The newly implemented restrictions indefinitely prohibit multiple-entry visas, reinstate visa fees for diplomats, and extend visa processing times to 45 days.
Initially suggested by Brunner, these sanctions are not the EU’s first effort to encourage countries to assist with migrant readmission. Ministers enacted similar measures against Gambia in 2021 and against Ethiopia in 2024. The Ethiopian visa restrictions were removed in late May after member countries stated that “cooperation has improved substantially” concerning readmission.
EU member countries are implementing a significant overhaul of migration policy to enhance control over who enters the bloc, including negotiating new rules to facilitate sending rejected asylum seekers to return hubs situated outside the bloc.
More than half of the EU’s 27 members expressed a desire for prompt action to establish these centers in a letter viewed by POLITICO. The letter was coordinated by the Danish and Italian governments and endorsed by 19 leaders.
The European Parliament also passed legislation last week to expedite the deportation of migrants illegally residing in the EU.
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