- The European Union has widened the grounds for suspending visa-free travel for third-country citizens into the Schengen area.
- New triggers for suspension include running investor citizenship schemes and a country’s lack of alignment with EU visa policy or deterioration in relations, such as human rights violations.
- The regulatory thresholds for activating the suspension mechanism have been lowered from a 50% increase to a 30% increase in critical indicators like overstays and refused entries.
- The initial suspension period has been extended to 12 months and can be further extended by 24 months, with the possibility of targeting the suspension only at government officials or diplomats.
The European Council finalized an update to the European Union’s mechanism for suspending visa-free travel on November 17, 2025. This reform aims to allow the EU to respond more quickly and forcefully when visa-free status is perceived to be misused or contradicts EU interests. The new regulations introduce expanded grounds for activating the suspension and significantly lengthen the potential duration of temporary suspensions.
Key changes include new triggers for suspension, such as a third country’s lack of alignment with the EU’s visa policy or the operation of investor citizenship schemes, also known as “golden passports,” that grant citizenship without a genuine link to the country. Suspension may also be initiated if relations deteriorate due to issues like human rights violations. The quantitative threshold for triggering a review has been lowered from a 50% to a 30% increase in cases of refused entry, overstays, asylum applications, or serious criminal offenses.
The initial suspension period is being extended from 9 months to 12 months, with the possibility of a further extension of 24 months, up from the previous 18 months. This longer period is intended to facilitate engagement with the affected country to remedy the circumstances. Furthermore, the updated mechanism allows for a targeted approach during the extension phase, potentially affecting only government officials and diplomats, rather than the entire population.
Experts identify several regions under monitoring, including Western Balkan countries like Serbia, and Eastern Caribbean nations with investment citizenship programs. However, Georgia is cited as the country facing the highest risk of suspension due to its perceived shift away from the EU and its adoption of controversial legislation. The new rules are anticipated to enter into force before the end of the year.
