The European Union (EU) has announced new temporary measures to make it more difficult for Somali citizens to obtain visas, following an official report assessing Somalia’s level of cooperation in the readmission of its citizens illegally staying in European countries.
The Council of the European Union said Somalia has not yet shown sufficient cooperation in accepting and returning Somali citizens who have been ordered to leave EU member states.
The new decision stipulates that Somali citizens can no longer be issued with multiple-entry Schengen visas, which allow a person to enter the Schengen area multiple times during the period of validity of the visa.
The EU has also extended the processing time for visa applications, which will now start at 45 days instead of the previous 15 days. This is expected to affect people wishing to travel to Europe for work, study or leisure.
Other measures taken include suspending procedures that facilitated the documentation required for visa applications, and reinstating visa fees for holders of diplomatic and service passports in Somalia.
EU officials have said that these restrictions are temporary and could be lifted if Somalia demonstrates substantial progress in cooperating on the readmission and repatriation of its citizens.
