Regulation 2006/1932 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Regulation
Number legal act	Regulation 2006/1932
Original proposal	COM(2006)84
CELEX number i	32006R1932

30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/23

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1932/2006

of 21 December 2006

amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2)(b)(i) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

• (1) 

  The composition of the lists of third countries in Annexes I and II to Regulation (EC)

No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001¹ should be, and should remain, consistent with the criteria laid down in recital (5) thereto. Some third countries should be transferred from one Annex to the other, particularly with regard to illegal immigration and public policy.

• (2) 

  Bolivia should be transferred to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. The date of application of the visa requirement for Bolivian nationals should be such as to allow Member States to rescind in good time the bilateral agreements with Bolivia and to take all the necessary administrative and organisational measures for introducing the visa requirement in question.

• (3) 

  Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Seychelles should be transferred to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.

Exemption from the visa requirement for nationals of those countries should not come into force before a bilateral agreement on exemption from the visa requirement between the European Community and the country in question has been concluded.

OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1.

• (4) 

  The two Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 should be exhaustive. To that end, a heading making it possible to determine the visa arrangements to be applied by the Member States to categories of persons made subject to the visa requirement by certain Member States and exempted therefrom by others should be added to each of the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. Various categories of "British" persons who are not nationals of the United Kingdom within the meaning of Community law should be added to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 and British Nationals (Overseas) should be added to Annex II thereto.

• (5) 

  Member States may provide for exemptions from the visa requirement for holders of certain passports other than ordinary passports. The designations of these passports require clarification. Reference needs also to be made in Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 to the procedures applicable where recourse is had to such exemptions.

• (6) 

  Member States may exempt from the visa requirement recognised refugees, all stateless persons, both those under the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons of 28 September 1954 and those outside of the scope of that Convention, and school pupils travelling on school excursions where the persons of these categories reside in a

third country listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.

A full exemption from the visa requirement exists already for these three categories of persons residing within the Schengen area when they enter or re-enter that area; a general exemption should be introduced for persons of those categories residing in a Member State which has not or not yet joined the Schengen area, as far as their entry or re-entry into the territory of any other Member State bound by the Schengen acquis is concerned.

• (7) 

  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 ¹ makes it necessary to provide for a new exemption from the visa requirement for...

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