The Council of the European Union has made the decision to suspend certain visa provisions for Ethiopian nationals due to what it deems as “insufficient cooperation” by the Ethiopian government in the readmission of its citizens. These decisions were stated to be because of the Ethiopian government’s lack of response to the readmission requests of the EU. An assessment conducted by the European Commission revealed that the EU has been facing ongoing difficulties in identifying Ethiopian individuals residing illegally in Europe due to this lack of cooperation.
The Council announced that it would suspend the application of the provisions under Article 25a(5) of the EU’s Visa Code. This European regulation outlines the conditions and procedures for granting short-stay visas to foreign visitors of EU member states. It also details the rules concerning airport transit visas.
Application of these restrictions would mean EU countries ceasing the issuing of multiple entry visas to Ethiopian nationals. It would also lead to the requirement for Ethiopian visa applicants to submit certain documents, which were previously waived as denoted under Article 14(6). Furthermore, Ethiopian travelers holding diplomatic or service passports would be required to pay the visa fee. Additionally, the standard visa processing period will be extended from 15 to 45 days. The Council did not specify an end date, only noting that these suspensions are provisional.
The Council acknowledged its decision to enforce these visa restrictions was spurred by the Ethiopian government’s insufficient cooperation regarding the readmission of its citizens who were residing illegally in the EU. This conclusion was reached after the European Commission found continuing difficulties in repatriating Ethiopians residing illegally in the EU, including issues in providing travel documents for deportees and organizing deportations. Cooperation needs significant improvement at all stages of readmission process.
The purpose of these restrictions, as stated by The Council of the EU, is not punitive but rather aims to ‘encourage Ethiopia to undertake the actions necessary to improve cooperation on readmission matters.”
Ethiopia has been dealing with a severe humanitarian crisis since 2020, with the situation exacerbated by a series of ongoing armed conflicts between the government and local armed groups, which started when the Tigray war began, forcing millions of Ethiopians to flee the country.