AGREEMENT

between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation

THE PARTIES,

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

and

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,

DESIRING to facilitate people-to-people contacts as an important condition for a steady development of economic, humanitarian, cultural, scientific and other ties, by facilitating the issuing of visas to the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation on the basis of reciprocity,

HAVING REGARD to the Joint Statement agreed on the occasion of the St Petersburg Summit held on 31 May 2003 stating that the European Union and the Russian Federation agree to examine the conditions for visa-free travel as a long term perspective,

REAFFIRMING the intention to establish the visa-free travel regime between the Russian Federation and the European Union,

BEARING IN MIND the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation of 24 June 1994 establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part,

HAVING REGARD to the Joint Statement on EU Enlargement and EU–Russia Relations agreed on 27 April 2004 confirming the intention of the European Union and the Russian Federation to facilitate visa issuance for the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation on a reciprocal basis and to launch negotiations with a view to concluding an agreement,

RECOGNISING that this facilitation should not lead to illegal migration and paying special attention to security and readmission,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland and the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union of 7 February 1992 and the Treaty establishing the European Community of 25 March 1957 and confirming that the provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union of 7 February 1992 and the Treaty establishing the European Community of 25 March 1957 and confirming that the provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the Kingdom of Denmark,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Purpose and scope of application

The purpose of this Agreement is to facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the issuance of visas for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days to the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation.

Article 2

General Clause

1. The visa facilitations provided in this Agreement shall apply to citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation only insofar as they are not exempted from the visa requirement by the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation, of the Community or the Member States, the present agreement or other international agreements.

2. The national law of the Russian Federation, or of the Member States or Community law shall apply to issues not covered by the provisions of this Agreement, such as the refusal to issue a visa, recognition of travel documents, proof of sufficient means of subsistence and the refusal of entry and expulsion measures.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement:

(a)	‘Member State’ shall mean any Member State of the European Union, with the exception of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

(b)	‘Citizen of the European Union’ shall mean a national of a Member State as defined in point (a);

(c)	‘Citizen of the Russian Federation’ shall mean a person who possesses or has acquired citizenship of the Russian Federation in accordance with its national legislation;

(d)

‘Visa’ shall mean an authorisation/permission issued or a decision taken by a Member State or by the Russian Federation which is required with a view to:

—	entry for an intended stay of no more than 90 days in total in that Member State or in several Member States or in the Russian Federation,

—	entry for transit through the territory of that Member State or several Member States or of the Russian Federation.

(e)

‘legally residing person’ shall mean:

—	for the Russian Federation, a citizen of the European Union who acquired a permission for temporary residing, a residence permit or an educational or working visa for a period of more than 90 days in the Russian Federation,

—	for the European Union, a citizen of the Russian Federation authorised or entitled to stay for more than 90 days in the territory of a Member State, on the basis of Community or national legislation.

Article 4

Documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the journey

1. For the following categories of citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation, the following documents are sufficient for justifying the purpose of the journey to the other Party:

(a)

for members of official delegations who, following an official invitation addressed to the Member States, the European Union or the Russian Federation, shall participate in meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations:

—

a letter issued by a competent authority of a Member State or of the Russian Federation, or by a European institution confirming that the applicant is a member of its delegation travelling to the territory of the other Party to participate in the aforementioned events, accompanied by a copy of the official invitation;

(b)

for business people and representatives of business organisations:

—

a written request from a host legal person or company, organisation, or an office or their branches, state and local authorities of the Russian Federation and the Member States or organising committees of trade and industrial exhibitions, conferences and symposia held in the territories of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States;

(c)

for drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services between the territories of the Russian Federation and the Member States in vehicles registered in the Member States or in the Russian Federation:

—	a written request from the national association (union) of carriers of the Russian Federation or the national associations of carriers of the Member States providing for international road transportation, stating the purpose, duration and frequency of the trips;

(d)

for members of train, refrigerator and locomotive crews in international trains, travelling between the territories of the Member States and the Russian Federation:

—	a written request from the competent railway company of the Russian Federation or the Member States stating the purpose, duration and frequency of the trips;

(e)

for journalists:

—	a certificate or other document issued by a professional organisation proving that the person concerned is a qualified journalist and a document issued by his/her employer stating that the purpose of the journey is to carry out journalistic work;

(f)

for persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities, including university and other exchange programmes:

—	a written request from the host organisation to participate in those activities;

(g)

for pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purposes of study or educational training, including in the framework of exchange programmes as well as other school related activities:

—	a written request or a certificate of enrolment from the host university, academy, institute, college or school or student cards or certificates of the courses to be attended;

(h)

for participants in international sports events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity:

—	a written request from the host organisation: competent authorities, national sport Federations of the Member States or the Russian Federation and National Olympic Committee of the Russian Federation or National Olympic Committees of the Member States;

(i)

for participants in official exchange programmes organised by twin cities:

—	a written request of the head of administration/mayor of these cities;

(j)

for close relatives — spouses, children (including adopted), parents (including custodians), grandparents and grandchildren — visiting citizens of the European Union or the Russian Federation legally residing in the territory of the Russian Federation or the Member States:

—	a written request from the host person;

(k)

for visiting military and civil burial grounds:

—	an official document confirming the existence and preservation of the grave as well as family or other relationship between the applicant and the buried.

2. The written request mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article shall contain the following items:

(a)	for the invited person — name and surname, date of birth, sex, citizenship, number of the identity document, time and purpose of the journey, number of entries and name of minor children accompanying the invited person;

(b)	for the inviting person — name, surname and address; or

(c)

for the inviting legal person, company or organisation — full name and address: and

—	if the request is issued by an organisation, the name and position of the person who signs the request,

—	if the inviting person is a legal person or company or an office or their branch established in the territory of a Member State, the registration number as required by the national law of the Member State concerned,

—	if the inviting person is a legal person or company or an office or their branch established in the territory of the Russian Federation, the tax identification number.

3. For the categories of citizens mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, all categories of visas are issued according to the simplified procedure without requiring any other justification, invitation or validation concerning the purpose of the journey, provided for by the legislation of the Parties.

Article 5

Issuance of multiple-entry visas

1. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States and of the Russian Federation shall issue multiple-entry visas with the term of validity of up to five years to the following categories of citizens:

(a)

members of national and regional Governments and Parliaments, Constitutional Courts and Supreme Courts, if they are not exempted from the visa requirement by the present Agreement, in the exercise of their duties, with a term of validity limited to their term of office if this is less than five years;

(b)

spouses and children (including adopted), who are under the age of 21 or are dependant, visiting citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation legally residing in the territory of the Russian Federation or the Member States, with the term of validity limited to the duration of the validity of their authorisation for legal residence.

2. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States and of the Russian Federation shall issue multiple-entry visas with the term of validity of up to one year to the following categories of citizens, provided that during the previous year they have obtained at least one visa, have made use of it in accordance with the laws on entry and stay in the territory of the visited State and that there are reasons for requesting a multiple-entry visa:

(a)

for members of official delegations who, following an official invitation addressed to the Member States, the European Union or the Russian Federation, shall participate in official meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations;

(b)	business people and representatives of business organisations who regularly travel to the Russian Federation or the Member States;

(c)	drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services between the territories of the Russian Federation and the Member States in vehicles registered in the Member States or the Russian Federation;

(d)	members of train, refrigerator and locomotive crews in international trains, travelling between the territories of the Russian Federation and the Member States;

(e)	persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities, including university and other exchange programmes, who regularly travel to the Russian Federation or the Member States;

(f)	participants in international sports events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity;

(g)	journalists;

(h)	participants in official exchange programmes organised by twin cities.

3. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States and of the Russian Federation shall issue multiple-entry visas with the term of validity of a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years to the categories of citizens referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided that during the previous two years they have made use of the one year multiple-entry visas in accordance with the laws on entry and stay in the territory of the visited State and that the reasons for requesting a multiple-entry visa are still valid.

4. The total period of stay of persons referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall not exceed 90 days per period of 180 days in the territory of the Member States or in the Russian Federation.

Article 6

Fees for processing visa applications

1. The fee for processing visa applications shall amount to EUR 35.

The aforementioned amount may be reviewed in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 15(4).

2. The Parties shall charge a fee of EUR 70 for processing visas in cases where the visa application and the supporting documents have been submitted by the visa applicant within three days before his/her envisaged date of departure. This will not apply to cases pursuant to Article 6(3), (b), (e) and (f) and Article 7(3).

3. Fees for processing the visa application are waived for the following categories of persons:

(a)	for close relatives — spouses, children (including adopted) parents (including custodians), grandparents and grandchildren — of citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation legally residing in the territory of the Russian Federation or the Member States;

(b)

(c)	members of national and regional Governments and Parliaments, Constitutional Courts and Supreme Courts, if they are not exempted from the visa requirement by the present Agreement;

(d)	pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purpose of study or educational training;

(e)	disabled persons and the person accompanying them, if necessary;

(f)	persons who have presented documents proving the necessity of their travel on humanitarian grounds, including to receive urgent medical treatment and the person accompanying such person, or to attend a funeral of a close relative, or to visit a seriously ill close relative;

(g)	participants in youth international sports events and persons accompanying them;

(h)	persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities including university and other exchange programmes;

(i)	participants in official exchange programmes organised by twin cities.

Article 7

Length of procedures for processing visa applications

1. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States and the Russian Federation shall take a decision on the request to issue a visa within 10 calendar days of the date of the receipt of the application and documents required for issuing the visa.

2. The period of time for taking a decision on a visa application may be extended up to 30 calendar days in individual cases, notably when further scrutiny of the application is needed.

3. The period of time for taking a decision on a visa application may be reduced to three working days or less in urgent cases.

Article 8

Departure in case of lost or stolen documents

Citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation who have lost their identity documents, or from whom these documents have been stolen while staying in the territory of the Russian Federation or the Member States, may leave that territory on the grounds of valid identity documents entitling to cross the border issued by diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Member States or of the Russian Federation without any visa or other authorisation.

Article 9

Extension of visa in exceptional circumstances

The citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation who do not have the possibility to leave the territory of the Russian Federation and of the Member States by the time stated in their visas for reasons of force majeure shall have the term of their visas extended free of charge in accordance with the legislation applied by the receiving State for the period required for their return to the State of their residence.

Article 10

Registration procedures

The Parties agree to undertake measures as soon as possible to simplify the procedures of registration, with the view to entitle the citizens of the Russian Federation and citizens of the European Union to the equal treatment regarding registration procedures while staying in the territory of the Russian Federation or of the Member States, respectively.

Article 11

Diplomatic passports

1. Citizens of the Russian Federation or the Member States, holders of valid diplomatic passports may enter, leave and transit through the territories of the Member States or the Russian Federation without visas.

2. Citizens mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article may stay in the territories of the Russian Federation or the Member States for a period not exceeding 90 days per period of 180 days.

Article 12

Territorial validity of visas

Subject to the national rules and regulations concerning national security of the Russian Federation and of the Member States and subject to EU rules on visas with limited territorial validity, the citizens of the Russian Federation and of the European Union shall be entitled to travel within the territory of the Member States and of the Russian Federation on equal basis with European Union and Russian citizens.

Article 13

Joint Committee for management of the Agreement

1. The Parties shall set up a Joint Committee for management of the Agreement (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’), composed by representatives of the European Community and of the Russian Federation. The Community shall be represented by the European Commission, assisted by experts from the Member States.

2. The Committee shall, in particular, have the following tasks:

(a)	monitoring the implementation of the present Agreement;

(b)	suggesting amendments or additions to the present Agreement;

(c)	to examine and, if deemed necessary, propose amendments to this agreement in case of new accessions to the European Union.

3. The Committee shall meet whenever necessary at the request of one of the Parties and at least once a year.

4. The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.

Article 14

Relation of this Agreement with Agreements between Member States and the Russian Federation

As from its entry into force, this Agreement shall take precedence over provisions of any bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements concluded between Member States and the Russian Federation, insofar as the provisions of the latter agreements or arrangements cover issues that are dealt with by the present Agreement.

Article 15

Final clauses

1. This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Parties in accordance with their respective procedures and shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties notify each other that the procedures referred to above have been completed.

2. By way of derogation to paragraph 1 of this Article, the present Agreement shall only enter into force at the date of the entry into force of the agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Community on readmission if this date is after the date provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article.

3. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time, unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article.

4. This Agreement may be amended by written agreement of the Parties. Amendments shall enter into force after the Parties have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures necessary for this purpose.

5. Each Party may suspend in whole or in part this Agreement for reasons of public order, protection of national security or protection of public health. The decision on suspension shall be notified to the other Party not later than 48 hours before its entry into force. The Party that has suspended the application of this Agreement shall immediately inform the other Party once the reasons for the suspension no longer apply.

6. Each Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the other Party. This Agreement shall cease to be in force 90 days after the date of receipt of such notification.

Done at Sochi on the twenty fifth day of May in the year two thousand and six, in duplicate each in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Russian languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

Hecho en Sochi, el veinticinco de mayo del dos mil seis.

V Soči dne dvacátého pátého května dva tisíce šest.

Udfærdiget i Sotji den femogtyvende maj to tusind og seks.

Geschehen zu Sotschi am fünfundzwanzigsten Mai zweitausendsechs.

Kahe tuhande kuuenda aasta maikuu kahekümne viiendal päeval Sotšis.

'Εγινε στο Σότσι, στις είκοσι πέντε Μαΐου δύο χιλιάδες έξι.

Done at Sochi on the twenty fifth day of May in the year two thousand and six.

Fait à Sotchi, le vingt cinq mai deux mille six.

Fatto a Soci, addì venticinque maggio duemilasei.

Sočos, divtūkstoš sestā gada divdesmit piektajā maijā.

Priimta du tūkstančiai šeštų metų gegužės dvidešimt penktą dieną Sočyje.

Kelt Szocsiban, a kettőezer hatodik év május huszonötödik napján.

Magħmul f'Sochi, fil-ħamsa u għoxrin jum ta' Mejju tas-sena elfejn u sitta.

Gedaan te Sotsji, de vijfentwintigste mei tweeduizend zes.

Sporządzono w Soczi dnia dwudziestego piątego maja roku dwutysięcznego szóstego.

Feito em Sotchi, em vinte e cinco de Maio de dois mil e seis.

V Soči dňa dvadsiateho piateho mája dvetisícšesť.

V Soči, petindvajsetega maja leta dva tisoč šest.

Tehty Sotšissa kahdentenakymmenentenäviidentenä päivänä toukokuuta vuonna kaksituhattakuusi.

Som skedde i Sotji den tjugofemte maj tjugohundrasex.

Adoptată la Sochi, la douăzeci și cinci mai două mii șase.

Совершено в г. Сочи двадцать пятого мая две тысячи шестого года.

Por la Comunidad Europea

Za Evropské společenství

For Det Europæiske Fællesskab

Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft

Euroopa Ühenduse nimel

Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα

For the European Community

Pour la Communauté européenne

Per la Comunità europea

Eiropas Kopienas vārdā

Europos bendrijos vardu

Az Európai Közösség részéről

Għall-Komunità Ewropea

Voor de Europese Gemeenschap

W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej

Pela Comunidade Europeia

Za Európske spoločenstvo

Za Evropsko skupnost

Euroopan yhteisön puolesta

På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

Pentru Comunitatea Europeană

За Европейское сообщество

Por la Federación de Rusia

Za Ruskou federaci

For Den Russiske Føderation

Für die Russische Föderation

Venemaa Föderatsiooni nimel

Για τη Ρωσική Ομοσπονδία

For the Russian Federation

Pour la Fédération de Russie

Per la Federazione russa

Krievijas Federācijas vārdā

Rusijos Federacijos vardu

Az Orosz Föderáció részéről

Għall-Federazzjoni Russa

Voor de Russische Federatie

W imieniu Federacji Rosyjskiej

Pela Federação da Rússia

Za Ruskú federáciu

Za Rusko federacijo

Venäjän federaation puolesta

På ryska federationen vägnar

Pentru Federația Rusă

За Российскую Федерацию