Legal provisions of COM(2006)84 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2006)84 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2006)84  |
| date | December 21, 2006 |
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 is hereby amended as follows:
1) Article 1 shall be amended as follows:
(a) the following subparagraph shall be added to paragraph 1:
"Without prejudice to the requirements stemming from the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees signed at Strasbourg on 20 April 1959, recognised refugees and stateless persons shall be required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States if the third country in which they are resident and which has issued them with their travel document is a third country listed in Annex I to this Regulation.";
(b) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 2:
"The following shall also be exempt from the visa requirement:
- the nationals of third countries listed in Annex I to this Regulation who are holders of a local border traffic card issued by the Member States pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States and amending the provisions of the Schengen Convention* when these holders exercise their right within the context of the Local Border Traffic regime;
- school pupils who are nationals of a third country listed in Annex I and who reside in a Member State applying Council Decision 94/795/JHA of
30 November 1994 on a joint action adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3.2.b of the Treaty on European Union concerning travel facilities for school pupils from third countries resident in a Member State** and are travelling in the context of a school excursion as members of a group of school pupils accompanied by a teacher from the school in question;
- recognised refugees and stateless persons and other persons who do not hold the nationality of any country who reside in a Member State and are holders of a travel document issued by that Member State.
OJ L 405, 20.12.2006.
**
OJ L 327, 19.12.1994, p. 1.";
2) Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 shall be repealed.
3) Article 4 shall be amended as follows:
(a) paragraph (1)(a) shall be replaced by the following:
"(a) holders of diplomatic passports, service/official passports or special passports in accordance with one of the procedures laid down in Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 789/2001 of 24 April 2001 reserving to the Council implementing powers with regard to certain detailed provisions and practical procedures for examining visa applications*.
OJ L 116, 26.4.2001, p. 2. Regulation as amended by Decision 2004/927/EC
(OJ L 396, 31.12.2004, p. 45).";
(b) paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following:
"2. A Member State may exempt from the visa requirement:
(a) a school pupil having the nationality of a third country listed in Annex I who resides in a third country listed in Annex II or in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and is travelling in the context of a school excursion as a member of a group of school pupils accompanied by a teacher from the school in question;
(b) recognised refugees and stateless persons if the third country where they reside and which issued their travel document is one of the third countries listed in Annex II;
(c) members of the armed forces travelling on NATO or Partnership for Peace business and holders of identification and movement orders provided for by the Agreement of 19 June 1951 between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation regarding the status of their forces.";
4) Annex I shall be amended as follows:
(a) in Part 1:
(i) a reference to Bolivia shall be inserted;
(ii) the references to Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Seychelles shall be deleted;
(iii) the reference to 'East Timor' shall be replaced by a reference to "Timor-Leste";
(iv) the reference to 'Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro)' shall be replaced by references to 'Serbia' and to 'Montenegro';
(v) the reference to 'Western Samoa' shall be replaced by a reference to 'Samoa';
(b) the following Part shall be added:
"3. BRITISH CITIZENS WHO ARE NOT NATIONALS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY LAW:
British Overseas Territories Citizens who do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom
British Overseas Citizens
British Subjects who do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom British Protected Persons";
5) Annex II shall be amended as follows:
(a) in Part 1:
(i) the reference to Bolivia shall be deleted;
(ii) the following references shall be inserted:
"Antigua and Barbuda*
Bahamas*
Barbados*
Mauritius*
Saint Kitts and Nevis*
Seychelles*";
(iii) the following footnote shall be inserted:
"* The exemption from the visa requirement will apply from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemption to be concluded with the European Community.";
(iv) the reference to 'Brunei' shall be replaced by a reference to "Brunei Darussalam";
(b) the following Part shall be added:
"3. BRITISH CITIZENS WHO ARE NOT NATIONALS OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY LAW:
British Nationals (Overseas)".
Article 2
Member States shall apply the visa requirement for Bolivian nationals with effect from 1 April 2007.
Member States shall apply the exemption from the visa requirement for nationals of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Seychelles from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemptions to be concluded by the European Community with the third country in question.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.