CALL FOR EVIDENCE

FOR AN INITIATIVE (without an impact assessment)

This document aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the Commission's work, so they can provide feedback and participate effectively in consultation activities.

We ask these groups to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions, and to give us any relevant information they may have.

Title of the initiative

Revision of the Visa Code

Lead DG – responsible unit

HOME.B4

Likely Type of initiative

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a EU Code on Visas (recast)

Indicative Timing

Q1-2027

Additional Information

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy_en

This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by this document, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check

Political context

In January 2026, the European Commission adopted the first EU visa policy strategy setting out a comprehensive framework to make the EU's visa rules more secure, more efficient, and better aligned with Europe's strategic interests. The strategy identifies the revision (recast) of the EU's common rules on short-stay visas (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 – the Visa Code) as a key priority action.

The initiative follows from the strategy's call to modernise the tools available to the EU to respond to challenges such as insufficient cooperation from third countries (non-EU countries) on the return of irregular migrants and hostile actions by foreign states, as well as the need to better facilitate legitimate travel for tourists, business travellers and people coming to the EU to use their talents. It also responds to the broader political goal of strengthening the security of the Schengen area while keeping Europe open and competitive by attracting talent to boost economic growth and innovation.

The initiative is linked to the parallel amendment of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (the Visa Regulation). The Visa Regulation works alongside the Visa Code to determine which third-country nationals are subject to, or exempt from, the short-stay visa requirement. Consequential amendments to the Visa Regulation may therefore be needed to ensure full alignment with the revised Visa Code, where the alignment between a visa measure imposed on a third country under the Article 25a mechanism, as well as the envisaged targeted measures proposed in the visa policy strategy, and bilateral exemptions for certain categories of passports (e.g. diplomatic or service) granted by Member States will be addressed, to enhance the visa measure’s effectiveness.

The initiative is also linked to the parallel revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 (the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation), as limited consequential amendments may be needed in relation to the future EU Visa Support Office within the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The aim is to provide complementary measures to help Member States to apply visa rules consistently and make visa processing more efficient, fair and transparent.

The initiative will also take into account the results of the 2024 evaluation of the Visa Code, which assessed the implementation and functioning of the current rules and identified areas where the framework could be clarified, updated or made more effective.

Moreover, as part of the follow-up to the EU visa policy strategy mentioned above, the Commission will explore the feasibility of introducing an additional charge on top of the Schengen visa fee (to support the further development of the common visa policy). 

Problem the initiative aims to tackle

The common EU rules on short-stay visas are set out in Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, the Visa Code. They apply to non-EU nationals who need a visa to enter the Schengen area for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. In 2024, the consulates of EU countries and Schengen associated countries received more than 11.7 million applications for short-stay visas and issued almost 10.3 million visas. These visas support tourism, business and family visits; as well as cultural, study and research visits and other types of legitimate travel to Europe, making a key contribution to our economy and society.

At the same time, visa policy helps protect the Schengen area before travellers reach the EU’s external borders. It allows Member States to check applications in advance and to address risks linked to illegal migration, security, fraud and misuse of visa procedures.

The EU visa policy strategy identifies several shortcomings in the current framework. The revision of the Visa Code aims to address the following problems:

1.Article 25a of the Visa Code already links visa policy to third countries’ cooperation on return and readmission. However, the current mechanism does not allow a sufficiently flexible choice of restrictive visa measures or a rapid response when cooperation deteriorates seriously and suddenly. This limits the EU’s ability to use visa policy as an effective and credible lever to improve cooperation, which can affect the functioning of return procedures, place pressure on Member States and weaken the coherence of the EU’s external action.

2.In addition, the Visa Code currently does not provide a dedicated EU-level tool to address insufficient cooperation by visa-required third countries in related areas such as border management, security, the fight against illegal migration and migrant smuggling. Without EU action, the common visa policy would be less able to respond coherently to such challenges, which may affect the security of the Schengen area and increase migratory pressure at the EU’s external borders.

3.The current Visa Code does not provide a clear EU-level mechanism that allows for the suspension, rejection or restriction of visa applications from specific categories of travellers in response to unforeseen events, including hostile actions by third countries, hybrid threats, information manipulation and interference, the instrumentalisation or weaponisation of migration, acts of sabotage, espionage or open aggression. Recent developments have shown that this restricts the EU’s preparedness and ability to react swiftly and coherently where the continued issuing of visas for certain categories of travellers may no longer be appropriate because of risks to public policy, internal security or the international relations of Member States. Without EU action, responses would remain fragmented and less predictable, reducing the effectiveness of visa policy as a common tool to protect the Schengen area and defend EU interests.

4.Business travellers acting on behalf of trusted companies generally present a lower risk profile and are reliable, but there is currently no common EU approach to identifying such travellers or their corporate sponsors. Some Member States have national or sector-specific facilitation schemes, but these do not have Schengen-wide effect. This creates fragmentation for companies active across the EU, as their employees may face different procedures, requirements for supporting documents, and processing conditions depending on which Member State is competent for the application. Without EU action, reliable business travellers would continue to lack predictable facilitation measures across the Schengen area, limiting the contribution of visa policy to doing business, attracting talent and boosting the competitiveness of the single market.

5.The Visa Code already allows local adaptations, for example as regards supporting documents or the issuing of multiple-entry visas. However, these adaptations are not always used in a sufficiently coherent or strategic way to reflect common EU priorities. This may lead to diverging practices between consulates and limit the ability of local visa rules to respond consistently to migratory or security risks, to cooperation on readmission, concerns about the security of documents or the wider external-relations context. Without EU action, local adaptations may continue to address similar situations differently, weakening the coherence of the common visa policy.

6.The Visa Regulation allows Member States to maintain or grant certain exemptions from the short-stay visa requirement, for example for holders of diplomatic or service passports. This can become problematic when EU-level restrictive visa measures are adopted under the Visa Code against a third country or specific categories of its nationals. If bilateral exemptions continue to apply to categories of persons targeted by EU-level measures, they could create loopholes, lead to divergent treatment by different Member States and weaken the common EU policy towards the third country concerned. This may reduce the coherence, credibility and effectiveness of restrictive visa measures, in particular where such measures are intended to improve cooperation, respond to security concerns or protect the interests of the Schengen area. Without alignment between the Visa Code and the Visa Regulation, EU-level measures could therefore be applied unevenly and have a weaker practical and political effect.

7.Successive legislative developments in the EU’s visa rules have made it necessary to correct certain technical inconsistencies in the Visa Code, including outdated references and procedural provisions that are no longer fully aligned with related instruments. This may create legal uncertainty and make the common rules less clear for visa applicants, Member States’ consulates and EU agencies, in particular in the context of the digitalisation of visa procedures.

These issues affect Member State authorities, visa applicants, businesses, tourists and non-EU partner countries. Without EU action, the common visa policy would be less able to respond coherently to new challenges, support cooperation with partner countries and facilitate legitimate travel to the EU.

Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check)

Legal basis

The legal basis for the initiative is point (a) of Article 77(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which empowers the EU to develop measures concerning ‘the common policy on visas and other short-stay residence permits’. This falls within the area of freedom, security and justice, where competence is shared between the European Union and the Member States in accordance with Article 4(2)(j) TFEU.

Practical need for EU action

The objectives of this initiative cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States acting alone. Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 is an EU act and can only be amended at EU level.

Short-stay visas issued by one Member State normally allow travel throughout the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This means that visa decisions and visa procedures in one Member State can affect all other Member States.

EU action is therefore needed to ensure that visa procedures remain consistent across the Schengen area, to preserve mutual trust between Member States and ensure that visa policy remains effective as a common tool in the EU’s relations with non-EU countries.

Action at EU level will also allow common responses to challenges linked to security, migration, border management and return and readmission, while ensuring that any facilitation for legitimate travellers is based on strong common safeguards. A revision at EU level will provide the legal clarity and consistency that separate national measures could not achieve.

B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how

The initiative aims to make the EU’s common visa policy more coherent, secure and effective, while facilitating legitimate travel to the EU.

In particular, the initiative would assess whether the Visa Code should be adapted to allow restrictive visa measures to be used in a more strategic, agile and targeted way when non-EU countries do not cooperate sufficiently on return and readmission. There is potential to make the current mechanism more strategic and to use it more effectively, for example by exploring a more flexible choice of restrictive visa measures and a swifter and more focused response to a serious deterioration in cooperation, while ensuring that any EU measures remain proportionate to the situation addressed.

In addition, a new mechanism should be explored to address situations where third countries do not sufficiently cooperate in related areas such as border management, security, the fight against illegal migration and migrant smuggling. Such measures would be designed as a last-resort tool, based on a careful assessment of reliable information, the EU’s interests, the proportionality of any measure and the overall relations with the third country concerned.

The initiative would also consider the feasibility of introducing a clearer EU-level framework for targeted restrictive visa measures in cases of a serious deterioration in the political or security situation in a non-EU country, including where risks to the EU or its Member States are created by hostile actions, hybrid threats, information manipulation and interference, the instrumentalisation or weaponisation of migration, acts of sabotage, espionage or open aggression. Such measures should be swift, proportionate, targeted and reversible, while ensuring built-in safeguards for human rights defenders, dissidents, independent journalists, and members of civil society organisations, and in other humanitarian or exceptional cases.

The initiative would also assess whether additional criteria should guide local adaptations of visa rules, including migratory and security risks, cooperation on readmission, the level of document security and the wider external-relations context, so that such adaptations remain responsive to local circumstances and proportionate to the specific risks or needs that have been identified.

Separately, the revision would explore ways to facilitate travel for reliable applicants and trusted business travellers, including through possible common lists of verified companies by third country or jurisdiction, endorsed through Local Schengen Cooperation. Employees of such companies could benefit from targeted and proportionate facilitations such as fast-track processing, priority appointments and/or fewer supporting documents.

Finally, the revision would include limited technical clarifications linked to the digitalisation of visa procedures and amendments to reflect the potential future role of the EU Visa Support Office within Frontex. It will also include amendments to the Visa Regulation to ensure that visa measures imposed on a third country under Article 25a and the targeted measures as proposed in the visa strategy, are not affected by bilateral visa exemptions.

In addition, the Commission will explore, together with Member States, the feasibility of introducing a harmonised additional charge levied at EU level on top of the Schengen visa fee, and the possible use of the resulting revenue to support the further development of the common visa policy.

Likely impacts

Revising the Visa Code as such does not have any direct economic, social or environmental impact.

Any visa measures affecting specific non-EU countries, categories of travellers or types of applications will be assessed case by case, taking into account the proportionality of the measure, the EU’s interests, and safeguards for humanitarian and exceptional cases.

Measures facilitating travel for reliable applicants and trusted business travellers, together with technical clarifications linked to digitalisation, will make visa procedures more predictable and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on both applicants and Member State authorities.

Future monitoring

The Commission will monitor the implementation of the revised rules through existing cooperation with Member States, including exchanges in the relevant Council and Commission expert groups, local cooperation between Member States’ consulates, and regular reporting on visa policy.

Monitoring will draw on visa statistics, information from Member States and EU agencies, and exchanges with non-EU countries. Where visa measures are adopted, the Commission will review whether they remain necessary and proportionate, taking account of developments in the country concerned and the level of cooperation achieved.

C. Better regulation

Impact assessment

According to the Commission’s Better Regulation rules, an impact assessment is not required when impacts are small, when impacts cannot be clearly identified in advance, or when there is little or no choice available to the Commission.

Revising the Visa Code as such does not have direct economic, social or environmental impacts. The main possible impacts would arise only if specific visa measures were proposed or applied at a later stage, in relation to a particular non-EU country, category of travellers or type of visa application.

Those situations cannot be identified in advance and will depend on future developments, such as changes in migration trends, the level of cooperation of individual non-EU countries, security concerns, geopolitical developments and the EU’s overall relations with the country concerned.

The impact of such measures cannot be meaningfully assessed in general terms at this stage. Where specific visa measures are considered in the future, their need, proportionality and possible effects will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

For these reasons, it is considered that an impact assessment is not possible in this case

Other parts of the initiative are limited in scope, such as technical clarifications linked to the digitalisation of visa procedures, updates linked to the future EU Visa Support Office within Frontex or amendments as a consequence of the Visa Regulation. These do not justify a separate impact assessment.

The initiative will build on the available evidence base, including the results of the 2024 evaluation of the Visa Code. It will also take into account, where relevant, the ongoing preparatory work for the revision of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, including the results of a public consultation and impact assessment on the update of Frontex’s tasks and governance framework.

Consultation strategy

The consultation aims to collect information, expertise and views to inform the preparation of the Commission proposal.

By publishing this call for evidence on the Have your say portal, the Commission intends to consult interested stakeholders, including people living in the EU, nationals of non-EU countries, Member State authorities, businesses, travellers, civil society organisations and other interested parties, on the challenges identified above and possible ways to address them. Feedback on this call for evidence can be submitted through the Commission’s Have your say portal in any of the 24 official EU languages.

The Commission will also consult the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament and the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Member States will be informed of progress and the envisaged course of action through meetings of the Visa Working Party in the Council of the European Union.

A summary of the results of the consultation will be prepared after the period of consultation.