COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the monitoring of the EU's visa free regimes
Date: 2023-05-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, European security, area of freedom, security and justice, external border of the EU, free movement of persons, illegal migration, right of asylum, third country

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.5.2023  COM(2023) 297 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the monitoring of the EU's visa free regimes   
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION  

The EU currently has a visa-free regime in place with 61 third countries1. Under this regime, 
nationals from these countries can enter the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in 
any 180-day period without a visa. The EU’s visa-free policy is based on the principle of visa 
reciprocity. Visa-free travel brings key benefits for citizens on both sides, strengthening further 
the EU relations with its partners. 

Of  the  60  non-EU  countries  with  a  visa  free-regime,  25  countries2  have visa  waiver 
agreements with the EU and 8 obtained visa exemption as a result of the successful completion 
of  a  visa  liberalisation  dialogue  (Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Montenegro,  North 
Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine). The remaining countries obtained visa 
exemption in accordance with the first harmonisation of EU rules (Council Regulation (EC) 
No  539/2001)3.  Additionally,  on  19  April  2023,  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament 

1   Including two special administrative regions of China (Hong Kong and Macao) and one territorial authority 
that is not recognised as a state by at least one EU member state (Taiwan) and, at the latest by 1 January 2024, 
Kosovo*. As listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 14 November 2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing 
the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, OJ L 303 28.11.2018, p. 39.  
2   Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, 
Mauritius,  Micronesia,  Palau,  Peru,  Saint  Kitts  and  Nevis,  Saint  Lucia,  Saint  Vincent  and  the  Grenadines, 
Samoa,  Seychelles,  Solomon  Islands,  Timor-Leste,  Tonga,  Trinidad  and  Tobago,  Tuvalu,  United  Arab 
Emirates, Vanuatu. 

3   Andorra,  Argentina,  Australia,  Brunei,  Canada,  Chile,  Costa  Rica,  El  Salvador,  Guatemala,  Holy  See, 
Honduras,  Israel,  Japan,  Malaysia,  Mexico,  Monaco,  New  Zealand,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  Paraguay,  San 
Marino, Singapore, South Korea, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela. The United Kingdom was 
added in 2019 following its withdrawal from the European Union (Regulation (EU) 2019/592 of the European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  10  April  2019  amending  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1806  listing  the  third 
countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose 
nationals are exempt from that requirement, as regards the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union, 
OJ L 103I , 12.4.2019, p. 1–4). 

*   This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ 

Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

1 

 
 
 
                                                           
agreed  to  grant  a  visa  exemption  to  Kosovo4,  following  the  successful  completion  of  a  visa 
liberalisation dialogue, which will enter into force as of 1 January 2024 at the latest4. 

Overall, visa-free travel continues to bring significant economic, social and cultural benefits 
to EU Member States and third countries, and is an important tool to promote tourism and 
business.  According  to  OECD  estimates,  the  travel  and  tourism  sector  alone  accounted  for 
around 7% of global exports in 2019 and contributed around 4.4% of GDP of OECD countries.5   

At the same time, the common EU visa policy is an integral part of the Schengen acquis and 
one  of  its  core  objectives  is  to  address  security  and  irregular  migration  risks  for  the 
Schengen area. 

Nevertheless, the Commission’s monitoring of the EU’s visa-free regimes, including its reports 
under  the  Visa  Suspension  Mechanism6  has  shown  that  significant  migration  and  security 
challenges can result from visa-free travel.  

In particular, insufficient visa alignment with the EU visa policy can turn a visa-free country 
into  a  transit  hub  for  irregular  entries  to  the  EU,  in  particular  for  countries  in  the  EU’s 
immediate vicinity. Visa-free travel can also result in increased irregular migration through 
overstays  by  visa-free  travellers  or through  asylum  applications  lodged in high numbers by 
nationals  from  visa-free  third  countries  with  low  recognition  rates  (unfounded  asylum 
applications).  

Additionally, investor citizenship schemes operated by third countries with visa-free access 
to  the  EU  can  result  in  risks  or  threats  to  the  security  of  the  EU,  including  risks  related  to 
infiltration of organised crime, money-laundering, tax evasion and corruption7, and allow visa-
free access to the EU to third-country nationals that would otherwise be visa-required.  

Furthermore, the security of the EU and its external borders have been profoundly impacted by 
recent geopolitical events, demonstrating that the actions of certain foreign actors may pose 

4   Regulation  (EU)  2023/850  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  19  April  2023  amending 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when 
crossing  the  external  borders  and  those  whose  nationals  are  exempt  from  that  requirement  (Kosovo  (This 
designation is  without prejudice  to positions on status, and is in line  with  UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.)), OJ L 110, 25.4.2023, p. 1–4. 

5   Safe-and-seamless-travel-and-improved-traveller-experience-OECDReport-for-the-G20-TWG_merged.pdf 
6   Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 requires the Commission to monitor the continuous  compliance 
with the specific requirements, which are based on Article 1 and which were used to assess the appropriateness 
of  granting  visa  liberalisation,  by  the  third  countries  whose  nationals  have  been  exempted  from  the  visa 
requirement when travelling to the territory of Member States as a result of the successful conclusion of a visa 
liberalisation  dialogue  conducted  between  the  Union  and  that  third  country.  To  this  end,  since  2017  the 
Commission has adopted five reports under the Visa Suspension Mechanism, covering the visa-free partners 
in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) and in 
the Eastern Partnership (Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine). Furthermore, the Commission regularly monitors 
visa-free  regimes  with  other  third  countries,  in  the  context  of  the  possibility  to  trigger  the  suspension 
mechanism on its own initiative, as per Article 8(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. 

7   See also the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 
and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  of  23 January  2019 on  Investor  Citizenship  and 
Residence Schemes in the European Union (COM(2019) 12 final). 

2 

 
 
                                                           
 
 
serious threats to the Union’s security interests. The EU should be well prepared to react swiftly 
to a wide range of potential future security risks, including hybrid threats.  

To  address  these  challenges  and  prevent  these  risks  effectively,  existing  rules  included  in 
Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (the ‘Visa Regulation’), concerning the monitoring 
of  the  functioning  of  visa-free  regimes  with  third  countries  and  the  suspension  of  visa 
exemptions in cases of increased irregular migration or security  risks (the ‘visa suspension 
mechanism’), should be re-assessed and improved. The criteria for triggering the mechanism 
need  to  be  complete  and  clear,  yet  flexible  enough  to  allow  for  their  efficient  and  swift 
application where necessary. This would help to address the multitude of challenges resulting 
from visa-free travel in a constantly evolving geopolitical context. 

In the first months of 2023, on the initiative of the Swedish Presidency, the Justice and Home 
Affairs  Council  discussed  a  possible  revision  of  these  rules,  and  in  particular  of  the  visa 
suspension  mechanism,  for  which  the  Member  States  expressed  broad  support.  This  was 
prompted by the increase in numbers of detected irregular border crossings to the EU via the 
Western  Balkans  route,  which  was  partly  linked  to  a  lack  of  visa  policy  alignment  by 
neighbouring  countries  (see point 2a below), and which spurred a  reflection on the need to 
revise the visa suspension mechanism. In her letter to the European Council of 20 March 2023, 
President von der Leyen acknowledged this discussion and stated that ‘the Commission will 
strengthen its monitoring of the visa policy alignment and will present a comprehensive report 
paving the way for a legislative proposal amending the visa suspension mechanism’. 

With a view to presenting a legislative proposal in autumn 2023, the Commission intends to 
consult the European Parliament and the Council on the identification of the main challenges 
in the areas of irregular migration and security linked to the functioning of visa-free regimes, 
on the main shortcomings of the current visa suspension mechanism, and on the possible ways 
to address them, notably through a revision of Article 8 of the Visa Regulation.  

2.  CHALLENGES OF THE VISA-FREE REGIMES  

a.  Visa policy alignment 

In 2022, 144 118 irregular border crossings have been reported by Frontex at the EU external 
borders on the Western Balkan route8 more than twice than in 2021. The increase was partly 
due  to  nationals  of  third  countries  arriving  visa-free  in  the  Western  Balkans,  and  travelling 
onwards to the EU.9  

Visa-free entries into the Western Balkans by nationals of countries that are visa-required for 
the EU had an impact on the increased number of irregular arrivals to the EU in 2022. This 

8  The  Western  Balkans  route  refers  to  irregular  arrivals  in  the  EU  through  the  region:  Albania,  Bosnia  and 

Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. 

9   These mainly  involved arrivals of Tunisian, Cuban and Burundian nationals via Serbia, Indian nationals via 
Serbia and Albania, and third-country nationals who are residents of the United Arab Emirates via Albania 
and  Montenegro,  as  reported 
the  Western  Balkans  https://home-
the  EU  Action  Plan  on 
in 
affairs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-12/Western%20Balkans_en.pdf  

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increased the burden on certain Member States asylum systems, at a time of an overall increase 
in asylum claims. 

In this context, on 5 December 2022 the Commission presented an EU Action plan on the 
Western Balkans, with visa policy alignment as one of the main pillars, and on 6 December 
the Commission adopted the Fifth Report under the Visa suspension mechanism10, reiterating 
that the non- alignment with the EU's visa policy should be addressed as a matter of priority in 
all Western Balkan partners.  

While  visa  liberalisation  dialogues  included  ensuring  effective  migration  and  border 
management as a key requirement, visa policy alignment was not specifically addressed. It has 
since emerged as a key factor for the sustainable functioning of these visa-free regimes. 

This message was confirmed at the highest political level in the conclusions of the February 
2023  European  Council11,  which  stressed  that  visa  policy  alignment  by  neighbouring 
countries is of urgent and crucial importance for migration management as well as for the 
overall good functioning and sustainability of visa-free regimes where relevant, and calling for 
an increased monitoring of neighbouring countries’ visa policies.  

Visa policy alignment: the case of Serbia 

The 2022 increase in numbers of detected irregular border crossings to the EU via the Western 
Balkans route was in part the consequence of the non-alignment of Serbia’s visa policy with 
the  EU’s  visa  policy;  at  that  time,  Serbia  had  visa-free  agreements  with  24  third  countries, 
whose nationals were visa-required in the EU. Citizens of some of those countries, including 
in particular Burundian, Cuban, Indian and Tunisian nationals, were arriving to Serbia visa-
free, then attempting to enter irregularly into the EU. 

The  issue  prompted  immediate  and  extensive  contacts  between  the  Commission  and  the 
Serbian authorities. 

As a result of this cooperation and coordinated efforts, between October 2022 and April 2023 
Serbia reacted promptly and has made substantial progress in the alignment with the EU visa 
policy,  terminating  its  visa-free  agreements  with  Burundi,  Tunisia,  Guinea  Bissau,  India, 
Bolivia and Cuba12, and engaging to adopt a visa alignment plan by the end of 2023, including 
a timeline towards full visa policy alignment.  

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council,  Fifth Report under the visa 

10  
suspension mechanism, COM(2022) 715 final/2. 
11   Special  meeting 
European 

the 

of 

Council 

(9 

February 

2023) 

– 

Conclusions, 

https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-1-2023-INIT/en/pdf  

12   On 21 October Serbia announced the termination of the visa-free agreements with Burundi and Tunisia, with 
the  visa  requirement reinstated on 22 November 2022. It was followed by  the  termination of the  visa-free 
agreement  with  Guinea  Bissau  on  1  December,  with  the  visa  requirement  reinstated  five  days  later.  On  6 
December 2022, the Commission adopted the 5th Visa Suspension Mechanism Report, reiterating the request 
for Serbia to align its visa policy with the EU’s list of visa-required third countries, as a matter of priority. 
Following the publication of the report, three days later, on 9 December, Serbia announced the termination of 
the visa-free agreement with India, effective on 1 January 2023. On 27 December, the visa-free agreements 
with Bolivia and Cuba were also terminated, effective respectively on 10 February and 13 April 2023. 

4 

 
 
                                                           
All Western Balkans partners have so far respected their commitments to pursue visa policy 
alignment. The Commission welcomes Serbia’s decision to reinstate the above-mentioned visa 
requirements; and Montenegro’s decision to re-establish a visa-regime with Cuba as well as 
to reintroduce the visa-regime for third-country nationals legally residing in the United Arab 
Emirates  (respectively  in  January  and  April  2023).  The  Commission  also  welcomes  the 
decision taken by Albania not to renew the seasonal visa exemption for nationals of Egypt, 
India and Russia, as well as the decision of North Macedonia to reintroduce a visa requirement 
for nationals of Botswana, Cuba and Azerbaijan.  

These  decisions  are  important  and  welcome  steps  towards  the  objective  of  reducing 
irregular arrivals to the EU along the Western Balkans route, though important challenges 
remain. 

The Commission expects all the EU neighbouring visa-free countries to continue their efforts 
to further align13 their visa policies with the EU’s visa policy, in particular when it concerns 
third  countries  with  patterns  of  high  migratory  pressure  or  security  risks  for  the  EU.  The 
Commission  will  strengthen  its  monitoring  and  reporting  on  visa  policy  alignment  (see 
below section 3) and will consider, based on the upcoming consultations, adding the lack of 
visa policy alignment as an explicit suspension ground in Article 8 of the Visa Regulation.  

b.  Asylum applications lodged by nationals of visa-free countries 

The  benefits  of  visa-free  travel  also  come  with  responsibilities  and  commitment  of  third 
countries to ensure the sustainability of the visa exemption.  Unfounded asylum applications 
contribute to the creation of bottlenecks in the Member States’ asylum systems and can impact 
the asylum process of third-country nationals who have genuine asylum claims. In 2022, 22% 
(around 215 000 applications) of the total asylum applications (around 962 000) were lodged 
by third-country nationals that enjoy visa-free travel to the EU. These applications have a very 
low  recognition  rate  (around  5%).  This  number  represents  a  near-record  number  of  asylum 
applications, i.e. more than twice as many as in 2021 and +15% compared to 2019. 

In 2022, asylum applications with recognition rates14 ranging from 4% to 6% were lodged in 
the EU by nationals of various visa-free countries such as Colombia (43 020), Georgia (28 
385  applicants),  Albania  (13  100  applicants),  or  Peru  (12  845  applicants).  In  the  case  of 
Venezuela (50 730 applicants in 2022), 72% of first instance decisions resulted in granting of 
national protection. 

13   Candidate countries will have to ensure full alignment with the EU acquis, including on visa policy,  within 

the framework of the accession process. 

14   The recognition rate includes EU-regulated forms of protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection) and 
excludes national protection statuses (humanitarian reasons). It is calculated by dividing the number of positive 
first  instance  decisions  (granting  refugee  status  or  subsidiary  protection)  by  the  total  number  of  decisions 
issued. 

5 

 
 
                                                           
60.000
50.000
40.000
30.000
20.000
10.000
0

Asylum applications in the EU -2021/2022

Asylum applications in the EU: 
nationals of visa-free and visa-required 
countries

Visa-free 
countries
22%

Visa-required 
countries
78%

2021

2022

Source: Eurostat data, 2022 

Overall, visa-free partner countries in the EU’s neighbourhood have made significant efforts 
to better inform their own nationals on the rights and responsibilities of visa-free travel 
to the EU, and to prevent abuses of visa-free travel, in order to continue to fulfil the visa 
liberalisation benchmarks and the recommendations of the Reports under the Visa Suspension 
Mechanism.  

Actions to address the issue of unfounded asylum applications: Albania and Georgia 

Specifically, actions taken by Georgia and Albania in recent years include the implementation 
of thorough border checks on departure, awareness-raising campaigns on rights and obligations 
under the visa-free regime, and actions to address the underlying reasons for the high numbers 
of asylum applications. Cooperation with Europol and Frontex has also been strengthened to 
address  this  issue,  as  has  bilateral  law  enforcement  cooperation.  Georgia  and  Albania  also 
continue to implement successfully their readmission agreements with the EU15. In addition, 
Albania has established and continues to implement the action plans in place with the most 
affected Member States. 

c.  Investor citizenship schemes 

Investor  citizenship  schemes  (or  citizenship-by-investment  programmes,  also  commonly 
referred to as “golden passports”) run by visa-free countries present a number of security risks 
for the EU. In particular, investor citizenship schemes in third countries with visa-free access 
to  the EU can be used to  bypass  the regular  EU short-stay visa procedure and the in-depth 
assessment of individual migratory and security risks it entails, including a possible evasion of 
measures  to  prevent  money  laundering  and  financing  of  terrorism16.  This  is  especially 
problematic when the passports issued to beneficiaries of such schemes cannot be differentiated 
from other ordinary passports.   

15   Agreement between the European  Community and the  Republic of  Albania on the  readmission of persons 
residing  without  authorisation  –  Declarations,  OJ  L  124,  17.5.2005,  p.  22–40;  Agreement  between  the 
European  Union  and  Georgia  on  the  readmission  of  persons  residing  without  authorisation,  OJ  L  52, 
25.2.2011, p. 47–65. 

16   Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  of  23  January  2019  on  Investor  Citizenship  and  Residence 
Schemes in the European Union (COM(2019) 12 final), p. 23. 

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The Commission has been engaging with all visa-free countries operating investor citizenship 
schemes with a view to preventing and mitigating possible security risks for the EU. At the 
moment, a number of visa-free third countries are under close scrutiny due to the potential risks 
raised by their citizenship-by-investment  schemes, or their plans to  establish such schemes. 
These  include  Albania,  Montenegro,  and  North  Macedonia,  as  well  as  Vanuatu  and  some 
countries in the Caribbean.  

Countries  that  have  obtained  their  visa  exemption  through  visa  liberalisation  dialogues  are 
under  close  scrutiny  in  the  context  of  the  regular  reporting  under  the  visa  suspension 
mechanism,  as  well  as  through  the  enlargement  reports,  where  applicable.  In  the  2022 
Enlargement  Package17  and  the  Fifth  Report  under  the  Visa  Suspension  Mechanism,  the 
Commission  made  explicit  recommendations  to  effectively  phase  out  or  refrain  from 
adopting investor citizenship schemes. In addition, this issue is also addressed in the context 
of the regular political dialogue as well as at the Sub-Committee meetings on Justice, Home 
Affairs  and  Security  organised  in  the  framework  of  the  Stabilisation  and  Association 
Agreements between the EU and the countries concerned.  

In this regard, the Commission welcomes the decision of Albania to suspend initiatives related 
to  the  establishment  of  an  investor  citizenship  scheme,  as  well  as  the  phasing  out  by 
Montenegro of its investor citizenship scheme.  

Investor citizenship schemes- the case of Vanuatu 

Vanuatu was the first country to see its visa exemption suspended18, because of the security 
risks raised by its investor citizenship schemes.  

Since 2015, almost at the same time as the visa waiver agreement between the EU and Vanuatu 
was signed and started to apply provisionally19, Vanuatu started operating investor citizenship 
schemes on an increasingly large scale, granting citizenship to a  high number of applicants. 
The  Commission  has  carefully  monitored  the  schemes  and  collected  information  regarding 
their  management,  in  particular  as  regards  application  requirements,  security  screening  of 
applicants, exchange of information and statistics on the number of applications, the nationality 
of applicants and the rejection rate. 

Following an assessment of the security risks linked to Vanuatu’s investor citizenship schemes 
and the concerns raised by Member States, the Commission concluded that Vanuatu’s investor 
citizenship schemes present serious deficiencies and security failures. In particular, these were 
related to the absence of residence or presence requirements, very short screening procedures, 
lack of systematic exchange of information with countries of origin or past residence, and a 

17   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6082  
18   Council  Decision  (EU)  2022/366  of  3  March  2022  on  the  partial  suspension  of  the  application  of  the 
Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver; Council 
Decision (EU) 2022/2198 of 8 November 2022 on the suspension in whole of the application of the Agreement 
between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.  

19   Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. OJ L 173, 

3.7.2015, p. 48–54. 

7 

 
 
                                                           
high number of passports issued to nationals that would otherwise be visa-required for the EU, 
including nationals from high-risk countries.  

The Commission adopted on 12 January 2022 a proposal for a Council decision to suspend the 
visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu20. This was the first proposal ever to suspend a visa waiver 
agreement with a third country. The Council adopted on 3 March 2022 the decision to partially 
suspend the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu21. Given that the circumstances which gave 
rise to the partial suspension were not remedied, on 12 October 2022 the Commission proposed 
a  Council  Decision  on  the  full  suspension  of  the  agreement  from  4  February  2023.22  The 
Decision was adopted by the Council on 8 November 2022.23 

Since the entry into force of the partial suspension, the Commission has been engaging with 
the  competent  authorities  of  Vanuatu  in  an  enhanced  dialogue24,  in  order  to  remedy  the 
circumstances which led to the suspension of the visa exemption and allow the EU to lift the 
suspension.  

A number of countries in the Caribbean operate investor citizenship schemes. In June 2022, 
the Commission’s services reached out to their competent authorities with a request to provide 
relevant information and data on those schemes. 

A  preliminary  assessment  has  shown  that  such  investor  citizenship  schemes  often  present 
many similarities with Vanuatu’s investor citizenship schemes. These include: the eligibility 
for nationals of countries who require a visa to travel to the EU; the lack of on-site application 
or residence requirements; short processing times not allowing a diligent scrutiny of applicants; 
low fees (USD 100 000 – 200 000); and a high number of successful applicants (at least 81 000 
passports  issued by  the  relevant  countries  concerned to  date). All  these  investor  citizenship 
schemes  are  commercially  promoted  as  a  way  to  obtain  visa-free  access  to  the  EU.  Other 
jurisdictions  such  as  the  United  States  and  Canada  do  not  have  visa-free  regimes  with 
Caribbean countries which operate investor citizenship schemes. 

While  the  EU  respects  the  third  countries’  sovereign  right  to  decide  on  their  naturalisation 
procedures, the Commission considers that selling visa-free access to the EU to nationals that 
would otherwise be visa required is not in the spirit of the bilateral visa waiver agreements in 
force.  

At the same time, the Commission has welcomed the decision of those Caribbean countries to 
suspend the examination of applications from Russian and Belarusian nationals as a reaction 
to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. 

20   Proposal for a Council Decision on the partial suspension of the application of the Agreement between the 

European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver (COM/2022/6 final) 

21   Council  Decision  (EU)  2022/366  of  3  March  2022  on  the  partial  suspension  of  the  application  of  the 

Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver 

22   Proposal for a Council Decision on the suspension in whole of the application of the Agreement between the 

European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. COM(2022) 531 final 

23   Council Decision (EU) 2022/2198 of 8 November 2022 on the suspension in whole of the application of the 

Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver 

24   Article 8(6)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. 

8 

 
 
                                                           
The assessment of the investor citizenship schemes operated by the relevant countries is still 
ongoing  and,  in  this  regard,  the  Commission  has  sent  a  follow-up  request  to  the  countries 
concerned in February 2023.  

Following the completion of this assessment, the Commission will decide on the appropriate 
follow-up action in accordance with the rules of the Visa Regulation and the respective visa 
waiver agreements25. In particular, the Commission will work in close cooperation with those 
third countries to find long-term solutions.  In this context, the Commission  will consider to 
convene the Joint Committee of experts established by the bilateral visa waiver agreements, 
whose  aim  is  to  monitor,  amend  and  settle  disputes  related  to  the  implementation  of  the 
agreements.  

In general, the Commission is considering an amendment to Article 8 of the Visa Regulation 
so as to include the security risks related to the operation of investor citizenship schemes as an 
explicit ground for the suspension of the visa exemption (see section 3 below).   

3.  ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF VISA-FREE TRAVEL THROUGH A 

MORE EFFICIENT VISA SUSPENSION MECHANISM 

The visa suspension mechanism is set out in Article 8 of the Visa Regulation. Its main purpose 
is to enable a temporary suspension of the visa exemption in case of a sudden and substantial 
increase in irregular migration or security risks.  

Based on the above presentation of the challenges and taking into account the discussions in 
the Council26, the Commission considers that while the visa suspension mechanism represents 
a safeguard against the abuse of visa exemptions, it could be further improved with particular 
regard to the following elements: 

  The grounds for suspension; 
  The thresholds to trigger the mechanism; 
  The procedure of the suspension; 
  The monitoring and reporting provisions. 

The Commission considers that the visa suspension mechanism should be better equipped to 
respond swiftly and decisively to emerging challenges linked to visa-free travel. At the same 
time, the suspension mechanism should remain a mechanism of last resort, without any 
automaticity, and any decision in this regard should continue to take due account of the overall 
relations  between  the  EU  and  the  third  countries  concerned  as  well  as  the  overall  political 
context. The following sections present the aspects of the visa suspension mechanism on which 
the  Commission  will  further  consult  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  in  view  of 
putting forward its legislative proposal. 

25   See  list  of  visa  waiver  agreements  at  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/visa-waiver-
agreements.html#:~:text=The%20visa%20waiver%20agreements%20referred,during%20a%20180%2Dday
%20period  

26   Justice and Home Affairs Council, 9-10 March 2023, 
   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/jha/2023/03/09-10/  

9 

 
 
                                                           
a.  The grounds for suspension 

At present (Article 8(2), (3) and (4) of the Visa Regulation), the visa suspension mechanism 
can be triggered in the event of: 

  A substantial increase in the number of nationals of the third country concerned refused 
entry or found to be staying in the Member State’s territory without the right to do so;  
  A substantial increase of asylum applications from the nationals of the third country 

concerned for which the recognition rate is low;  

  A decrease of cooperation on readmission with the third country concerned; 
  An increased risk or imminent threat to the public policy or internal security of the 
Member States, in particular a substantial increase in serious criminal offences linked 
to the nationals of the third country concerned; 

  With  regard  to  the  third  countries  that  obtained  visa  exemption  as  a  result  of  a  visa 
liberalisation  dialogue,  the  non-compliance  with  the  specific  requirements  which 
were used to assess the appropriateness of granting visa liberalisation. 

The above suspension grounds are considered by several Member States as too restrictive to 
capture the multitude of situations in which the visa-free regime could be abused and/or result 
in irregular migration or security risks for the EU.  

As far as irregular migration is concerned, the lack of visa policy alignment is not a ground 
of suspension currently. As a consequence, the effectiveness of the suspension mechanism in 
addressing  situations  of  irregular  migrants  having  transited  through  neighbouring  visa-free 
third countries, as recently observed in the Western Balkans, may be hampered.  

The  Commission  intends  to  explore  the  possibility  of  adding  the  lack  of  visa  policy 
alignment as a new suspension ground, where it may result in a risk of irregular migration 
to the EU. Such new ground would allow the triggering of the suspension mechanism in cases 
where the lack of visa alignment by a visa-free third country has  enabled or risks to enable 
irregular entries to the EU by third country nationals who are legally present in that visa-free 
country as a result of visa-free travel. 

As  concerns  public  policy  and  internal  security,  the  current  suspension  ground  (Article 
8(2)(d)) allows the possibility of triggering the suspension mechanism in case of an increased 
risk  to  the  internal  security  of  Member  States  linked  to  nationals  of  a  visa-free  country. 
However,  it  does  not  address  explicitly  the  security  risks  stemming  from  the  operation  of 
investor citizenship schemes by visa-free countries, or hybrid threats.  

The Commission intends to explore the possibility of broadening the scope of the current 
public policy and security ground, so as to cover additional possible threats arising from visa-
free  third  countries,  including  in  particular  those  related  to  the  operation  of  investor 
citizenship schemes and hybrid threats.  

Finally,  the  current  visa  suspension  mechanism  does  not  consider  the  possibility  that  visa 
waiver agreements between the EU and third countries might provide for suspension grounds 
that  are  not  included  in  the  Visa  Regulation,  for  example  to  address  circumstances  that  are 
specific to the relations between the negotiating parties. Where the EU decides to suspend the 
application of a visa waiver agreement with a third country (at the level of international law), 
there must also be the possibility to provide for the suspension at the level of Union law. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
To ensure this possibility and a correct articulation between the visa suspension mechanism 
and the EU visa waiver agreements, the Commission intends to explore the possibility of 
adding a reference to the application of additional suspension grounds provided for in 
visa waiver agreements. 

b.  The thresholds to trigger the mechanism 

The  suspension  mechanism  can  be  triggered  following  a  substantial  increase  in  irregular 
stays,  asylum  applications  from  countries  with  a  low  recognition  rate  and  serious  criminal 
offences, or a decrease in readmission cooperation, compared to the previous year or the year 
before the visa exemption was obtained.  

Currently,  ‘substantial  increase’  is  interpreted  as  exceeding  50%27  and  ‘low  recognition 
rate’ as around 3 or 4%.28 The recent experience suggests that these thresholds may not always 
be  adequate  to  address  situations  of  irregular  migration  experienced  by  Member  States,  as 
reported  in  the  relevant  discussions  in  the  Council.  The  example  of  the  notification  to  the 
Commission made a Member State in May 201929 showed that the thresholds for triggering the 
suspension mechanism could not be reached despite the reported increase in unfounded asylum 
applications and serious criminal offences by the nationals of a visa-free country registered in 
that Member State. Several Member States in the Council  discussions considered that these 
thresholds should be set at a lower level. 

To better address the risk of increases in irregular migration deriving from visa-free travel, the 
Commission  will  explore  the  possibility  of  adapting  the  thresholds  triggering  the  visa 
suspension mechanism. The objective should be to create a higher deterrent effect and more 
flexibility  in  triggering  the  mechanism,  while  continuing  to  provide  legal  certainty  and  a 
sufficient degree of predictability to third countries, as well as accountability of the EU.  

c.  The suspension procedure  

The  suspension  procedure  follows  a  two-step  approach:  a  first  9-month  suspension  via  an 
implementing  act,  which  can  be  extended  by  another  18-month  suspension  via  a  delegated 
act30.  During  the  temporary  suspension,  the  Commission  should  establish  an  enhanced 
dialogue  with  the  third  country  concerned  aiming  at  finding  an  appropriate  solution  that 
remedies  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  suspension  of  the  visa  exemption.  In  order  to 
reduce the risk of slipping into the third stage of the procedure, which is the termination of 
the visa exemption and the transfer of the third country to the visa-required list, the procedure 
could be streamlined in such a way as to give better opportunities to the country concerned to 
bring about a satisfactory remedial action. Additionally, in order to face emergency situations 

27   Over a two-month period, compared with the same period in the preceding year or compared with the last two 
months prior to the implementation of the exemption from the visa requirement for nationals of a third country 
listed in Annex II. 

28   These thresholds are set in Recitals 23 and 24 of the Visa Regulation. 
29  The Member State reported an increase in the following circumstances related to nationals of a visa-free third 
country:  an increase in the number of refusals of entry, unfounded asylum applications, and criminal offences. 
The Commission’s assessment concluded that that the conditions to trigger the mechanism were not met in 
that circumstance. 

30   Furthermore, where the EU has a visa waiver agreement with the third country concerned, the application of 
that agreement should be also suspended, in accordance with Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning 
of the EU. 

11 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
where an urgent response is needed, it should be possible to provide for an urgent procedure 
for the triggering of the suspension mechanism.  

To make the suspension procedure more efficient and allow appropriate time to remedy the 
circumstances that led to the suspension, the Commission intends to explore the possibility 
of  extending  the  duration  of  the  two  temporary  suspension  phases:  e.g.,  in  phase  1  a 
suspension of 12 instead of 9 months and in phase 2 a suspension of 24 instead of 18 months. 
In either phase, the suspension would be lifted as soon as the circumstances that led to the 
suspension are remedied in the meantime. 

The possibility to terminate the visa exemption by ordinary legislative proposal, if the reasons 
which led to the suspension persist, would remain at the end of phase 2.  

Furthermore, to address emergency situations caused by a sudden increase in irregular arrivals 
or  security  risks,  the  Commission  intends  to  explore  the  possibility  of  introducing  an 
urgency procedure for immediately applicable implementing acts31. This would allow the 
Commission  to  suspend  a  visa  exemption  before  the  consultation  of  the  competent 
committee32,  when  there  are  duly  justified  imperative  grounds  of  urgency.  The  urgency 
procedure  should  remain  a  mechanism  of  last  resort,  without  any  automaticity,  and  any 
decision in this regard should continue to take due account of the overall relations between 
the EU and the third countries concerned as well as the overall political context33. 

d.  Monitoring and reporting obligations 

An efficient suspension mechanism is predicated on the effective and targeted monitoring of 
the  visa-free  countries.  However,  the  current  provisions  of  the  Visa  Regulation  require  the 
Commission to monitor and report only on the countries that have obtained visa-free access 
following a visa liberalisation dialogue, and for a period of seven years following its successful 
completion34.  

To deliver on the European Council’s call of 9 February 2023 for a reinforced monitoring of 
visa-free countries35, as in accordance with President von der Leyen’s letter to the European 
Council of 20 March 2023, the Commission will present as from 2023 a new strategic and 
comprehensive Visa suspension mechanism report.  

The  new  Visa  suspension  mechanism  report  will  continue  to  fully  assess  the  continuous 
compliance with the visa liberalisation requirements by countries that have completed a visa 
liberalisation dialogue less than 7 years ago. The reporting on the countries that have completed 

31   As provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  16  February  2011  laying  down  the  rules  and  general  principles  concerning  mechanisms  for  control  by 
Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers. 

32   In those cases, the act would be submitted to the competent Visa reciprocity and Visa suspension Committee 

for its opinion, at the latest 14 days after the adoption of the implementing act. 

33   The urgency procedure should also take into account the suspension procedures of the Visa waiver agreements, 

where applicable. 

34   Since this monitoring and reporting obligation was introduced in 2017, the Commission has issued five reports 
COM(2017)  815  final  (first  report);  COM(2018)  856  final  (second  report);  COM(2020)  325  final  (third 
report); COM(2021) 602 final (fourth report); COM(2022) 715 final/2 (fifth report). 
European 

35   Special  meeting 

Conclusions, 

February 

Council 

2023) 

the 

of 

(9 

– 

https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-1-2023-INIT/en/pdf. 

12 

 
 
                                                           
 
a visa liberalisation dialogue more than 7 years ago will also continue, in coherence with the 
Country  reports  under  the  Enlargement  package,  but  it  will  be  targeted  on  specific 
challenges  and  priorities,  such  as  visa  policy  alignment,  investor  citizenship  schemes  and 
unfounded asylum applications.  

Finally, the report will also cover other geographical areas beyond the EU neighbourhood, 
focusing on specific countries where issues may arise and where further cooperation may be 
needed to address specific migration and/or security challenges that could be assessed under 
the visa suspension mechanism.  

This  approach  will  be  taken  up  in  the  next  Visa  suspension  mechanism  report,  where  the 
geographical  and  material  scope  will  be  adjusted  to  current  priorities  and  needs.  The 
Commission intends also to explore the possibility of reflecting this new approach in the 
monitoring and reporting provisions of the suspension mechanism. 

4.  CONCLUSION  

The EU visa policy is  an essential part of the Schengen  acquis  and one  of the most valued 
achievements of EU integration. Visa policy is, and should remain, a tool to facilitate people-
to-people  contacts,  tourism  and  business,  while  preventing  security  risks  and  the  risk  of 
irregular migration to the EU. At the same time, the EU’s visa policy is constantly evolving, 
and must continue to do so in order to be able to effectively address new challenges.  

In the last years, the EU has been faced with a number of new and emerging challenges linked 
to the functioning of its visa policy, including increased irregular migration along the Western 
Balkan route, the abuse of the asylum system by nationals of a number of visa-free countries 
in different parts of the world, and the security risks stemming from the operation of investor 
citizenship schemes by visa-free third countries.  

These and other developments have proven the need to launch a reflection on possible ways to 
strengthen  the  visa  policy  toolbox  with  a  revised  visa  suspension  mechanism.  The 
Commission  is  looking  forward  to  discussing  how  to  best  achieve  this  objective  with  the 
European Parliament and the Council. In particular, the discussion should cover the following 
points: 

 

the  need  to  add  new  grounds  for  suspension  to  address  new  emerging  situations  in 
which  the  visa-free  regime  could  be  abused  and/or  result  in  irregular  migration  or 
security risks for the EU; 

  whether and how best to adapt the thresholds to trigger the mechanism to the actual 
migratory and security risks reported by Member States, thus creating a higher deterrent 
effect, and quickly address a wider range of risks linked to visa-free travel; 

  how the suspension procedure could be made more efficient and flexible; 
 

the strengthening of the monitoring and reporting obligations. 

On the basis of an in-depth consultation with the European Parliament and the Council, the 
Commission will present in autumn 2023 a legislative proposal revising the visa suspension 
mechanism provided for in Article 8 of the Visa Regulation.  

13