# Council Decision (EU) 2018/311 of 27 February 2018 establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the Union within the Joint Committee set up under the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of visas, with regard to the adoption of common guidelines for the implementation of that Agreement, Division 2.1.1: Fees for processing visa applications

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

Article 6(1) of the Agreement provides that:
‘1. The fee for processing visa applications shall amount to EUR 35.’.
In accordance with Article 6(1) of the Agreement, the fee for processing a visa application is EUR 35. That fee applies to all visa applicants being citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan or of the Union (including tourists) and concerns short-stay visas, irrespective of the number of entries.
Article 6(2) of the Agreement provides that:
‘2. Without prejudice to paragraph 3 fees for processing the visa application are waived for the following categories of persons:
(a) for close relatives – spouses, children (including adopted), parents (including custodians), grandparents and grand-children – of citizens of the European Union legally residing in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan legally residing in the territory of the Member States, of citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State of which they are nationals, and of citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan residing in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
(b) for members of official delegations, including permanent members of official delegations, who, following an official invitation addressed to the Member States, the European Union or the Republic of Azerbaijan, shall participate in official meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan or one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations;
(c) pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purposes of study or educational training, including in the framework of exchange programmes as well as other school related activities;
(d) persons with disabilities and the persons accompanying them, if necessary;’.
In order to benefit from the fee waiver, evidence should be provided that both visa applicants fall under this category. In cases where the disability of the visa applicant is obvious (blind persons, people missing limbs) the visual recognition at the consular post is acceptable.
In justified cases the visa application may be submitted by a representative or the guardian of the disabled person.
(e) ‘participants in international sports events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity; (N.B. Supporters will not be considered as accompanying persons);
(f) persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities, including university and other exchange programmes;
(g) persons who have presented documents proving the necessity of their travel on humanitarian grounds, including to receive urgent medical treatment and the person accompanying such person, or to attend a funeral of a close relative, or to visit a seriously ill close relative;
(h) representatives of civil society organizations when undertaking trips for the purposes of educational training, seminars, conferences, including in the framework of exchange programmes;’.
In order to benefit from the fee waiver for this category, visa applicants must present proof of being members of civil society organisations or non-profit organisations registered in the Member States or the Republic of Azerbaijan – see Article 4 of the Agreement.
‘(i)
pensioners;’.
In order to benefit from the fee waiver for this category, visa applicants must present a proof of their pensioner status. The waiver is not justified in cases where the purpose of the journey is paid activity.
(j) ‘children below the age of 12;
(k) journalists and technical crew accompanying them in a professional capacity;’.
In order to benefit from the fee waiver for this category, visa applicants must present proof of being members of professional journalistic or media organisations – see Article 4 of the Agreement.
As far as the Member States are concerned, the fee is waived for the abovementioned categories of persons. In addition, the fee is also waived, in accordance with Article 16(4) of the Visa Code, for the following categories of persons:
researchers from third countries travelling within the European Union for the purpose of carrying out scientific research as defined in Recommendation 2005/761/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
representatives of non-profit organisations aged 25 years or less participating in seminars, conferences, sports, cultural or educational events organised by non-profit organisations.
Article 16(6) of the Visa Code provides that:
‘6. In individual cases, the amount of the fee to be charged may be waived or reduced when to do so serves to promote cultural or sporting interests as well as interests in the field of foreign policy, development policy and other areas of vital public interest or for humanitarian reasons.’.
Article 16(7) of the Visa Code provides that the visa fee is to be charged in euro, in the national currency of the third country or in the currency usually used in the third country where the application is lodged, and is not refundable except in the cases of an inadmissible application or if the consulate is not competent.
In order to avoid discrepancies which could lead to visa shopping, diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States in the Republic of Azerbaijan should endeavour to ensure similar visa fees for all Azerbaijani visa applicants when charged in foreign currencies.
Likewise, in terms of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the fee is also waived, in accordance with Article 17(2) of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan ‘On State Fees’, for the following categories of foreigners;
members of the state delegation and officials;
representatives of international humanitarian organizations in the Republic of Azerbaijan;
persons who are studying or are engaged in pedagogical activities via state programmes;
persons who travel for defence purposes.
Visa applicants from the Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan will be given a receipt for the visa fee paid.
Article 6(3) of the Agreement provides that:
‘3. If a Member State or the Republic of Azerbaijan cooperates with an external service provider in view of issuing a visa the external service provider may charge a service fee. This fee shall be proportionate to the costs incurred by the external service provider while performing its tasks and shall not exceed EUR 30. The Member States and the Republic of Azerbaijan shall maintain the possibility for all applicants to lodge their applications directly at their consulates.
For the Union, the external service provider shall conduct its operations in accordance with the Visa Code and in full respect of the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
For the Republic of Azerbaijan, the external service provider shall conduct its operations in accordance with the Azerbaijani legislation and of the legislation of the EU Member States.’.
With regard to the arrangements of the cooperation with external services providers, Article 43 of the Visa Code provides detailed information concerning their tasks.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2018/311/annex/division/II/division/2.1/division/2.1.1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-311/annex/division-II/division-2.1/division-2.1.1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.