EU visa-free travel: new suspension rules explained

The EU has tightened its rules on when visa-free ‘90/180 days’ travel can be suspended for non-EU citizens.

On the face of it this looks like potential bad news for citizens of any non-EU states, including Britons and Americans, who might face bars on visiting France, even if they own second homes here.

However, a closer look suggests the changes are unlikely to be cause for alarm.

In fact, the mechanism in question has existed since 2013. It is intended to be a safeguard against the abuse of the visa-free travel system, but has so far only been applied once – to Vanuatu, in 2022, due to its decision to essentially allow people to buy its citizenship (via an investment).

Vanuatu’s scheme, which the EU saw as a security risk, started in 2015 and the EU undertook negotiations, which failed. In 2024, it went further and removed the country altogether from the visa-free list.

The latest rules, which have yet to be finally approved, would make it easier for the EU to activate the suspension mechanism, but are still highly unlikely to see widespread use.

What does this relate to?

The EU has a visa-free arrangement with 61 countries, meaning that their citizens can visit the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. Visas are only required to come for longer periods, such as for stays of more than three months consecutively.

Citizens of other countries may not visit the EU at all without applying for a short-stay Schengen visa.

A mechanism exists whereby the EU can temporarily suspend the visa exemption for a particular country’s citizens, under certain conditions.

These can include where there is an increase in the number of asylum applications from these citizens and where there is also a low rate of recognition of genuine cases among these, or if there is a notable increase in the number of the country’s nationals being refused entry to the EU (eg. on security grounds), being found to be remaining in the EU without a legal residency right or committing serious crimes.

What do the new rules say?

More grounds are now specified for triggering the mechanism where it is thought that visa-free travel is being abused in some way, or is working against the interests of the EU. This could include:

• Where the other country is a close neighbour to the EU and has a policy on visa-free entry that is not ‘well-aligned’ with the EU’s own policies and this may lead to an increase in non-authorised arrivals in the EU from other non-EU states. In other words, if the EU thinks the country is letting in visa-free nationals who then risk trying to come into the EU irregularly.

• Where countries offer citizenship to people with no real link to their country, in return for payments or investments.

• Problems identified with a country’s document security (eg. relating to their passports or other travel or ID documents).

• A deterioration in the EU’s relations with a country, in areas such as human rights and fundamental freedoms, serious UN charter breaches, failure to respect international law and international court decisions, or hostile acts against the EU or EU states. This could include acts such as interference in political processes, economic coercion, cyber operations, or economic espionage.

• ‘Hybrid threats’ such as ‘situations of state-sponsored instrumentalisation of migrants, which aim to destabilise or undermine society and key institutions’. 

New thresholds are being set as to when existing rules are triggered, for example a ‘low’ rate of genuine asylum cases will be when only 20% or fewer cases processed are considered genuine.

A 30% increase (instead of 50%) in cases of refused entry, overstaying or serious crimes will be enough to trigger the mechanism on these grounds.

The duration of the initial suspension will increase from nine months to 12, and this can be extended by a further period of 24 months, up from 18. 

The further extension may be limited to the country’s diplomats and government officials rather than ordinary citizens, if the problems identified are deemed to be clearly the fault of the government.

The EU will seek ‘enhanced dialogue’ with the country concerned to see if it is possible to remedy the circumstances which triggered the mechanism.

What happens now?

The Council of the EU has approved the new regulation and it will now enter into force three weeks after publication in the EU’s official journal and will apply directly. 

Moving forward, the European Commission will monitor visa-free countries’ situations on an ongoing basis and, if necessary, it will take steps to put in place a suspension, in consultation with the member states.