EU guidance on the handling of visa applications from residents of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions

The European Commission and the European External Action Service have this week sent EU Member States and non-EU Schengen countries guidance on how to handle visa applications lodged by residents of the non-Government controlled areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The guidance document follows up on the European Council Conclusions of 20 June 2019 and the Member States’ requests for guidance on the identification and non-recognition of the passports issued as a consequence of the Russian presidential decree of 24 April. The guidance sent provides a set of uniform treatment criteria to help Member States’ consulates to establish the actual place of legal residence of Russian passport holders, as well as details on how to process visa applications by residents of the non-Government controlled areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions holding Russian passports.The guidance will help ensure that EU rules on Schengen visas are correctly and consistently applied in the Russian Federation and Ukraine, taking also into account that Ukrainian nationals have the possibility to acquire Ukrainian biometric passports and travel to the EU without a visa.