Council suspends Visa Code waivers and cuts processing to 45 days for Somali nationals
EU consular visa authorities must apply a 45-day processing standard and drop documentary, multiple-entry and diplomatic-passport waivers for Somali applicants
Change
On 25 June 2026 the Council of the European Union adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1454, temporarily suspending Visa Code (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009) provisions for Somali nationals subject to the visa requirement: Article 14(6) documentary-evidence waivers, the Article 23(1) 15-day processing period (now a 45-day standard), Article 24(2)/(2c) multiple-entry visas, and the Article 16(5)(b) diplomatic/service-passport fee waiver; it takes effect on notification.
Why it matters
The suspension makes 45 calendar days the standard processing period for affected Somali visa applicants and removes consular discretion to waive documentary evidence, grant multiple-entry visas, or waive fees for diplomatic and service passports. It applies only to Somali nationals subject to the visa requirement, and carves out family members of EU citizens and equivalent free-movement beneficiaries, visa-exempt Somali nationals, and visas Member States must issue to meet international-law obligations as hosts of international organisations or conferences. The Council adopted it because the Commission assessed Somalia's readmission cooperation as insufficient.
Implications
- — Visa-issuing consular authorities in the addressed Member States must process Somali-national applications under the suspended Visa Code rules — a 45-calendar-day standard period, no documentary-evidence waivers, no multiple-entry visas, and no diplomatic or service-passport fee waivers — for applicants subject to the visa requirement.
- — Consular authorities in the addressed Member States must apply the Decision's carve-outs — family members of EU citizens and equivalent free-movement beneficiaries, visa-exempt Somali nationals, and applicants Member States must accommodate to meet international-law obligations as hosts of international organisations or conferences — because the suspension does not reach those applicants.
Who is affected
- — Visa-issuing consular authorities in the addressed EU Member States
- — Member State immigration and legal units applying the Decision's exemptions
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