Division 2.1.2 Length of procedures for processing visa applications

Article 7 of the Agreement provides that:

‘1.

Diplomatic missions and consular services of the Member States shall take a decision upon the request to issue a visa within 10 calendar days starting from the date of the receipt of the application and documents required for issuing visas.

2.

The period of time for taking a decision on a visa application may be extended up to 30 calendar days in individual cases, notably when further review of the application is needed.

3.

The period of time for taking a decision on a visa application may be reduced to 2 working days or less in urgent cases.’.

A decision on the visa application will be taken, in principle, within 10 calendar days of the date of the lodging of a visa application which is admissible.

That period may be extended up to 30 calendar days when further scrutiny is needed, for example, for consultation of central authorities.

All those deadlines start running only when the visa application file is complete, i.e. as from the date of reception of the visa application and the supporting documents.

For diplomatic missions and consular services of the Member States that have an appointment system, the period of time to get an appointment is not counted as part of the processing time. The general rules set out in Article 9 of the Visa Code are applicable to this issue as well as to other practical modalities for lodging a visa application. In particular, when an appointment is required for the lodging of a visa application, it will, as a rule, take place within a period of two weeks from the date when the appointment was requested.

When setting the appointment, the possible urgency claimed by the visa applicant should be taken into account. The decision about the reduced time for taking a decision on a visa application as defined in Article 7(3) of the Agreement is taken by the consular officer.

In line with the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas (Part 2, point 3.2.2), the capacity of Member States' consulates in Georgia to handle visa applications should be adapted so as to respect the two-week deadline for an appointment provided for in the Visa Code, including during peak seasons.

In justified cases of urgency (where the visa could not have been applied earlier for reasons that could not have been foreseen by the visa applicant), an appointment (in accordance with Article 9(3) of the Visa Code) should be given immediately or direct access for submitting the application should be allowed.

In addition, a consulate may decide to establish a ‘fast track’ procedure for the submission of visa applications in order to receive certain categories of visa applicants.