VISA POLICVISA POLICYY AND VISA REGIME AND VISA REGIME

SofiaSofia, , 99 JuneJune 201 20155

REPUBLIC OF CROATIAMINISTRY OF FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

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VISA REGIME

Full visa regime – as stipulated by Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 – introduced on 1 April 2013, 3 months prior to the accession of Croatia to the EU

Direct implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 + Article 3 and Annex IV of Visa Code, since 1 July 2013

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VISA REGIME

Last changes – introducing of the visa regime for:

Nationals of Turkey (1 April 2013)

Nationals of Russia (31 March 2013)

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VISA REGIME

DECISION 565/2014/EC

Foreigners DO NOT require a visa for Croatia if they are holders of a:

Schengen residence permit

Uniform visa (type C), two or multiple entries

LTV visa (Visa Code, Art. 25, Para. 3, first sentence)

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VISA REGIME

Long-term Visa D (issued by a Schengen Area Member State)

National visas for two or multiple entries and residence permits of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania

Applicable:

From 22 July 2014 until full implementation of the Schengen acquis

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VISA REGIME

REPRESENTATION AGREEMENTS & BIOMETRICS

Croatia has no experience with representation agreements

Except for Hungary in Moldova, but it has become obsolete due to the change of visa regime with Moldova

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At the moment Croatia does not collect biometric data

The national visa system (HVIS) is upgraded and supports this functionality

VISA REGIME

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Before being posted to an Embassy / Consulate all consular officials are required to go throug consular training

All consular officials are also required to pass the consular exam (written + oral)

VISA TRAINING

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VISA TRAINING

Several training sessions in common visa policy and recognizing counterfeit documents as part of IPA light Twinning project with Finland and Romania

A series of Schengen trainings as part of preparations for joining the Schengen Area (Schengen visa process and recognizing counterfeit documents) funded from the SFF (Schengen Facility Fund) – Slovenian and Austrian experts

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OUTSOURCING

Croatia cooperates with VFS Global

in Russia (19 VACs) and Ukraine (4 VACs) since 2013

As of June/July 2015 additional 37 VACs in 26 countries (parts of Africa and Asia)

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VISA APPLICATION PROCESS

Visa application process

Completely aligned with Visa Code

Most visas issued in 4 – 5 days

Deciding on the visa application:

DM/CP may decide on the application or

DM/CP shall request prior consent of the MFEA (in cases stipulated in subordinate legislation)

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VISA APPLICATION PROCESS

Prior consent of the MFEA

Ministry of Interior – opinion

Security Inteligence Agency – opinion

MFEA – final consent

Appeals – decided on by the MFEA

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VISA APPLICATION PROCESS

Possibility of forwarding visa applications electronically to any Croatian DM/CP

Possibility of completing online visa application form

Division for Visas: 1 + 6 officials

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KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES

EXCHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE AND

EXPERIENCES

No barrier for cross-border cooperation in exchanging knowledge, experience and best practice

Existing mechanisms: twinning projects, TAIEX...

Also through bilateral cooperation

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At the end…..

Thank you for your attention