BRUSSELS – Citizens from Ethiopia would now be subjected to tough scrutiny as the European Union has confirmed that it is tightening visa requirements for people from the country.
The announcement made on Monday comes after Ethiopia was accused of failure to cooperate in taking back citizens found to be living illegally in the 27-nation bloc.
The fresh changes for Ethiopians include processing of visas in 45 days instead of 15 days. Moreover, EU countries will no longer be permitted to waive requirements for certain paperwork or issue multiple-entry visas.
The visa conditions have also been made tough for Ethiopian diplomats and officials who will now have to pay for travel visas.
The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, has affirmed to use visa rules as a way of applying pressure on countries to cooperate in deportation procedures.
A press statement by the Council of the EU said the European Commission had decided that “cooperation by Ethiopia in the field of readmission of its nationals illegally staying in the EU is insufficient.”
The Council of the EU said that as far as the validity of visa restrictions on Ethiopians is concerned, it will depend on whether Ethiopia shows progress on readmission cooperation or not.
The visa rules might seem very tough but as far as the statistics are concerned, only around one in three people ordered to depart the EU actually leave, prompting the authorities to find out a workable solution.
The Commission highlighted that the action is being taken due to a lack of response from the Ethiopian authorities with regard to readmission requests.
It is to be highlighted that the majority of the people staying illegally in the EU arrive without violating any rules via airports or ports but the problem starts when they never go home once their visas expire.
