Brussels, 21/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Foreign nationals do not necessarily have to have a valid visa in a valid travel document in order to enter EU territory, Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi told the Court of Justice of the EU on Wednesday 21 May (case C-575/12). His interpretation goes against the decision of the Latvian authorities, who denied entry to an Indian national on the grounds that he presented two passports, one valid but with no Schengen visa, and the other which had expired but had the appropriate visa.
According to Mr Mengozzi, Community law does not specify that a travel document and a visa absolutely must be together in the same document. If the national has a passport with validity to cover the duration of the maximum stay authorised by the visa, he or she is entitled to enter the EU, even if the visa in question is in a separate document, as long as the authenticity of that document is beyond doubt.
As this makes it possible to confirm the identity of the national in question and as both passports, which ran successively, were present, the Latvian authorities had everything they needed at their disposal to fulfil the objective of effective and efficient controls on the external borders of the EU. The member states are not authorised to impose entry conditions on third-country nationals over and above those laid down by EU law, he concluded. (JK)