The Council of the European Union has decided to impose temporary restrictions on visa provisions for nationals of Ethiopia.
The decision of the Council to tighten the Schengen visa rules for passport holders of Ethiopia is a response to concerns over the country’s insufficient cooperation regarding the readmission of its nationals staying irregularly in the EU, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Effective immediately, some elements of the EU law regulating the issuance of Schengen visas to nationals of Ethiopia have been suspended.
In line with the new rules, Schengen member states are no longer authorised to waive requirements related to the evidence documents that Ethiopian visa applicants need to submit. This means that Ethiopians must submit all the required documents without any exemption.
In addition, the Council has prohibited the member states from issuing multiple-entry visas to Ethiopians.
Passport holders of Ethiopia applying for Schengen visas will now be issued only single-entry visas, which become invalid as soon as the holders exit the Schengen Area.
Source: ShengenVisa
