Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of visas
Date: 2013-10-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Azerbaijan, EU visa policy, agreement (EU), ratification of an agreement

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 29.10.2013  
COM(2013) 742 final 

2013/0356 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of 
Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of visas 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

I. 

POLITICAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

In the context of the Warsaw Eastern Partnership Summit Declaration of 30 September 2011, 
the EU and the partner countries confirmed their political support for enhancing mobility of 
citizens  in  a  secure  and  well-managed  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 Azerbaijan on a Visa Facilitation Agreement. 

Following the authorisation given by the Council on 19 December 2011, the negotiations with 
the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  on  a  Visa  Facilitation  Agreement  were  opened  in  Baku  on 
1 March 2012. Three further rounds of negotiations took place on 1 June 2012 in Brussels, 6 
November 2012 in Baku and on 13 March 2013 in Brussels. The final text of the Agreement 
was initialled in Brussels on 29 July 2013 by the chief negotiators. 

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 Commission signed the Agreement on […] In accordance with Art. 218(6)(a) of the 
TFEU the European Parliament's consent for the conclusion of the Agreement was given on 
[…]. 

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 citizens of the European Union and the Republic 
of Azerbaijan shall amount to EUR 35. This fee will be applied to all 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 official 
delegations  participating  in  government  activities,  pupils,  students  and  post-graduate 
students, persons with disabilities, journalists and the technical crew accompanying them, 
representatives  of  civil  society  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, students and post-graduate students, participants in scientific, cultural 
and sporting events, journalists, persons visiting military and civil burials, representatives 

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of  civil  society,  members  of  the  professions,  drivers  conducting  international  cargo  and 
passenger  transportation  services,  participants  in  official  exchange  programmes  of  twin 
cities  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 or the Republic of Azerbaijan is required;  

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

categories of persons: 

(a) 

(b) 

for  permanent  members  of  official  delegations  and  spouses  and  children  visiting 
citizens  of  the  European  Union  legally  residing  in  the  territory  of  Azerbaijan  or 
citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan legally residing in the Member States or EU 
citizens residing in the territory of the Member States of which they are nationals or 
citizens  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  residing  in  the  territory  of  Azerbaijan:  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,  members  of  official  delegations, 
representatives of civil society, 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 two years and a maximum of 5 years are issued; 

–  citizens  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  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 citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan 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. 

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

regular exchange of information on travel document security. 

–  A  Joint  Declaration  reaffirming  that  the  Agreement  does  not  affect  the  possibility  of 
individual  Member  States  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  to  conclude  bilateral  Visa 
Waiver Agreements for holders of service passports. 

–  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 

–  approve,  after  having  received  consent  from  the  European  Parliament,  the  attached 
Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the facilitation 
of the issuance of visas. 

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2013/0356 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of 
Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of visas 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 77(2)(a), in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a), thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 
Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

In accordance with Council Decision 2013/XXX of [...]2, the Agreement between the 
European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of 
visas was signed by the Commission on [...], 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,  the 
provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

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,  the 
provisions of this Agreement do not apply to Denmark. 

(4) 

The agreement should be approved on behalf of the European Union, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  on  the 
facilitation of the issuance of visas is hereby approved on behalf of the Union. 

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 

The President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to proceed, on behalf of 
the  European  Union,  to  the  notification  provided  for  in  Article  14(1)  of  the  Agreement,  in 
order to express the consent of the European Union to be bound by the Agreement. 

Article 2 

1 
2 

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

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Article 3 

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  of  its  adoption.  It  shall  be  published  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

The date of entry into force of the Agreement shall be published in the Official Journal of the 
European Union. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX  

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

THE EUROPEAN UNION hereinafter referred to as 'the Union'; 

and  

THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN, 

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  the  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  on  a  basis  of 
reciprocity,  

BEARING IN MIND the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation establishing a Partnership 
between the Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, of 
the other part, as well as the negotiations on an EU-Azerbaijan Association Agreement which 
were launched in 2010,  

HAVING REGARD to the Joint Declaration of the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit held on 
7  May  2009  stating  the  political  support  towards  visa  liberalization  of  the  visa  regime  in  a 
secure environment,  

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

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: 

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Article 1  

Purpose and scope of application 

The purpose of this Agreement is to facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the issuance of visas 
for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days to the citizens of the Union 
and the Republic of Azerbaijan.  

Article 2 

General clause 

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

2. The national law of the Republic of Azerbaijan or of the Member States or Union law shall 
apply to 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: 

(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 the Republic of Azerbaijan' shall mean any person who holds the citizenship of 
the Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with its legislation in force; 

(d) 'visa' shall mean an authorisation issued by a Member State or the Republic of Azerbaijan 
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 or the Republic of Azerbaijan; 

(e) 'legally residing person' shall mean :  

- for the Republic of Azerbaijan, a citizen of the Union who acquired temporary or permanent 
residence  permit  for  a  period  of  more  than  90  days  in  the  territory  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan, 

- for the Union, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan 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. 

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Article 4 

Documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the journey 

1. For the following categories of citizens of the Union and of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 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  and  grand-children  – visiting  citizens  of  the  European  Union  legally  residing  in 
the  territory  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  or  citizens  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  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, or citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan residing in 
the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan:  

- a written request from the host person; 

(b)  without  prejudice  to  Article  10,  for  members  of  official  delegations  including  permanent 
members  of  such  delegations  who,  following  an  official  invitation  addressed  to  the  Member 
States, the European Union or the Republic of Azerbaijan, shall participate in official meetings, 
consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of 
the Republic of Azerbaijan or one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations:  

- a letter issued by a competent authority of a Member State or of the Republic of Azerbaijan or 
by  an  institution  of  the  European  Union  confirming  that  the  applicant  is  a  member  of  its 
delegation respectively or 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 business people and representatives of business organisations:  

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

(d) for drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services between the 
territories  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  and  the  Member  States  in  vehicles  registered  in  the 
Member States or in the Republic of Azerbaijan: 

- a written request from the national company or association (union) of carriers of the Republic 
of  Azerbaijan  or  the  national  associations  of  carriers  of  the  Member  States  providing  for 
international  road  transportation,  stating  the  purpose,  itinerary,  duration  and  frequency  of  the 
trips; 

(e) for pupils, students, post-graduate students 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,  academy,  institute, 
college or school or student cards or certificates of the courses to be attended; 

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(f)  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 those activities; 

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

-  a  certificate  or  other  document  issued  by  a  professional  organization  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 technical 
crew accompanying the journalist in a professional capacity; 

(h)  for  participants  in  international  sports  events  and  persons  accompanying  them  in  a 
professional capacity:  

- a written request from the host organization, competent authorities, national sport Federations 
of  the  Member  States  or  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  or  National  Olympic  Committee  of  the 
Republic of Azerbaijan or National Olympic Committees of the Member States; 

(i) for participants in official exchange programmes organized by twin cities: 

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

(j) 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; 

(k)  for  members  of  the  professions  participating  in  international  exhibitions,  conferences, 
symposia, seminars or other similar events held on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan 
or Member States: 

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

(l) for representatives of civil society organizations when undertaking trips for the purposes of 
educational 
of 
training, 
exchange programmes: 

conferences, 

framework 

seminars, 

including 

the 

in 

-  a  written  request  issued  by  the  host  organization,  a  confirmation  that  the  person  is 
representing  the  civil  society  organization  and  the  certificate  on  establishment  of  such 
organization  from  the  relevant  register  issued  by  a  state  authority  in  accordance  with  the 
national legislation; 

(m) relatives visiting for burial ceremonies: 

-  an  official  document  confirming  the  fact  of  death  as  well  as  confirmation  of  the  family  or 
other relationship between the applicant and the buried; 

(n) for visiting military and civil burial grounds: 

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- 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.  The  written  request  mentioned  in  paragraph  1  of  this  Article  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  or  in  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan,  the  registration  number  as  required  by  the  national  law  of  the  Member  State 
concerned or by the Azerbaijani law. 

3. For the categories of persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, all categories of 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 

1.  Diplomatic  missions  and  consular  posts  of  the  Member  States  and  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan shall issue multiple-entry visas with a term of validity of 5 years to the following 
categories of citizens:  

(a) spouses, children (including adopted), who are under the age of 21 or are dependant, parents 
(including custodians), visiting citizens of the European Union legally residing in the territory 
of the Republic of Azerbaijan or citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan 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, or citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan residing in 
the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; 

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

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, in particular where: 

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- in the case of the persons referred to in point (a), the period of validity of the authorisation for 
legal residence of citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan legally residing in one of the Member 
States or citizens of the Union legally residing in the Republic of Azerbaijan; 

- in the case of the persons referred to in point (b), the term of the validity of the status as a 
permanent member of an official delegation,  

is less than five years.  

2.  Diplomatic  missions  and  consular  posts  of  the  Member  States  and  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan shall issue multiple-entry visas with the term of validity of one year to the following 
categories  of  citizens,  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)  students,  post-graduate  students  who  regularly  travel  for  the  purposes  of  study  or 
educational training, including in the framework of exchange programmes; 

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

(c) participants in official exchange programmes organised by twin cities; 

(d)  drivers  conducting  international  cargo  and  passenger  transportation  services  between  the 
territories  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  and  the  Member  States  in  vehicles  registered  in  the 
Member States or the Republic of Azerbaijan; 

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

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

(g)  representatives  of  civil  society  organizations  travelling  regularly  to  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan  or  the  Member  States  for  the  purposes  of  educational  training,  seminars, 
conferences, including in the framework of exchange programmes;  

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

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

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

(k)  business  people  and  representatives  of  business  organisations  who  regularly  travel  to  the 
Republic of Azerbaijan or the Member States.  

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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  and  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan 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 or in the Republic 
of Azerbaijan. 

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). 

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, fees for processing the visa application are waived for the 
following categories of persons: 

(a)  for  close  relatives  –  spouses,  children  (including  adopted),  parents (including custodians), 
grandparents  and  grand-children  –  of  citizens  of  the  European  Union  legally  residing  in  the 
territory  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan,  of  citizens  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  legally 
residing in the territory of the Member States, of citizens of the European Union residing in the 
territory  of  the  Member  State  of  which  they  are  nationals,  and  of  citizens  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan residing in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; 

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

(c) pupils, students, post-graduate students 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; 

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

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

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

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(g)  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; 

(h)  representatives  of  civil  society  organizations  when  undertaking  trips  for  the  purposes  of 
educational 
of 
training, 
exchange programmes; 

conferences, 

framework 

seminars, 

including 

the 

in 

(i) pensioners; 

(j) children under the age of 12; 

(k) journalists and technical crew accompanying them in a professional capacity. 

3. If a Member State or the Republic of Azerbaijan 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 and the Republic of Azerbaijan shall 
maintain the possibility for all applicants to lodge their applications directly at their consulates.  

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

For  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan,  the  external  service  provider  shall  conduct  its  operations  in 
accordance with the Azerbaijani legislation and of the legislation of the EU Member States.  

Article 7 

Length of procedures for processing visa applications 

1.  Diplomatic  missions  and  consular  posts  of  the  Member  States  and  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan shall take a decision on 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. 

2.  The  period  of  time  for  taking  a  decision  on  a  visa  application  may  be  extended  up  to  30 
calendar days in individual cases, notably when further scrutiny of the application is needed. 

3. The period of time for taking a decision on a visa application may be reduced to 2 working 
days or less in urgent cases. 

If  applicants  are  required  to  obtain  an  appointment  for  the  lodging  of  an  application  the 
appointment shall, as a rule, take place within a period of two weeks from the date when the 
appointment was requested. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, external service providers 
shall ensure that a visa application, as a rule, can be lodged without undue delay. 

In  justified  cases  of  urgency,  the  consulate  may  allow  applicants  to  lodge  their  applications 
either without appointment, or an appointment shall be given immediately. 

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Article 8 

Departure in case of lost or stolen documents 

Citizens  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  who  have  lost  their  identity 
documents, or from whom these documents have been stolen while staying in the territory of 
the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  or  the  Member  States,  may  leave  the  territory  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan  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 the 
Republic of Azerbaijan without any visa or other authorisation.  

Article 9 

Extension of visa in exceptional circumstances 

Citizens of the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan who are not able to leave the 
territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan or the territory of the Member States by the time stated 
in their visas for reasons of force majeure shall have the period of validity and/or the duration 
of stay of the issued visa extended free of charge in accordance with the legislation applied by 
the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  or  the  receiving  Member  State  for  the  period  required  for  their 
return to the State of their residence.  

Article 10 

Diplomatic passports  

1.  Citizens  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  who  are  holders  of  valid 
diplomatic  passports  may  enter,  leave  and  transit  through  the  territories  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan or the Member States without visas. 

2. Persons mentioned in paragraph 1 may stay in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan or 
the territories of Member 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  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan and of the Member States and subject to EU rules on visas with limited territorial 
validity,  citizens  of  the  Union  and  Azerbaijani  citizens  shall  be  entitled  to  travel  within  the 
territory  of  the  Member  States  and  of  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  on  equal  basis  with  the 
Republic of Azerbaijan and European Union citizens. 

Article 12 

Joint Committee for management of the Agreement 

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

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

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(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. 

3.  The  Committee  shall  meet  whenever  necessary  at  the  request  of  one  of  the  Parties  and  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 the 
Republic of Azerbaijan 

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  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan,  insofar  as  the  provisions  of  the  latter  agreements  or 
arrangements cover issues dealt with by this Agreement. 

Article 14 

Final clauses 

1.  This  Agreement  shall  be  ratified  or  approved  by  the  Parties  in  accordance  with  their 
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 the 
Republic of Azerbaijan on readmission if this date is after the date provided for in paragraph 1 
of this Article. 

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

6. Each Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the other Party. This 
Agreement shall cease to be in force 90 days after the date of such notification. 

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

For the Union 

For the Republic of Azerbaijan  

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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 
territories3 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. 

Joint Declaration on Article 10 of the Agreement on diplomatic passports 

The Union or the Republic of Azerbaijan 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 States4. 

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  desirable  that  the  authorities  of  Denmark  and  of  the  Republic  of 
Azerbaijan 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  the 
Republic of Azerbaijan. 

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.  

3 
4 

OJ L 161, 20.6.2008, p. 30. 
OJ L385, 29.12.2004, p.1.  

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In  such  circumstances,  it  is  desirable  that  the  authorities  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Ireland  and 
the Republic of Azerbaijan, 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 desirable that the authorities of Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, 
and Norway and the Republic of Azerbaijan 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 the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

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. 

Joint Declaration on service passports  

The Parties, considering the framework of these negotiations, reaffirm that this Agreement does 
not  affect  the  possibility  of  individual  Member  States  and  the  Republic  of  Azerbaijan  to 
conclude  bilateral  agreements  providing  for  the  exemption  from  the  visa  requirements  of 
holders of service passports. 

*** 

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