Annex COMMON GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN ON THE FACILITATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF VISAS

The purpose of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of visas (the ‘Agreement’), which entered into force on 1 September 2014, is to facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the procedures for issuing visas for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days to the citizens of the Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Agreement establishes, on the basis of reciprocity, legally binding rights and obligations for the purpose of simplifying the visa issuing procedures for the citizens of the Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

These Guidelines, adopted by the Joint Committee set up under Article 12 of the Agreement (the ‘Joint Committee’), aim at ensuring a harmonised implementation of the Agreement by the diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States of the Union (‘Member States’) and the Republic of Azerbaijan. These Guidelines are not part of the Agreement and therefore are not legally binding. However, it is highly recommended that diplomatic and consular staff consistently follow them when implementing the Agreement.

These Guidelines are intended to be updated in light of experiences gained in the implementation of the Agreement under the responsibility of the Joint Committee.

In order to ensure the continued and harmonized implementation of the Agreement and in conformity with the rules of procedure of the Joint Visa Facilitation Committee, the Parties agreed to undertake informal contacts between formal meetings of the Joint Committee, in order to deal with urgent issues. Detailed reports about these issues and the informal contacts will be submitted at the subsequent Joint Committee meeting.