1.   Azerbaijan shall readmit, upon application by a Member State and without further formalities other than those provided for in this Agreement, all persons who do not, or who no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on, the territory of the Requesting Member State provided that it is proved, or may be validly assumed, on the basis of prima facie evidence furnished, that they are nationals of Azerbaijan.

2.   Azerbaijan shall also readmit:

3.   Azerbaijan shall also readmit persons, illegally present or residing in the Requesting Member State who have renounced the nationality of Azerbaijan in accordance with the national laws of the latter since entering the territory of a Member State, unless such persons have at least been promised naturalisation by any Member State.

4.   After Azerbaijan has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the competent diplomatic or consular representation of Azerbaijan shall, irrespective of the will of the person to be readmitted, free of charge and not later than within five working days, issue the travel document required for the return of the person to be readmitted with a period of validity of 150 days. If Azerbaijan does not, within five working days, issue the travel document, it shall be deemed to accept the use of the EU standard travel document for expulsion purposes (Annex 7) (1).

5.   If, for legal or factual reasons, the person concerned cannot be transferred within the period of validity of the travel document that was initially issued, the competent diplomatic or consular representation of Azerbaijan shall, within five working days and free of charge, issue a new travel document with a period of validity of the same duration. If Azerbaijan does not, within five working days, issue the new travel document, it shall be deemed to accept the use of the EU standard travel document for expulsion purposes (Annex 7) (2).

1.   Azerbaijan shall readmit, upon application by a Member State and without further formalities other than those provided for in this Agreement, any third-country nationals or stateless persons who do not, or who no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on, the territory of the Requesting Member State provided that it is proved, or may be validly assumed on the basis of prima facie evidence furnished, that such persons:

2.   The readmission obligation in paragraph 1 shall not apply if:

3.   Without prejudice to Article 7(2), after Azerbaijan has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the Requesting Member State issues the person whose readmission has been accepted with the EU standard travel document for expulsion purposes (Annex 7) (3).

1.   A Member State shall readmit, upon application by Azerbaijan and without further formalities other than those provided for in this Agreement, all persons who do not, or who no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on, the territory of Azerbaijan provided that it is proved, or may be validly assumed on the basis of prima facie evidence furnished, that they are nationals of that Member State.

2.   A Member State shall also readmit:

3.   A Member State shall also readmit persons, illegally present or residing in Azerbaijan, who have been deprived of, or who have renounced, the nationality of a Member State in accordance with the national laws of the latter since entering the territory of Azerbaijan, unless such persons have at least been promised naturalisation by Azerbaijan.

4.   After the Requested Member State has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the competent diplomatic or consular representation of that Member State shall, irrespective of the will of the person to be readmitted, free of charge and not later than within five working days, issue the travel document required for the return of the person to be readmitted with a period of validity of 150 days. If the Requested Member State does not, within five working days, issue the travel document, it shall be deemed to accept the use of the standard travel document for expulsion purposes of Azerbaijan (Annex 8).

5.   If, for legal or factual reasons, the person concerned cannot be transferred within the period of validity of the travel document that was initially issued, the competent diplomatic or consular representation of that Member State shall, within five working days and free of charge, issue a new travel document with a period of validity of the same duration. If that Member State does not, within five working days, issue the travel document, it shall be deemed to accept the use of the standard travel document for expulsion purposes of Azerbaijan (Annex 8).

1.   A Member State shall readmit, upon application by Azerbaijan and without further formalities other than those provided for in this Agreement, any third-country nationals or stateless persons who do not, or who no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on, the territory of Azerbaijan provided that it is proved, or may be validly assumed on the basis of prima facie evidence furnished, that such persons:

2.   The readmission obligation in paragraph 1 shall not apply if:

3.   The readmission obligation in paragraph 1 is for the Member State that issued a visa or residence permit. If two or more Member States issued a visa or residence permit, the readmission obligation in paragraph 1 is for the Member State that issued the document with a longer period of validity or, if one or several of them have already expired, the document that is still valid. If all of the documents have already expired, the readmission obligation in paragraph 1 is for the Member State that issued the document with the most recent expiry date. If no such documents can be presented, the readmission obligation in paragraph 1 is for the Member State of last exit.

4.   Without prejudice to Article 7(2), after the relevant Member State has given a positive reply to the readmission application, Azerbaijan issues the person whose readmission has been accepted with the travel document required for his or her return (Annex 8).

1.   Subject to paragraph 2, any transfer of a person to be readmitted on the basis of one of the obligations under Articles 3 to 6 shall require the submission of a readmission application to the competent authority of the Requested State.

2.   If the person to be readmitted is in possession of a valid travel document and, in the case of third-country nationals or stateless persons, also a valid visa or residence permit of the Requested State, the transfer of such person can take place without the Requesting State having to submit a readmission application and, in the case of a national of the Requested State, without having to submit a written notification referred to in Article 12(1) to the competent authority of the Requested State.

3.   Without prejudice to paragraph 2, if a person has been apprehended in an area which extends up to 15 kilometres from and including the territories of seaports and international airports, including custom zones, of the Requesting State after illegally crossing the border, coming directly from the territory of the Requested State, the Requesting State may submit a readmission application within two working days following that person's apprehension (accelerated procedure).

1.   To the extent possible, the readmission application is to contain the following information:

2.   To the extent possible, the readmission application shall also contain the following information:

3.   A common form to be used for readmission applications is attached as Annex 5 to this Agreement.

4.   A readmission application may be submitted by any means of communication including electronic ones e.g. fax, e-mails etc.

1.   Proof of nationality pursuant to Article 3(1) and Article 5(1) can, in particular, be furnished through the documents listed in Annex 1, even if their period of validity has expired by up to 6 months. If such documents are presented, the Member States and Azerbaijan shall mutually recognise the nationality without further investigation being required. Proof of nationality cannot be furnished through false documents.

2.   Prima facie evidence of nationality pursuant to Article 3(1) and Article 5(1) can, in particular, be furnished through the documents listed in Annex 2, even if their period of validity has expired. If such documents are presented, the Member States and Azerbaijan shall deem the nationality to be established, unless they can prove otherwise. Prima facie evidence of nationality cannot be furnished through false documents.

3.   If none of the documents listed in Annexes 1 or 2 can be presented, or if they are insufficient giving duly motivated reasons, the competent diplomatic or consular representation of the Requested State concerned shall, upon a request from the Requesting State which is to be included in the readmission application, interview the person to be readmitted without undue delay at the latest within five working days of the requesting day, in order to establish his or her nationality.

4.   The procedure for such interviews may be established in the implementing Protocols provided for in Article 20.

1.   Proof of the conditions for the readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons laid down in Article 4(1) and Article 6(1) shall, in particular, be furnished through the means of evidence listed in Annex 3; it cannot be furnished through false documents. Any such proof shall be mutually recognised by the Member States and Azerbaijan without any further investigation being required.

2.   Prima facie evidence of the conditions for the readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons laid down in Article 4(1) and Article 6(1) shall, in particular, be furnished through the means of evidence listed in Annex 4; it cannot be furnished through false documents. Where such prima facie evidence is presented, the Member States and Azerbaijan shall deem the conditions to be established, unless they can prove otherwise.

3.   The unlawfulness of entry, presence or residence shall be established by means of the travel documents of the person concerned in which the necessary visa or other residence permit for the territory of the Requesting State are missing. A statement by the Requesting State that the person concerned has been found not having the necessary travel documents, visa or residence permit shall likewise provide prima facie evidence of the unlawful entry, presence or residence.

1.   The application for readmission must be submitted to the competent authority of the Requested State within a maximum of 6 months after the Requesting State's competent authority has gained knowledge that a third-country national or a stateless person does not fulfil, or no longer fulfils, the conditions in force for entry, presence or residence. Where there are legal or factual obstacles to the application being submitted on time, the time limit shall, upon request by the Requesting State, be extended but only until the obstacles cease to exist.

2.   A readmission application must be replied to in writing within:

This time limit begins to run from the date of confirmed receipt of the readmission request. If there is no reply within this time limit, the transfer shall be deemed to have been agreed to.

Reply to a readmission application may be submitted by any means of communication, including electronic ones e.g. fax, e-mails etc.

3.   Reasons for the refusal of a readmission request shall be given in writing.

4.   After agreement has been given or, where appropriate, after expiry of the time limits laid down in paragraph 2, the person concerned shall be transferred within three months. On request of the Requesting State, this time-limit may be extended by the time taken to deal with legal or practical obstacles.

1.   Without prejudice to Article 7(2), before returning a person, the competent authorities of the Requesting State shall notify in writing at least three working days in advance the competent authorities of the Requested State regarding the transfer date, the point of entry, possible escorts and other information relevant to the transfer.

2.   Transportation may take place by any means including by air or sea. Return by air shall not be restricted to the use of the national carriers of Azerbaijan or of the Member States and may take place by using scheduled or charter flights. In the event of escorted returns, such escorts shall not be restricted to authorised persons of the Requesting State, provided that they are authorised persons by Azerbaijan or any Member State.

3.   If the transfer takes place by air, possible escorts shall be exempted from having to obtain the necessary visas.

1.   The Member States and Azerbaijan should restrict the transit of third-country nationals or stateless persons to cases where such persons cannot be returned to the State of destination directly.

2.   Azerbaijan shall allow the transit of third-country nationals or stateless persons if a Member State so requests, and a Member State shall authorise the transit of third-country nationals or stateless persons if Azerbaijan so requests, if the onward journey in other possible States of transit and the readmission by the State of destination is assured.

3.   Transit can be refused by Azerbaijan or a Member State:

4.   Azerbaijan or a Member State may revoke any authorisation issued if circumstances referred to in paragraph 3 subsequently arise or come to light which stand in the way of the transit operation, or if the onward journey in other possible States of transit, or the readmission by the State of destination, is no longer assured. In this case, the Requesting State shall take back the third-country national or the stateless person, as necessary and without delay.

1.   An application for transit operations must be submitted to the competent authority of the Requested State in writing and is to contain the following information:

A common form to be used for transit applications is attached as Annex 6.

A transit application may be submitted by any means of communication including electronic ones e.g. fax, e-mails etc.

2.   The Requested State shall, within five working days after receipt of the application and in writing, inform the Requesting State of the admission, confirming the point of entry and the envisaged time of admission, or inform it of the admission refusal and of the reasons for such refusal. If there was no reply within five working days, the transit shall be deemed to have been agreed to.

Reply to a transit application may be submitted by any means of communication including electronic ones e.g. fax, e-mails etc.

3.   If the transit operation takes place by air, the person to be readmitted, and possible escorts, shall be exempted from having to obtain an airport transit visa.

4.   The competent authorities of the Requested State shall, subject to mutual consultations, assist in the transit operations, in particular through the surveillance of the persons in question and the provision of suitable amenities for that purpose.

5.   Transit of the persons concerned shall be carried out within 30 days of receipt of the consent to the request, unless otherwise agreed.

1.   This Agreement shall be without prejudice to the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Union, its Member States and Azerbaijan arising from international law including from international conventions to which they are party, in particular from the international instruments listed in Article 2, and:

2.   Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the return of a person under other formal or informal arrangements.

1.   The Contracting Parties shall provide each other with mutual assistance in the application and interpretation of this Agreement. To this end, they shall set up a Joint Readmission Committee (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’) which will, in particular, have the following tasks:

2.   The decisions of the Committee shall be binding on the Contracting Parties.

3.   The Committee shall be composed of representatives of the Union and of Azerbaijan.

4.   The Committee shall meet where necessary at the request of one of the Contracting Parties.

5.   The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.

1.   Without prejudice to the direct applicability of this Agreement, on request of a Member State or of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan and a Member State shall draw up an implementing Protocol which shall, inter alia, cover rules on:

2.   The implementing Protocols referred to in paragraph 1 shall enter into force only after the Committee, referred to in Article 19, has been notified.

3.   Azerbaijan agrees to apply any provision of an implementing Protocol drawn up with one Member State also in its relations with any other Member State upon request of the latter. The Member States agree to apply any provision of an implementing Protocol drawn up by one of them with the Republic of Azerbaijan also in their relations with the latter, upon request of the latter and subject to the practical feasibility of its application to other Member States.

1.   Subject to paragraph 2, this Agreement shall apply to the territory in which the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are applicable and to the territory of Azerbaijan.

2.   This Agreement shall apply to the territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Ireland only pursuant to a notification by the European Union to Azerbaijan to that effect.

3.   This Agreement shall not apply to the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

1.   This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective procedures.

2.   This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the last Contracting Party has notified the other that the procedures referred to in the first paragraph have been completed.

3.   This Agreement shall apply to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to Ireland on the first day of the second month following the date of the notification referred to in Article 22(2).

4.   This Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period.

5.   Each Contracting Party may, by officially notifying the other Contracting Party and after prior consultation of the Committee, referred to in Article 19, completely or partly, temporarily suspend the implementation of this Agreement. The suspension shall enter into force on the second day following the day of such notification.

6.   Each Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by officially notifying the other Contracting Party. This Agreement shall cease to apply six months after the date of such notification.