EU – Azerbaijan new visa regime enforces today

NewsEU - Azerbaijan new visa regime enforces today

EU – Azerbaijan Visa Facilitation and the Readmission agreements enter into force today

EU - Azerbaijan new visa regime enforces todayThe EU – Azerbaijan new visa regime enforces today, says EU official website.
The negotiations for both the Visa Facilitation Agreement (VFA) and Readmission Agreement (RA) between the European Union (EU) and Azerbaijan took place in 4 official rounds of negotiations held in Baku and Brussels between 7 February 2012 and 5 July 2013.
On 29 November 2013 the European Union and Azerbaijan signed the visa facilitation agreement in the margins of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. On 28 February 2014 the EU and Azerbaijan signed the agreement on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation. The signing of the Readmission Agreement marked the end of a successful and positive negotiation process.
The agreements are now entering into force on 1 September 2014, which is the first day of the second month following the date on which the two parties notified each other that the internal procedures have been completed. It has to be noted that the UK, Ireland and Denmark are not bound by the agreement.
So far, the EU has signed visa facilitation and readmission agreements with 12 countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Cape Verde, Armenia and Azerbaijan, with 11 of them having entered into force (Cape Verde is still pending).
Main provisions of Visa Facilitation Agreement
The agreement makes it easier and cheaper for citizens of Azerbaijan, in particular those who travel most, to acquire short-stay visas allowing them to travel to and freely throughout most EU countries. A short-stay visa is a visa for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days. Under the agreement, visa fees will be reduced from €60 to €35, and some categories of citizens are to be exempt from the fees altogether. For some categories of frequent travellers and under certain conditions, member states are supposed to issue multiple-entry visas with a validity from one to up to five years. Holders of diplomatic passports are exempted from the visa obligation. The agreement also provides that the visa handling fee will not be collected for certain categories of applicants, including members of official delegations, children below the age of 12, pensioners, researchers and students. Implementation of the provisions of the agreement is subject to application of full reciprocity by all parties of the agreements.
Main provisions of Readmission Agreement
Readmission agreements set out clear obligations and procedures for the authorities of EU member states and Azerbaijan. They regulate when and how to take back people who are illegally residing on the territories of the parties. They cover not only the illegally staying nationals of both parties but also third country nationals and stateless persons being in an irregular situation provided they have a clear link with the requested party (e.g. visa or resident permit). Full respect of Human Rights as provided by the European Convention of Human Rights is guaranteed during the application of readmission agreements.

Must read

Recent News

Bushra Bibi leveled serious charges against Saudi Arabia

0
Monitoring Desk: The former First Lady of Pakistan Bushra Bibi has leveled a serious allegation against a brotherly Muslim country in her recent video...
US reopens Kyiv embassy after warning issued following big Ukrainian strike on Russia

US reopens Kyiv embassy after warning issued following big Ukrainian strike on Russia

0
Monitoring Desk: The United States reopened its embassy in Kyiv after it had shut for the day due to what Washington called the "threat...
Moscow says it won’t allow US to silence UNSC on Israeli violence against Palestinians Monitoring Desk: Russian envoy in United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said that the UN Security Council should bring peace, stability and prosperity to the Middle East and Russia would not allow United States to silence UNSC over the issue of Gaza crisis. According to TASS news Agency, Nebenzya said that Moscow will continue to call for an end to violence against Palestinians and will not allow the US to muzzle the UN Security Council as Washington seeks to support Israel's operation in Gaza. "We will continue to stand firmly for ending violence against the Palestinians. Without a shadow of a doubt, we will continue to expose the abuses and sanctimony with which the US is handling the situation. We will not allow the Americans to gag the entire council with their hands in an effort to encourage further continuation of Israel's ruthless operation," he said in a speech at the Security Council.

Moscow won’t allow the US to silence the UNSC on Israeli violence against Palestinians

0
Monitoring Desk: Russian envoy to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said that the UN Security Council should bring peace, stability, and prosperity to the...

From Valdai to Margalla Dialogue —- All roads to Civilisations go through Islamabad

0
By Shazia Anwer CheemaThe emergent realities of global security are fundamentally transforming the frame of references and trajectorial approaches toward them. New security architecture...

12 more men in uniform embraced martyrdom for the motherland in Pakistan

0
Monitoring Desk: 12 more men in uniform embraced martyrdom for the motherland in Pakistan, said Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army.On...
Advertisement