EU – Belarus Sign Agreements on Visa Facilitation and Readmission
Belarus has finally signed the much sought-after agreements on visa facilitation and readmission with the European Union.
The agreements were signed by the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Croatia as Council Presidency, Davor Božinović, and the Belarussian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Makei from Belarus side.
The signing took place on January 8, just as previously agreed on by European Union and Belarus representatives at the 8th meeting between the Coordination Group of both parties, which took place in Brussels on 17-18 December 2019.
Upon the signing of the agreements, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson asserted that the agreements reached are a significant step forward cooperation between the EU and Belarus.
“These agreements between the European Union and Belarus are a significant step forward in our cooperation. They will improve the mobility of our citizens in a well-managed and secure environment and help build closer links between the European Union and Belarus. From the European side, we will now move ahead rapidly with ratification procedures, so citizens can feel the benefits as soon as possible,” she said.
The visa facilitation agreement tends to facilitate getting a Schengen Visa to Europe for Belarussians, above all by reducing the fee to €35.
Moreover, the service fee will be limited, and the Schengen consulates will be obliged to take a decision on visa applicants within shorter periods.
Several categories of travelers from Belarus, in particular journalists, students and members of official delegations will be able to receive multiple-entry visas with increasingly longer validity, while having to submit fewer supporting documents to prove their purpose of travel.
As per the EU-Belarus readmission agreement, its main purpose is to establish procedures for the safe and orderly return of persons who reside irregularly in the EU or Belarus, in full respect of their rights under international law. The agreements have been signed on the basis of reciprocity.
According to the European Commission, following the signature, the agreements now shall be passed on to the European Parliament for approval, so that the Council can then formally conclude the ratification for both deals.
“A ratification procedure is also required on the Belarusian side, through approval from Belarus National Assembly. The agreements could enter into force in June 2020 (on the first day of the second month following conclusion). Both agreements will enter into force on the same day,” reads a press release by the European Commission issued on the day of the signing of the deals.
However, all Belarusians applying for a Schengen Visa as of the first Monday of February 2020 and on, will be subject to the new Schengen Visa Code, which among others foresees an increase in Schengen visa fees from €60 to €80.
This means that Belarussians will have to pay €80 for a Schengen visa application as from February through June, or even later if the Council fails to formally conclude the ratification for both deals by that time.
The European Union ambassadors approved the visa-facilitation plan with Belarus in October, after the Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko decided to sign the visa facilitation and readmission agreements with the European Union in September.
The former Soviet Republic of Belarus remains one of the few remaining European countries that are still required to apply for and get a Schengen visa to enter the Schengen Area. The negotiations on visa facilitation for Belarus citizens have started almost five years ago, in January 2014.
Statistics by SchengenVisaInfo.com show that in 2018, Schengen embassies and consulates in Belarus processed 681,106 visa applications, only 2,239 of which were rejected at one of the lowest rejection rates, only 0.3%.
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