As announced in the Pact on Migration and Asylum, this initiative aims to introduce a digital visa to replace the paper visa sticker currently used and to enable those planning to travel to the EU to submit their visa application online.
EU officials accuse the governments of several countries of a lack of cooperation when it comes to readmitting citizens whose asylum applications have been rejected within the bloc, a German newspaper reports.
The European Union aims to step up pressure on countries to take back migrants refused the right to remain in EU member states. The debate follows a report on how well third countries have cooperated on returns.
The UK is to launch a new visa system designed to make legal immigration easier for highly educated migrants, in particular those working in fields like finance, science, research and technology. The plans were, however, also criticized for being too elitist.
Haroune Khelifati has spent the last three years struggling with French administration. The Algerian says that the introduction of paperless procedures has prevented him from defending his case -- he now risks deportation. NGOs are fighting alongside foreigners to restore human contact in state services. They have recently achieved an encouraging victory.
After mounting pressure from rights group, France's highest court on Thursday lifted a termporary freeze on family reunification visas for spouses and children of non-European foreigners living in France. The government had imposed the freeze in March 2020 as a way to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of legal foreign residents in France who received family reunification approvals have been unable to get visas for their relatives. They say the suspension of these visa applications is "discriminatory".
Some people have to wait longer than a year before receiving an appointment to apply for reunification with family members in Germany. The Left Party has criticized the German government, saying the long wait is unacceptable and unjust.
The Greek government says recent arrivals of Somali migrants may have been coordinated by Turkish authorities. The Greek migration minister said the Somalis were being helped to obtain visas to enter Turkey legally and then continue on to Greece.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson traveled to Morocco for a two-day visit this week. Her aim was to improve cooperation with Morocco on the return of migrants and start the discussion over visa facilitation.
A number of countries, especially north-west African nations, are reluctant to issue consular papers for their undocumented nationals in France. These papers are needed for deportation. The problem is particularly acute for irregular migrants on terror watch-lists who are not wanted back in their home countries. To speed up expulsions, France has threatened to reduce visas to the countries in question.
The Dublin Regulation is the European law that determines where an asylum seeker's claim is processed. But does it cover everyone, even those with a tourist visa? We asked Petra Baeyens from the European Legal Network on Asylum for answers.