The EU has tightened short-stay visa procedures for Somali nationals, using migration leverage against Somalia after concluding that the country has not cooperated sufficiently on returns.
The Council of the EU said the decision, adopted on Thursday, follows a European Commission assessment of Somalia’s cooperation on the readmission of its nationals who are staying irregularly in the bloc.
Under EU rules, readmission refers to the process by which a non-EU country takes back its citizens who have no legal right to remain in EU member states.
The new measures mean member states will no longer be able to issue multiple-entry visas to Somali nationals. They will also no longer be able to waive certain documentary evidence requirements for Somali visa applicants.
Holders of diplomatic and service passports will also lose the option of visa fee waivers, while the standard processing period for applications will be set at 45 calendar days, instead of 15.
The restrictions are temporary but have no fixed end date. The Council said the aim is to encourage Somalia to improve its cooperation on readmissions, with the Commission expected to continue assessing any progress.
The decision comes amid a wider EU push to link visa policy more closely with migration management. At a Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on June 4, ministers discussed Somalia’s cooperation on readmission, noting that irregular arrivals of Somali nationals to the EU had more than doubled between 2024 and 2025, with many journeys facilitated by smuggling networks.
The EU has used similar visa pressure before under the Visa Code mechanism, which allows parts of the short-stay visa framework to be suspended when cooperation on readmission is considered insufficient.
For Brussels, the move is intended to send a clear message that countries of origin are expected to cooperate on the return of their nationals. For Somali applicants, however, the immediate effect will be a slower and more restrictive visa process.
Source: CNA
