Emphasising the agreement will mostly apply to people convicted of serious crimes, the German Chancellor said Somali migrants without the right to stay in Germany would be repatriated quickly and effectively.

He said that as of 65,000 Somalis live in Germany, only a small number of them do not have the right to stay in the country.

Tighter Schengen Visa Rules for Somalia

In a bid to push Somalia to tighten cooperation with EU countries for the readmission of its nationals without legal documents, the Commission of the EU, in July this year, proposed to tighten the visa rules for Somalia.

The proposal was introduced in a bid to strengthen readmission cooperation with the country.

Through a statement, the Commission said that a proposal to the EU Council on measures with Somalia would be made soon, and then the EU countries would decide on the steps that will come after.

The stricter visa rules by the EU for Somalia, if approved, would mean that Somali nationals would no longer benefit from multiple-entry visas. They would only be issued a single-entry visa.

In addition, Somalis would also be obliged to pay higher Schengen visa fees while their applications would be processed within 45 days instead of 15 days.

Somalis Account for Largest Number of Irregular Entries Through EU’s Eastern Land Borders

The figures from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) provided in September this year revealed that in the first nine months of 2024, a total of 166,000 irregular border crossing attempts were detected at the EU’s external borders.

In September this year, nationals of Somalia were detected the most at the Eastern Land Border migratory route which includes countries such as Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia, among others.