Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code)

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas became applicable on 5 April 2010.

In accordance with Article 51 of the Visa Code, operational instructions on the practical application of the provisions of the Regulation have been drawn up by the Commission Decision establishing the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas, adopted on 19 March 2010.

During the preparation of the Handbook, it has been observed that the formulation of Article 3 (5) (b) and (c) was unclear. As the Handbook cannot create legally binding obligations on Member States, it is necessary to amend the Visa Code to establish legal certainty and a harmonised application of the rules. Such clarification is of practical importance for individual travellers and for airline companies.

This proposal is limited to the technical amendment consisting in clarifying the existing text.

EUR-Lex: COM(2011)516: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2011:516:FIN

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