Dialogue on visa liberalization launched

O n July 23, the European Commission announced the launch of a dialogue with Armenia on visa liberalization, marking Armenia’s second significant step towards achieving its long-term goal of visa liberalization with the EU.  

Back in February 2012, the negotiations on visa facilitation and readmission agreements with the EU in Armenia initially had 3 objectives, which can be viewed on three levels:

1. Short-term (conclusion of a visa facilitation and readmission agreement) which was already implemented in 2014.
2. Medium-term (start of a dialogue on visa liberalization) which was given in July 2024.
3. Long-term (conclusion of a visa liberalization agreement with the EU), which is the ultimate goal of the process. To achieve the long-term goal, it is necessary to consider that the final decision on visa liberalization is based on the positions of all EU countries. Therefore, negotiations must be conducted on an equal footing with EU member states.

The start of the visa liberalization dialogue will lead to significant reforms in areas such as travel document security, border control, migration and asylum, public order and fundamental rights in Armenia. After the launch of the dialogue, the RA government will mainly focus on border control, availability of biometric passports, accessibility of comprehensive health care, as well as development and implementation of laws related to the equality of people in the country. From now on the European Commission will monitor progress in these areas even more closely, in close cooperation with the European Parliament and the European Council. The dialogue will be held within the Visa Liberalization Action Plan (VLAP) framework, on which the Armenian side should work consistently. However, it is important to note that the visa liberalization process is not automatic. It will be considered if the dialogue is completed successfully and all the conditions mentioned in the VLAP are met. After the successful completion of the dialogue, easier and more accessible conditions for short-term visits to EU countries will be created only for Armenian citizens, and this process requires additional work and time and may take more than 4 years. For comparison, let us note that after the start of the dialogue among other Eastern Partnership partners, the visa-free regime with the EU was established in neighboring Georgia after 5 years, in Moldova – after 4 years, and in Ukraine – after 9 years. 

EU visa liberalization. What opportunities does it plan in the future?

The EU visa liberalization (visa-free regime) implies the right to free movement within the Schengen area. The Schengen Area, which was established on March 26, 1995, based on the Schengen Agreement (June 14, 1985), signed between 5 countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) in the Schengen village of Northern Luxemburg, most European countries were allowed to implement the idea of “Europe without borders” by eliminating their national borders, which implies free movement and no border controls in member states.   

Visa liberalization applies only to short-term visits, up to 90 days, and does not entail granting the right to work in the EU or other benefits. The visa liberalization agreement also does not imply the right to study in Schengen countries. In the case of participation in short-term study programs or courses not exceeding 90 days, visa liberalization allows you to stay in that country without obtaining an additional visa. If you want to stay for study purposes, you need to contact the embassy of the relevant country to obtain the appropriate visa.  

In the case of visa liberalization with the EU, it will be possible to freely enter the Schengen Area member states [1], as well as non-EU countries like Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which are members of the European Free Trade Association. The visa-free regime also applies to Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. Although the latter are not part of the Schengen Area, they follow a common visa policy that ensures legal entry of visitors to the EU and strengthens internal security.  However, Spain[2], for example, has certain reservations concerning the visa liberalization process.

Since a country signs a visa liberalization agreement with the EU, all citizens with a biometric passport can travel to EU member states without a visa. However, when traveling it is important to have proof of financial status, residency in an EU country, proof of visit, proof of purpose and health insurance. Having such documents is important because the Schengen border police have the right to refuse entry to people if they suspect that they may be abusing the rights arising from visa liberalization.  

In case of violation of the visa liberalization agreement, a person is fined and deported from the country and banned from entering the Schengen area for 3-5 years. If a country’s citizens have a large number of violations registered, the European Union may suspend the visa liberalization agreement with that country.

In which case a visa liberalization agreement is signed with a country?

Any country must go through a number of procedures to get a free entry permit.

The first step is the conclusion of agreements on visa facilitation and readmissions [3], which allows to reduce the amount charged for visa issuance, to simplify the visa application procedure and to create special categories of citizens who can visit the EU without visa fees (children, pensioners, students, journalists, cultural exchange programs’ participants).

The next step is the start of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan or Visa Liberalization Roadmap, which will launch the visa liberalization dialogue. It involves the implementation of a number of legislative and technical steps in the following fields: 1) document security, 2) integrated management of borders, migration and asylum seekers, 3) public order and security, 4) international relations and fundamental rights. For each country, wishing to have free entry to the EU, a separate Visa Liberalization Action Plan is prepared, in which the requirements included are related to the above-mentioned 4 fields, but their content differs, taking into account the specifics of the countries. During the dialogue, the European Commission monitors and evaluates through regular reports, which are also transmitted to the EU Council and the European Parliament. A visa liberalization agreement is concluded with a country only after the requirements included in the Action Plan are met.

The Process in Armenia

>T he EU-Armenia cooperation within the EaP is implemented on 4 different platforms: democracy, good governance and stability, economic integration and compliance with EU policies, energy security and people-to-people contacts. In this case, the latter, which is the cooperation on people-to-people contacts, which implies Armenian citizens obtaining a visa to enter the EU, is noteworthy. It should be noted that the Armenia-EU “Mobility Partnership” declaration was signed in 2011, by which the sides undertook obligations to improve the bilateral movement of people. This implies actions to better manage migration flows, including the prevention and reduction of irregular migration. In this regard, negotiations with the EU on agreements on the facilitation of entry visas and readmission began in 2012, in Armenia. Already on January 1, 2014, a visa facilitation agreement between Armenia and the EU signed on December 17, 2012, along with readmission agreements signed on April 19, 2013, entered into force. Accordingly, it can be said that the RA has overcome the first stage planned by the procedure. In this context, it is important to note also the RA Government’s Decision 1255, adopted on October 4, 2012, according to which a visa-free regime for citizens of EU and non-EU member states applying EU Schengen provisions was established as of January 10, 2013. Moreover, joint committees on visa facilitation and readmission were established, with their first meeting held in September 2014, in Yerevan. The committees were established to review the provisions of the agreements, to amend and supplement the agreements, and to discuss other issues related to the implementation of the agreement.

How we can consider that the second stage planned by the procedure has been passed, i.e. the launch of the dialogue on visa liberalization, which as one of the fundamental guidelines of the RA foreign policy activity, was one of the issues on the agenda of the newly formed government’s program in 2019.

The conclusion of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement [4] signed between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union in Brussels on November 24, 2017, which underlines the efforts aimed at strengthening the RA-EU relations, in particular the visa regime with the RA in terms of liberalization of the regime, can be considered contributing to the launch of the process with the EU in Armenia.  

The liberalization process for EU countries continues to be within the framework of bilateral relations with EU member states, and both the EU and Armenia have expressed their readiness to start this process soon. However, before the ultimate goal can be achieved, steps must be taken to encounter and overcome several foreseeable challenges (these can be considered based on the implementation of the preconditions set out in the action plan for visa liberalization shortly):

1) document security – ensuring the integrity and security of the biometric passport application, identification and distribution process, ensuring the prompt and systematic reporting of lost and stolen passports to the Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) database, preventing the misuse of name or identity changes to obtain new passports,

2) integrated management of borders, migration and asylum seekers – effective control of border security, integration management, management and control of illegal and irregular migration, development of effective mechanisms for collecting information on asylum seekers (refugees, migrants) and solving the problems of their rejection, readiness to accept its citizens staying illegally in European countries,

3) public order and security – fight against organized crime, human trafficking, corruption, drugs, money laundering and terrorism, providing mechanisms for law enforcement cooperation to assess crime trends, identify risks and prevent them in the future,

4) international relations and fundamental rights – protection of the right to free movement of people (ensuring guarantees of immigrants’ entry into the zones of state control and safe crossing of the borderline), protection of citizens’ rights, including those of minorities, implementation of the strategy to prevent and fight against discrimination.

Along with all these, there is some apprehension about the liberalization of visas in European countries due to the situation in Europe, in particular the flow of migrants, which has led to an increase in thefts, robberies and other organized crimes involving the latter. Therefore, having already survived the migration crisis, Europe, having been cautious, has developed mechanisms to suspend visa regimes when necessary to prevent abuse of liberalization. It is important to realize that the decreasing number of asylum seekers from Armenia in Europe, the increasing number of readmitted citizens, their continuous, regular and legal migration can stimulate the process of visa liberalization with the EU. It dates back to the provisions of the RA-EU readmission agreement that entered into force in 2014.

Hence, it can be noted that the EU visa liberalization process continues to be a priority on the agenda of the RA-EU relations. The ongoing negotiations with EU representatives and the reforms being implemented in relevant areas testify to this. In particular, Armenia-EU cooperation, the adoption of regulations on mobility and border management, migration management reforms were pivotal in launching the dialogue on visa liberalization with Armenia by the EU Council in July. 

Furthermore, to share successful experiences, as well as to study the problems that have arisen as a result of the process, expert-level consultations are also held with other EaP member countries, which will allow Armenia, being a participant in the process, to draw certain conclusions and assess possible challenges and opportunities.  

Finally, the  EU has expectations from both the Armenian authorities and citizens in the context of the visa liberalization process. The Armenian authorities are expected to establish and implement the necessary legal, institutional and security framework for visa liberalization. At the same time, Armenian citizens are expected to respect the conditions and rules of visa liberalization without abusing them. Thus, besides Brussels' foreign policy priorities, the implementation of consistent work of the RA authorities and citizens following the EU standards is the key to the soonest positive completion of this process. 

The completion of the process, i.e. the signing of the visa liberalization agreement, can further stimulate Armenia’s economic growth, contributing to the growth of investments, tourism, services and to the strengthening of civil, business, social, cultural and humanitarian ties between Armenia and the European Union. 

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[1] Austria, Belgium, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

[2] The application for a short-term visa (with a maximum validity of 90 days) to Spain should be submitted 3 months before the planned trip. The Consulate General of Spain will inform you of its decision within 4 calendar days after the documents have been submitted. Is application is considered on a case-by-case basis and response times may vary. If the submitted documents package fully meets the requirements of the Consulate General of Spain, the visa can be issued within 4 working days. Incomplete applications are not accepted. The Embassy reserves the right to request additional documents. Submitting a complete application is still not sufficient grounds for obtaining a visa.

[3]  An international agreement that, based on reciprocity, refers to the processes by which non-nationals in irregular status are returned by one state to their home country or to the state through which they transited.

[4] Ratified by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on April 11, 2018, and entered into force on March 1, 2021.