EU Implements Schengen Visa Admissions from China to Combat the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak

Male with mask waiting

The coronavirus outbreak in China has nations around the world grappling with their own localized cases as well as the broader implications all of this has for international travel. On top of canceled flights and sharply declining tourist revenues, the coronavirus is starting to impact factory production and logistics around the world. Given the gravity of the situation and how much damage a full-blown outbreak would do to the broader economy over a longer period of time, the European Union has restricted Schengen visas to people from China in an effort to halt the spread of the virus via the one route remaining open: Trade.

Most Visa Application Centers across China will remain closed until Feb. 9 The re-opening of the centers may change, subject to further notifications from authorities.

Like the SARS outbreak before it and the MERS outbreak that followed that, Covid-19 is charting a similar course. Complications associated with Covid-19  include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and trouble breathing in general. In extreme cases, it can cause kidney failure and death. The World Health Organization advises people to continuously wash their hands and avoid undercooked meats.

Additionally, it is recommended that people cover their mouths when coughing and self isolate if they start showing symptoms of illness. Limiting air travel not only helps contain the outbreak by cutting off pathways for spread but also limits the intense exposure people have to one another while on a commercial airline.

The World Health Organization tells us that Covid-19 is highly contagious.

As they explain, “The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick.”

A recent flight of US citizens caused controversy because the government officials managing their transport weren’t given proper medical gear and prevention supplies which just further serves to highlight how treacherous air travel during an outbreak. Many experts anticipate the arrival of warmed temperatures in the northern hemisphere will limit the spread of Covid-19 and thus contain the economic impact it has in the coming months though that remains to be seen.

Belarussian Applications for Schengen Visa Will Be Handled with a “Flexible Approach”

A squad of soldiers is to guard the Belarusian-Polish border line

Countries that are member states of the European Union will use a “flexible approach” to issuing visas to Belarussian nationals in a joint agreement between that country and the multistate union.

Head of the European Union Delegation to Belarus Dirk Schuebel clarified that these would be short-stay visas for travel within the Schengen zone and reminded the press that the new rules apply to all countries in the world as of the 2nd of February of this year.

Improvements to the process include the ability for travellers to apply for a visa 6 months prior to departure as opposed to 3 prior and the ability to process for multiple entry visas with long shelf lifes for frequent travellers will be easier to approve.

Schuebel explained, “At the same time, the visa fee is now €80. The increase is the first one since 2006 and is in line with inflation. The visa fee is still waived for children below 6 years old, as was already the case under the previous rules. The visa fee for minors between the age of 6 and 12 years remains half of the general fee, and thus increases to €40.” Though the agreement between Belarus and the European Union still requires the approval of the EU Parliament, this is largely expected to occur.

At that point, the visa application fee will go from the current rate of €85 to €35 for Belarussian nationals. In some particular cases, visa application fees could even be waived. This is envisioned as applying to people such as athletes and cultural representatives. The intended goal of the new process is to encourage tourism and increased business linkages between Belarus and the European Union member states. To highlight this benefit, Schuebel pointed out that the EU members states are among the most visited places in the world and thus the ease of access this agreement would provide to Belarus and its people cannot be underestimated.

Czech Republic Identifies Citizens from Ukraine and Moldova As Most Likely to Overstay Their Visa

Prague, Czech Republic bridges skyline with historic Charles Bridge and Vltava river in the afternoon

One of the major problems that countries face when they welcome travelers from abroad is that some people often stay well past their allotted visa time.

This can cause a myriad of headaches for the hosting country and could result in some serious legal problems for the person overstaying their welcome.

To a large extent, European Union membership and the Schengen visa system has largely eliminated a lot of the paperwork associated with travel within and between states in the EU.

Yet that doesn’t mean that people don’t still break the rules, as lax as they are, and the Czech Republic has recently pointed to two nations’ travelers as providing it with some difficulties when it comes to Schengen visa terms compliance: the Ukraine and Moldova. Specifically, 1456 citizens from Ukraine overstayed their visas in the Czech Republic while Moldova had 825 people.

The main issue identified with the Ukrainian travelers is that they are not only overstaying their visa but also trying to actively find work in the Czech Republic – something explicitly forbidden by Schengen area rules. This kind of under-the-table employment situation not only robs the Czech Republic of tax revenue but also potentially displaces a Czech citizen or someone else who has the legitimate right to work in the republic from obtaining a job.

The main sectors targeted by Ukrainian citizens include construction and manufacturing, two industries that potentially provide well-paying jobs but which might actually be paying people less than market rate due to status within the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic also noted that the number of people classified as refugees that are using the country as a transit point has increased from 75 to 266. In 2019, the Czech police deported some 7067 people to keep the situation under control but rising numbers have authorities concerned about the near future.

Visas for people from Ukraine were abolished in 2017 and, since that time, some 33 million trips have occurred between the Ukraine and Schengen zone countries of which some 2.5 million were visa-free. The president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is encouraged by these numbers and sees such international linkages are vital to Ukraine’s increased standing in the international order. Ukrainians enjoy visa-free travel or e-visa upon arrival to 128 countries around the world which makes their passport the 40th most powerful out of 105.

Often touted as one of the major benefits of EU membership, the Schengen visa system is one of the world’s most robust interchanges between countries on the planet and provides a model for other regional linkages that are in their nascent stages comparatively. The benefits this kind of access provides to a country in terms of both economic and cultural assets is hard to overstate and it’s one of the major factors behind the expansion of visa-free travel around the world.