EU Council of Ministers set to decide on visa liberalization
SKOPJE, November 30. (MIA). EU Council of Home and Justice Affairs Ministers is scheduled to pass Monday the final decision on a visa-free regime for Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro as of December 19.
The decision of putting the three countries on the "white" Schengen list is passed through qualified majority, i.e. two-thirds of EU member-states, followed by its official announcement at a press conference in Brussels.
According to EU representatives in Macedonia, the decision text notes that only individuals possessing biometric passports can travel without visas, whereas those having old passports should possess a valid Schengen visa.
Out of the 27 EU member-states, 25 will be accessible without visas, except for Great Britain and Ireland. Macedonian nationals would also be able to travel to Switzerland, Iceland and Norway, which are not EU members, but are part of the Schengen area. Visa annulment also refers to Greece, but since Athens does not recognize Macedonian passports, passengers will be issued a paper by the customs authorities at the border. Visas will not be required for traveling in Bulgaria and Romania, which have still not met Schengen criteria, but implement EU decisions.
However, the visa-free regime does not mean that people can stay or work in EU countries indefinitely.
"The visa liberalization is an issue of trust by the EU towards Macedonia and its citizens", say EU representatives.
Macedonian nationals will be exempted from Type "C" visa, which refers to short stay, mainly visiting friends, relatives or tourism purposes in Schengen zone countries for 90 days at most within six months or 180 days within a year.
A prolonged stay in the EU requires Type "D" visa, which refers to study of work stay in the Union, whereas applications should be submitted in the embassy of the country-destination.
When entering the Schengen zone, the border officer can ask for an explanation regarding the goal of the travel, place of stay and financial resources. The ones who cannot finance their visit are recommended to present a guarantee letter from the person they will be staying at.
In case entry is rejected, the border officer is obliged to provide a written explanation regarding the decision, which can be used for submitting an appeal to competent bodies in the country.
Information on the conditions for visa-free travel can be found at the website of the EU Mission to Macedonia www.delmkd.ec.europa.eu.
Recommendations for Macedonian citizens include vigilance when selecting the travel agency, traveling and health insurance, international driving license and green card.
According to MoI data, over 480,000 biometric passports have been issued thus far, which is over 75 percent of the travelling population.
The EC recommended the January 1 annulment of the visa barrier for citizens of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro on July 15, after Commission experts concluded that the three countries had met visa liberalization roadmap conditions. Upon Slovenia's initiative, the visa-free regime decision will be applied ten days earlier, i.e. as of December 19.
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