PURPOSE: to introduce a new type of visa (touring
visa) both for visa-exempt and visa requiring third-country
nationals with a legitimate interest in travelling around the
Schengen area for more than 90 days in any 180-day period, provided
that the applicant does not intend to stay for more than 90 days in
the same Member State.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament
and the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European
Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative
procedure and on an equal footing with the Council
BACKGROUND: Union legislation established harmonised
rules concerning the entry and stay of third-country nationals in
the Member States for up to 90 days in any 180-day
period.
The 90 day/180 day limitation may have
been appropriate for the size of the five founding members of the
Schengen cooperation. However, when the Schengen area comprises 26
Member States, it poses a considerable barrier for many
third-country nationals with legitimate interests in travelling in
the Member States such as tourists, live performance artists,
researchers, students, pensioners, service providers, etc. It also
leads to missed economic opportunities for Member States. They do
not want and/or do not need to reside in a particular Member State
for longer than three months. However, there is no
Schengen visa or other authorisation allowing for a
stay of more than three months or 90 days in the Schengen
area.
It is therefore appropriate to fill the legislative
gap and establish a new type of visa ("touring visa") for
both visa-exempt and visa-requiring third-country nationals
planning to circulate in the territory of two or more Member States
for more than 90 days, provided that they do not intend to stay for
more than 90 days in any 180-day period in the territory of the
same Member State.
N.B. this proposal is presented in parallel to the
proposal on the recast of the Community Code on
Visas.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the Commission considered two
regulatory options:
1. a new type of authorisation with a view to an
intended stay in the Schengen area lasting more than 90 days but no
more than 360 days was envisaged only for a limited
group of third-country nationals: artists (or sportsmen), culture
professionals and their crew members employed by reliable and
acknowledged live performing companies or
organisations and core family members travelling with
them;
2. a similar authorisation not just for that specific
category of third-country nationals, but for all third-country
nationals.
Given that the lack of an authorisation allowing
travellers to stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period in the
Schengen area results in a considerable economic loss to the
EU (these travellers being big spenders), the second option is the
preferred one.
LEGAL BASIS: Article 77(2)(a), (b) and (c) of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
CONTENT: the objective of the proposal is to fill the
legislative gap between the Schengen acquis on short stays
and the EU/national law on residence in a particular Member State
by:
·
establishing a new type of visa (touring
visa or T-type visa) for an intended stay in two or more
Member States lasting more than 90 days but no more than 1 year
(with the possibility of extension up to 2 years), provided that
the applicant does not intend to stay for more than 90 days in any
180-day period in the same Member State;
·
determining the application procedures and the
issuing conditions for touring visas.
Main characteristics of the touring
visa: the touring visa is quite
distinct in many ways from the short-stay visa of the Visa Code.
However, it is very similar to a uniform visa as in principle, it
is valid for the territory of all Member States. The new type of
visa is established on the legal basis of short-stay visas and
permits. Therefore it is justified in principle to apply the
relevant provisions of the Visa Code to the touring visa. To this
effect, subsequent provisions specify in detail which provisions of
the Visa Code will be applicable as regards:
·
the conditions and procedures for issuing
touring visas,
·
the derogations from and additions to these
rules, taking into account the specificities of the new type of
visa.
Since the Commission is simultaneously proposing a
recast of the Visa Code, this proposal will refer to the provisions
of the proposed recast regulation rather than the existing
regulation in force.
N.B. At the same time,
the 90 days per 180 days rule should be maintained as a general
dividing line between short stays and long stays, as it does not
pose any problems for the vast majority of travellers.
Possibility to extend the length of the authorised
stay: as regards the length of the
authorised stay, the proposal provides the possibility of a stay
of up to two consecutive years in the Schengen area for all
third country nationals who can prove they fulfil the conditions
for such a long period. When assessing an application, and in
particular when defining the length of an authorised stay,
consulates should take into account all relevant factors, e.g. the
fact that citizens of third countries whose nationals are exempt
from the visa requirement for short stays traditionally do not pose
problems of irregular migration or security risks.
Procedures relating to applications: the proposal sets out the provisions in the Visa
Code on as regards the authorities taking part in the procedures
relating to applications which should apply to the touring visa.
It excludes the possibility of applications for touring visas to
be lodged at the external borders, as authorising a stay of
possibly up to two years in the Schengen area requires thorough
scrutiny that can never be carried out at external
borders.
An additional condition for applicants is to present
appropriate proof that they intend to stay in the territory of two
or more Member States for longer than 90 days in total without
staying for more than 90 days in any 180-day period in the
territory of any one of these Member States.
The consulate of the competent Member State has at
least 20 calendar days to decide on the
application.
Subsistence rules:
applicants will have to demonstrate their sufficient means of
subsistence and stable economic situation by means of salary slips
or bank statements covering a period of 12 months prior to the date
of the application, and/or supporting documents that demonstrate
they will acquire sufficient financial means lawfully during their
stay (e.g. proof of entitlement to a pension). According to this
Article, applicants in possession of a touring visa shall be
allowed to apply in the Member State where they are legally present
for work permit(s) required in the subsequent Member
States.
Certain procedural facilitations are envisaged (i.e.
possible waiver of submitting certain supporting documents) for
specific categories of applicants who work for or are invited by a
reliable and acknowledged company, organisation or institution, in
particular, at managerial level or as researcher, artist, culture
professionals, etc.
Bilateral visa waiver agreements: it is proposed to repeal Article 20(2) of the CISA,
according to which, if a Member State concluded a bilateral visa
waiver agreement with a
third country on the list in Annex II of the Visa
Regulation (visa-free list) before the entry into force
of the CISA (or the date of the Member States later accession
to the Schengen Agreement), the provisions of that bilateral
agreement may serve as a basis for that Member State to
extend a visa-free stay for longer than three months in
its territory for nationals of the third country
concerned.
Due to the existence of this type of bilateral
agreement, some citizens may legally stay for a virtually unlimited
period in the Schengen area on the basis of short-stay visa
waivers.
Following the establishment of the touring visa,
Article 20(2) of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement
should be amended as it is incompatible with 77(2)(a) and (c) of
the TFEU due to the fact that the common policy on visas cannot
be based on the existence or non-existence of bilateral visa waiver
agreements concluded by Member States. The authorised length of
stay of third-country nationals should not depend on the number and
content of such bilateral agreements concluded in the
past.
The proposal provides for a five-year transitional
period to phase out the impact of bilateral visa waiver agreements
as far as the overall length of stay of third-country nationals in
the Schengen area is concerned.
Other technical provisions: a proposal specifies the provisions in the Visa
Code's chapter on Administrative management and
organisation that should also apply for the purpose of
issuing touring visas. In the framework of local Schengen
cooperation, consulates should exchange statistics and other
information on touring visas.
The main objective of the amendments of the Schengen
Borders Code and the VIS Regulation is to integrate the
touring visa into the Schengen acquis.