EU Wants to Tighten Schengen Visa Rules for Somalia

Such a proposal has been put forward in an attempt to foster strengthened readmission cooperation with the country, EU Helpers reports.

In an official statement, the Commission noted that a proposal to the EU Council on measures with Somalia would be made soon, and then the member states will be able to decide on the steps that will follow.

In essence, the aim of the stricter visa measures for Somalia is to push the country to cooperate more effectively in the readmission of its nationals who have reached the EU irregularly and remain in the EU without proper documentation.

What Visa Measures Will Apply to Somalis?

Even though this is only a proposal, and it will take some time before the authorities decide on the measure that will apply to nationals of Somalia applying for Schengen visas, the new rules will be similar to those that the EU took for some other third countries in the last years.

If the EU decides to apply visa measures for Somalia, Somali nationals will no longer be eligible for multiple-entry visas, meaning that they will only be issued single-entry visas.

Somalis will also be subject to higher Schengen visa fees, and their Schengen visa applications will be processed within 45 days instead of the regular 15 days that applies to other countries.

In addition, some elements of the EU law that regulated the issuance of Schengen visas to Somalis might also be suspended, including here the possibility to waive the requirement from submitting evidence documents.

EU Took Visa Measures Against Several Countries in Last Years

In an attempt to push for cooperation in readmission, the EU took visa measure against some countries in the last years.

Ethiopia and The Gambia are just some of the countries against which the EU adopted visa measures.

In April of this year, the EU decided to no longer issue multiple-entry Schengen visas to Ethiopians and tightened some other rules, too.

Moreover, the EU increased the Schengen visa fees for The Gambia but revoked the decision in April 2024. Nonetheless, the first set of measures still remains effective for the country.