportation  services  to  the 
territories of the Member States in vehicles registered in Armenia: 

-a  written  request  from  the  national  association  (union)  of  carriers  of  Armenia  providing  for 
international  road  transportation,  stating  the  purpose,  itinerary,  duration  and  frequency  of  the 
trips; 

(l)  for  participants  of  the  official  exchange  programmes  organised  by  twin  cities  and  other 
municipal entities: 

- a written request of the Head of Administration/Mayor of these cities or municipal authorities; 

(m) for visiting military and civil burial grounds: 

- an official document confirming the existence and preservation of the grave as well as family 
or other relationship between the applicant and the buried; 

2. For the purposes of the present Article the written request shall include the following items:  

(a) 
for  the  invited  person:  name  and  surname,  date  of  birth,  sex,  citizenship,  passport 
number, time and purpose of the journey, number of entries and where relevant the name of the 
spouse and children accompanying the invited person; 

(b) 

for the inviting person: name, surname and address;  

(c) for the inviting legal person, company or organisation: full name and address and: 

if  the  request  is  issued  by  an  organisation  or  authority,  the  name  and  position  of  the 

– 
person who signs the request, 

if the inviting person is a legal person or company or an office or a branch of such legal 
– 
person  or company established  in the  territory of a Member State, the registration number as 
required by the national law of the Member State concerned.  

For the categories of persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, all categories of 
3. 
visas are issued according to the simplified procedure without requiring any other justification, 
invitation or validation concerning the purpose of the journey, provided for by the legislation of 
the Parties.  

Article 5 

Issuance of multiple-entry visas 

Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States shall issue multiple-entry 

1. 
visas with a term of validity of 5 years to the following categories of persons:  

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(a)  spouses,  children  (including  adopted),  who  are  under  the  age  of  21  or  are  dependent  and 
parents  (including  custodians),  visiting  citizens  of  Armenia  legally  residing  in  the  Member 
States, or citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State of which 
they are nationals; 

(b) members of national and regional governments and of Constitutional and Supreme courts if 
they are not exempted from the visa requirement by the present Agreement, in the exercise of 
their duties;  

(c) permanent members of official delegations who, following an official invitation addressed 
to  Armenia,  are  to  participate  regularly  in  meetings,  consultations,  negotiations  or  exchange 
programmes,  as  well  as  in  events  held  in  the  territory  of  the  Member  States  by 
intergovernmental organisations;  

By  way  of  derogation,  where  the  need  or  the  intention  to  travel  frequently  or  regularly  is 
manifestly  limited  to  a  shorter  period,  the  term  of  validity  of  the  multiple-entry  visa  shall  be 
limited to that period, in particular where:  

-in  the  case  of  the  persons  referred  to  in  lit.  a,  the  period  of  validity  of  the  authorisation  for 
legal residence of citizens of Armenia legally residing in the European Union, 

-in case of the persons referred to in lit. b, the term of office, 

-  in  the  case  of  the  persons  referred  to  in  lit.  c,  the  term  of  the  validity  of  the  status  as  a 
permanent member of an official delegation,  

is less than five years.  

Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States shall issue multiple-entry 
2. 
visas with the term of validity of one year to the following categories of persons, provided that 
during the previous year they have obtained at least one visa, have made use of it in accordance 
with the laws on entry and stay of the visited State:  

(a) members of official delegations who, following an official invitation addressed to Armenia, 
shall participate regularly in meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as 
well as in events held in the territory of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations; 

(b) representatives of civil society organisations and persons invited by Armenian community 
non-profit organisations registered in the Member States when undertaking trips to the Member 
States  for  the  purposes  of  educational  training,  seminars,  conferences,  including  in  the 
framework of exchange programmes or Pan-Armenian and community support programmes; 

(c)  members  of  the  professions  participating  in  international  exhibitions,  conferences, 
symposia, seminars or other similar events who regularly travel to the Member States; 

(d)  persons  participating  in  scientific,  cultural  or  artistic  activities,  including  university  and 
other exchange programmes, who regularly travel to the Member States; 

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(e)  students  and  post-graduate  persons  who  regularly  travel  for  the  purposes  of  study  or 
educational training, including in the framework of exchange programmes; 

(f)  participants  of  the  official  exchange  programmes  organised  by  twin  cities  and  other 
municipal entities; 

(g) persons needing to visit regularly for medical reasons and necessary accompanying persons; 

(h) journalists and technical crew accompanying them in a professional capacity; 

(i)  business  people  and  representatives  of  business  organisations  who  regularly  travel  to  the 
Member States; 

(j) participants in international sports events and persons accompanying them in a professional 
capacity; 

(k)  drivers  conducting  international  cargo  and  passenger  transportation  services  to  the 
territories of the Member States in vehicles registered in Armenia. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  the  first  sentence,  where  the  need  or  the  intention  to  travel 
frequently  or  regularly  is  manifestly  limited  to  a  shorter  period,  the  term  of  validity  of  the 
multiple-entry visa shall be limited to that period.  

3. 
Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States shall issue multiple-entry 
visas  with  the  term  of  validity  of  a  minimum  of  2  years  and  a  maximum  of  5  years  to  the 
categories  of  persons  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  of  this  Article,  provided  that  during  the 
previous 2 years they have made use of the one year multiple-entry visas in accordance with the 
laws on entry and stay of the visited State unless the need or the intention to travel frequently or 
regularly  is  manifestly  limited  to  a  shorter  period,  in  which  case  the  term  of  validity  of  the 
multiple-entry visa shall be limited to that period.  

4. The total period of stay of persons referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall not 
exceed 90 days per period of 180 days in the territory of the Member States.  

Article 6 

Fees for processing visa applications 

1. 

The fee for processing visa applications shall amount to EUR 35.  

The aforementioned amount may be reviewed in accordance with the procedure provided for in 
Article 14(4).  

Without prejudice to paragraph 3 fees for processing the visa application are waived for 

2. 
the following categories of persons:  

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(a) pensioners; 

(b) children under the age of 12; 

(c) members of national and regional governments and of Constitutional and Supreme courts, in 
case they are not exempted from the visa requirement by this Agreement; 

(d) persons with disabilities and the persons accompanying them, if necessary; 

(e)  close  relatives  –  spouse,  children  (including  adopted),  parents  (including  custodians), 
grandparents or grandchildren – of citizens of Armenia legally residing in the territory of the 
Member States, or citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State 
of which they are nationals;  

(f) members of official delegations, including permanent members of official delegations, who, 
following  an  official  invitation  addressed  to  Armenia,  shall  participate  in  meetings, 
consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of 
one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations; 

(g) pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for 
the purposes of study or educational training, including exchange programmes as well as other 
school-related activities; 

(h) journalists and technical crew accompanying them in a professional capacity; 

(i) participants in international sport events and persons accompanying them in a professional 
capacity; 

(j) representatives of civil society organisations and persons  invited by Armenian community 
non-profit  organisations  registered  in  the  Member  States  when  undertaking  trips  for  the 
purposes  of  educational  training,  seminars,  conferences,  including  in  the  framework  of 
exchange programmes or Pan-Armenian and community support programmes;  

(k)  persons  participating  in  scientific,  academic,  cultural  or  artistic  activities,  including 
university and other exchange programmes; 

(l) persons who have presented documents proving the necessity of their travel on humanitarian 
grounds,  including  to  receive  urgent  medical  treatment  and  the  person  accompanying  such 
person, or to attend a funeral of a close relative or to visit a seriously ill close relative. 

3. If a Member State cooperates with an external service provider in view of issuing a visa the 
external service provider may charge a service fee. This fee shall be proportionate to the costs 
incurred by the external service provider while performing its tasks and shall not exceed EUR 
30.  The  Member  States  shall  maintain  the  possibility  for  all  applicants  to  lodge  their 
applications directly at their consulates.  

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For the Union, the external service provider shall conduct its operations in accordance with the 
Visa Code and in full respect of Armenian legislation.  

Article 7 

Length of procedures for processing visa applications 

Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States shall take a decision on 
1. 
the request to issue a visa within 10 calendar days of the date of the receipt of the application 
and documents required for issuing the visa. 

The period of time for taking a decision on a visa application may be extended up to 30 

2. 
calendar days in individual cases, notably when further scrutiny of the application is needed. 

The  period  of  time  for  taking  a  decision  on  a  visa  application  may  be  reduced  to  2 

3. 
working days or less in urgent cases. 

If applicants are required to obtain an appointment for the lodging of an application the 
4. 
appointment shall, as a rule, take place within a period of two weeks from the date when the 
appointment was requested. In justified cases of urgency, the consulate may allow applicants to 
lodge  their  applications  either  without  appointment,  or  an  appointment  shall  be  given 
immediately. 

Article 8 

Departure in case of lost or stolen documents 

Citizens of the Union and of Armenia who have lost their identity documents, or from whom 
these  documents  have  been  stolen  while  staying  in  the  territory  of  Armenia  or  the  Member 
States, may leave the territory of Armenia or the Member States on the basis of valid identity 
documents entitling them to cross the border issued by diplomatic missions or consular posts of 
the Member States or of Armenia without any visa or other authorisation.  

Article 9 

Extension of visa in exceptional circumstances 

Citizens of Armenia who are not able to leave the territory of the Member States by the time 
stated in their visas for reasons of force majeure or humanitarian reasons shall have the term of 
their visas extended free of charge in accordance with the legislation applied by the receiving 
Member State for the period required for their return to the State of their residence. 

Article 10  

Diplomatic passports 

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Citizens of Armenia who are holders of valid diplomatic passports may enter, leave and 

1. 
transit through the territories of the Member States without visas.  

Persons mentioned in paragraph 1 may stay without visas in the territories of Member 

2. 
States for a period not exceeding 90 days per period of 180 days.  

Article 11 

Territorial validity of visas 

Subject to the national rules and regulations concerning national security of the Member States 
and subject to EU rules on visas with limited territorial validity, citizens of Armenian shall be 
entitled to travel within the territory of the Member States on equal basis with European Union 
citizens.  

Article 12 

Joint Committee for management of the Agreement 

The  Parties  shall  set  up  a  Joint  Committee  of  experts  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  “the 
Committee”), composed by representatives of the Union and of Armenia. The Union shall be 
represented by the Commission, assisted by experts from the Member States.  

2. 

The Committee shall, in particular, have the following tasks: 

(a) monitoring the implementation of the present Agreement; 

(b) suggesting amendments or additions to the present Agreement; 

(c)  settling  disputes  arising  out  of  the  interpretation  or  application  of  the  provisions  in  this 
Agreement. 

The Committee shall meet whenever necessary at the request of one of the Parties and 

3. 
at least once a year. 

4. 

The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure. 

Article 13 

Relation of this Agreement with bilateral Agreements between Member States and 
Armenia 

As  from  its  entry  into  force,  this  Agreement  shall  take  precedence  over  provisions  of  any 
bilateral  or  multilateral  agreements  or  arrangements  concluded  between  individual  Member 
States and Armenia, in so far as the provisions of the latter agreements or arrangements cover 
issues dealt with by this Agreement.  

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Article 14 

Final clauses 

This  Agreement  shall  be  ratified  or  approved  by  the  Parties  in  accordance  with  their 
1. 
respective procedures and shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following 
the date on which the Parties notify each other that the procedures referred to above have been 
completed. 

2. 
By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, this Agreement shall only enter 
into force on the date of the entry into force of the Agreement between the European Union and 
Armenia on readmission if this date is after the date provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article. 

This  Agreement  is  concluded  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time,  unless  terminated  in 

3. 
accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article.  

4. 
This  Agreement  may  be  amended  by  written  agreement  of  the  Parties.  Amendments 
shall  enter  into  force  after  the  Parties  have  notified  each  other  of  the  completion  of  their 
internal procedures necessary for this purpose.  

5. 
Each Party may suspend in whole or in part this Agreement for reasons of public order, 
protection of national security or protection of public health. The decision on suspension shall 
be notified to the other Party not later than 48 hours before its entry into force. The Party that 
has suspended the application of this Agreement shall immediately inform the other Party once 
the reasons for the suspension no longer apply. 

Each  Party  may  terminate  this  Agreement  by  giving  written  notice  to  the  other  Party. 

6. 
This Agreement shall cease to be in force 90 days after the date of such notification.  

Done in XXX on XXX, in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, 
Finnish,  French,  German,  Greek,  Hungarian,  Italian,  Latvian,  Lithuanian,  Maltese,  Polish, 
Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Armenian languages, each of 
these texts being equally authentic.  

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ANNEX 

PROTOCOL 

to the Agreement on the Member States that do not fully apply the Schengen acquis 

Those  Member  States  which  are  bound  by  the  Schengen  acquis  but  which  do  not  issue  yet  Schengen 
visas,  while  awaiting  the  relevant  decision  of  the  Council  to  that  end,  shall  issue  national  visas  the 
validity of which is limited to their own territory.  

In accordance with Decision No 582/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 
2008  introducing  a  simplified  regime  for  the  control  of  persons  at  the  external  borders  based  on  the 
unilateral  recognition  by  Bulgaria,  Cyprus  and  Romania  of  certain  documents  as  equivalent  to  their 
national visas for the purposes of transit through their territories1 harmonised measures have been taken 
in order to simplify the transit of holders of Schengen visa and Schengen residence permits through the 
territory of the Member States that do not fully apply the Schengen acquis yet. 

1 

OJ L 161, 20.6.2008, p. 30.  

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Joint Declaration on Article 10 of the Agreement on diplomatic passports 

The Union or Armenia might invoke a partial suspension of the agreement and in particular of Article 
10,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  set  up  by  Article  14  (5),  if  the  implementation  of  Article  10  is 
abused by the other Party or leads to a threat to public security.  

In case of suspension of the implementation of Article 10, both Parties shall initiate consultations within 
the framework of the Joint Committee set up by the agreement with a view to solve the problems that 
lead to the suspension. 

As  a  priority,  both  Parties  declare  their  commitment  to  ensure  a  high  level  of  document  security  for 
diplomatic  passports,  in  particular  by  integrating  biometric  identifiers.  For  the  Union,  this  will  be 
ensured  in  compliance  with  the  requirements  set  out  in  Regulation  (EC)  2252/2004  of  13  December 
2004  on  standards  for  security  features  and  biometrics  in  passports  and  travel  documents  issued  by 
Member States2. 

European Union Declaration on documents to be submitted when applying for short stay visas 

The European Union will intensify efforts and endeavour to draw up before the entry into force of the 
EU-Armenia  Visa  Facilitation  Agreement  a  list  of  minimum  requirements  in  order  to  ensure  that 
Armenian  applicants  are  given  coherent  and  uniform  basic  information,  in  accordance  with  Article  47 
(1)(a) of the Visa Code, and are required to submit, in principle, the same supporting documents. 

The information mentioned above is to be disseminated widely (on the information board of consulates, 
in leaflets, on websites, etc.). 

Joint Declaration concerning Denmark 

The Parties take note that the present Agreement does not apply to the procedures for issuing visas by the 
diplomatic missions and consular services of Denmark.  

In  such  circumstances,  it  is  appropriate  that  the  authorities  of  Denmark  and  of  Armenia  conclude, 
without delay, a bilateral agreement on the facilitation of the issuance of short-stay visas in similar terms 
as the Agreement between the European Union and Armenia.  

2 

OJ L385, 29.12.2004, p.1. 

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Joint Declaration concerning the United Kingdom and Ireland  

The Parties take note that the present Agreement does not apply to the territory of the United Kingdom 
and Ireland.  

In such circumstances, it is appropriate that the authorities of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Armenia, 
conclude bilateral agreements on the facilitation of the issuance of visas.  

Joint Declaration concerning Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein  

The  Parties  take  note  of  the  close  relationship  between  the  European  Union  and  Switzerland,  Iceland, 
Liechtenstein,  and  Norway,  particularly  by  virtue  of  the  Agreements  of  18  May  1999  and  26  October 
2004  concerning  the  association  of  these  countries  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development of the Schengen acquis.  

In  such  circumstances,  it  is  appropriate  that  the  authorities  of  Switzerland,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein,  and 
Norway and Armenia conclude, without delay, bilateral agreements on the facilitation of the issuance of 
short-stay visas in similar terms as the Agreement between the European Union and Armenia.  

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Joint Declaration on cooperation on travel documents  

The  Parties  agree  that  the  Joint  Committee  established  under  Article  12  of  the  Agreement, 
when monitoring the implementation of the Agreement, should evaluate the impact of the level 
of security of the respective travel documents on the functioning of the Agreement. To that end, 
the  Parties  agree  to  regularly  inform  each  other  about  the  measures  taken  for  avoiding  the 
proliferation of travel documents, developing the technical aspects of travel document security 
as well as regarding the personalisation process of the issuance of travel documents.  

***  

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