The European Union adopts restrictive measures on the visas issued to the nationals of the Gambia

07/12/2022 By gifsauce 454 Views

(Ecofin Agency) - In August, The Gambia refused to accept several of its citizens in an irregular situation on European territory. According to the IOM, more than 35,000 Gambians arrived in Europe via irregular means between 2014 and 2018. A situation that the EU wishes to put an end to.

Gambian nationals will face restrictive measures with regard to visas to enter European territory. The announcement was made on Thursday, October 7, by the Council of the European Union via its website.

All persons of Gambian nationality wishing to travel to Europe will now be obliged to present all the documents relating to the visa application, and will therefore no longer benefit from the existing facilities in the processing of their applications. They will also be required to submit to the “45-day” waiting period, and will also no longer be able to benefit from “multiple-entry visas”. As for holders of diplomatic passports and other privileges, they will no longer be able to be exempted from “visa fees”.

These restrictive provisions were put in place temporarily in response to the refusal of the small West African state to welcome its citizens residing illegally in Europe. The Gambian authorities had announced last month that they would not welcome migrants from the European Union (EU), citing the risk of "social revolt". This, while Germany was preparing to bring home a large number of Gambians in an irregular situation on its territory.

European Union adopts restrictive measures on visas issued to nationals of The Gambia

“No migration policy can work without the effective return of those who have no right to stay. All countries have an obligation under international law to readmit their own nationals, and we expect that obligation to be fulfilled. Today's decision […] is a clear sign of our firm commitment to use all relevant tools to improve cooperation on readmission”, insisted Aleš Hojs, Slovenian Minister of Interior.

This decision by the European Council against African countries is not the first of its kind. Last August, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia were imposed similar restrictive measures by France. Paris believes that these countries refused to take back their nationals illegally settled on its territory. The French government has decided, unilaterally, to reduce the issuance of visas by 50% for Algeria and Morocco and by 30% for Tunisia.

The Gambia's economy depends, in part, on remittances from the diaspora. From 2014 to 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 35,000 Gambians arrived in Europe via irregular means. At the end of 2020, the institution helped the Gambian government put in place a strategy to regulate migration in all its forms, in particular, "internal migration, labor migration, diaspora migration and return migration".

Jean-Marc Gogbeu (trainee)