COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1683/95
of 29 May 1995
laying down a uniform  format for visas
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, in particular Article 100c (3)  thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas Article 100c (3) of the Treaty requires the Council to adopt measures relating to a uniform  format for visas before 1 January 1996;
Whereas the introduction of a uniform format for visas is an important step towards the  harmonization of visa policy; whereas Article 7a of the Treaty stipulates that the internal market  shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of persons is ensured  in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty; whereas this step is also to be regarded as  forming a coherent whole with measures falling within Title VI of the Treaty on European Union;
Whereas it is essential that the uniform format for visas should contain all the necessary  information and meet very high technical standards, notably as regards safeguards against  counterfeiting and falsification; whereas it must also be suited to use by all the Member States  and bear universally recognizable security features which are clearly visible to the naked eye;
Whereas this Regulation only lays down such specifications as are not secret; whereas these  specifications need to be supplemented by further specifications which must remain secret in order  to prevent counterfeiting and falsification and which may not include personal data or references  to such data; whereas powers to adopt further specifications should be conferred on the  Commission;
Whereas, to ensure that the information referred to is not made available to more persons than  necessary, it is also essential that each Member State should designate not more than one body  having responsibility for printing the uniform format for visas, with Member States remaining free  to change the body, if need be; whereas, for security reasons, each Member State must communicate  the name of the competent body to the Commission and the other Member States;
Whereas, to be effective, this Regulation should apply to all visas covered by Article 5; whereas  Member States should be free also to use the uniform visa format for visas which can be used for  purposes other than those covered by Article 5 provided differences visible to the naked eye are  incorporated to make confusion with the uniform visa impossible;
Whereas, with regard to the personal data to be entered on the uniform format for visas in  accordance with the Annex hereto, compliance should be ensured with Member States' data-protection  provisions as well as with the relevant Community legislation,
Visas issued by the Member States in conformity with Article 5 shall  be produced in the form of a uniform format (sticker). They shall conform to the specifications set  out in the Annex.
Further technical specifications which render the visa difficult to counterfeit or  falsify shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 6.
1. The specifications referred to in Article 2 shall be secret and not be published.  They shall be made available only to bodies designated by the Member States as responsible for  printing and to persons duly authorized by a Member State or the Commission.
2. Each Member State shall designate one body having responsibility for printing visas. It shall  communicate the name of that body to the Commission and the other Member States. The same body may  be designated by two or more Member States for this purpose. Each Member State shall be entitled to  change its designated body. It shall inform the Commission and the other Member States  accordingly.
1. Without prejudice to the relevant more extensive provisions concerning data  protection, an individual to whom a visa is issued shall have the right to verify the personal  particulars entered on the visa and, where appropriate, to ask for any corrections or deletions to  be made.
2. No information in machine-readable form shall be given on the uniform format for visas unless it  also appears in the boxes described in points 6 to 12 of the Annex, or unless it is mentioned in  the relevant travel document.
For the purposes of this Regulation a 'visa' shall mean an authorization given by or a  decision taken by a Member State which is required for entry into its territory with a view to:
- an intended stay in that Member State or in several Member States of no more than three months in  all,
- transit through the territory or airport transit zone of that Member State or several Member  States.
1. Where reference is made to the procedure defined in this Article, the following  provisions shall apply.
2. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of the representatives of the Member  States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be  taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman  may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority  laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required  to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States  within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall  not vote.
3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion  of the committee.
(b) If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, or if no  opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal  relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, on the expiry of a period of two months, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall  be adopted by the Commission, save where the Council has decided against the said measures by a  simple majority.
Where Member States use the uniform visa format for purposes other than those covered  by Article 5, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that confusion with the visa referred to  in Article 5 is not possible.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its  publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
shall become applicable six months after the adoption of the measures referred to in  Article 2.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.