Division 1.2 Scope of the Agreement

Article 2 of the Agreement reads:

‘1.

The measures to facilitate the issue of visas set out in this Agreement shall apply to citizens of Cape Verde and of the Union only in so far as they are not exempt from visa requirements under the laws and regulations of the Union or its Member States or of Cape Verde, or under the present Agreement or other international agreements.

2.

The national law of Cape Verde and of the Member States or the law of the Union shall apply to matters not covered by the provisions of this Agreement, such as refusal to issue a visa, recognition of travel documents, proof of sufficient means of subsistence, refusal of entry and expulsion measures.’.

Without prejudice to Article 8 of the Agreement, the Agreement does not affect the existing Union and national rules on visa obligations and visa exemptions. For instance, Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001^f1 allows Member States to exempt from the visa requirement, among other categories of persons, civilian air and sea crews.

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f2 (‘the Visa Code’) applies to all issues not covered by the Agreement, such as the determination of the Schengen State responsible for processing a visa application, the motivation of refusal to issue a visa and the right to appeal against a negative decision. Furthermore, Schengen rules and national law continue to apply to issues which are not covered by the Agreement, such as the recognition of travel documents, proof of documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the journey and sufficient means of subsistence, the processing times for visa applications, the refusal of entry into the territory of the Member States and expulsion measures.

Even if the conditions foreseen in the Agreement are met, the issuing of the visa can still be refused if the conditions laid down in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f3 (‘the Schengen Borders Code’) are not fulfilled, i.e. the person is not in possession of a valid travel document, an alert in the Schengen Information System has been issued, the person is considered a threat for public policy, internal security, etc.

Other flexibilities in the issuing of visas allowed for by the Visa Code continue to apply. For instance, multiple-entry visas for a long period of validity — up to five years — can be issued to categories of persons other than those mentioned in Article 4 of the Agreement, if the conditions foreseen in the Visa Code (Article 24) are met. In the same way, the provisions contained in the Visa Code allowing waiver or reduction of the visa fee will continue to apply (Article 16(5) and (6) of the Visa Code). The national law of Cape Verde continues to apply to all matters related to the issuing of visas to Union citizens by Cape Verde and not covered by the Agreement, such as those mentioned in three preceding paragraphs.