EU Commission Proposes Stricter Visa Measures for Somalia

The European Union Commission has proposed tightening visa measures with Somalia in an effort to enhance readmission cooperation with the country. The Commission announced that a proposal to the EU Council on these measures would be made soon, allowing member states to determine the subsequent steps.

"Despite the steps taken so far by the EU and its Member States to improve readmission cooperation and taking into account the EU’s overall relations with Somalia, it is considered that Somalia’s cooperation with the EU on readmission is not sufficient and that action is needed," the Commission stated.

The primary goal of implementing stricter visa measures for Somalia is to encourage more effective cooperation in the readmission of Somali nationals who have entered the EU irregularly and remain without proper documentation.

Although the proposal is still in its early stages and will take time before any concrete measures are decided upon, the new rules for Somali nationals applying for Schengen visas are expected to resemble those applied to other third countries in recent years. Should the EU implement these visa measures, Somali nationals will no longer be eligible for multiple-entry visas and will only be issued single-entry visas. Additionally, Somali applicants will face higher Schengen visa fees, and their applications will be processed within 45 days instead of the usual 15 days applicable to other countries. Furthermore, some provisions of EU law regulating the issuance of Schengen visas to Somali nationals might be suspended. This includes the potential suspension of the waiver requirement for submitting evidence documents.

In recent years, the EU has adopted similar visa measures against several countries to encourage cooperation in readmission processes. Ethiopia and The Gambia are among the countries that have faced such measures. In April of this year, the EU decided to stop issuing multiple-entry Schengen visas to Ethiopian nationals and tightened additional rules. Similarly, the EU increased Schengen visa fees for The Gambia, although this decision was revoked in April 2024. Nonetheless, the initial set of measures remains in effect for The Gambia.

By fLEXI tEAM