EU Visa Policy Strategy
Summary
EU Visa Policy Strategy sets out changes to make visa tools more responsive to readmission, security and border-management cooperation. In 2026, the Commission plans a new framework for visa-exemption assessments, a Visa Code revision and the launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. The measures cover restrictive visa options, digitalised procedures, travel-document security, longer-validity multiple-entry visas, support for innovation talent, border-management IT and a proposed EU Visa Support Office within a revised Frontex mandate.
Action items
1–6 of 21 items
Source order · D = digital dimension- Item 1
Develop in 2026 a new assessment framework for proposing visa exemptions.
- Item 2
Propose a revision of the Visa Code in 2026, including to:
- Item 3
make the Article 25a mechanism more strategic and agile to respond more effectively to insufficient cooperation on readmission; by focusing on the suspension of fast-track visa processing and of multiple-entry visas, as well as allowing for the suspension of visa issuance for certain (e.g. diplomatic or service) or all categories of passports.
- Item 4
develop ad hoc measures under the Visa Code in response to insufficient cooperation by third countries in the fields of security and border management, including the fight against illegal migration and human smuggling;
- Item 5
introduce targeted restrictive visa measures in cases of a severe deterioration of the political or security situation in a third country;
- Item 6
introduce new criteria for local adaptations of visa rules.