PACE approves Turkish delegation’s resolution on visa reform

ANKARA

Following the Turkish delegations’ call to solve visa-related problems, especially faced by Turks, the General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has approved a resolution envisaging reform in the Schengen Information System (SIS).

The decision will make the Schengen visa process more transparent, fairer and more inclusive, said Ziya Altunyaldız, a member of the Turkish delegation to PACE.

“We fully believe that the process will improve with our reform proposals. Our report, which was accepted at the PACE, is now a recommendation for 46 Council of Europe countries.”

In the report, which invites the members of the EU, European Parliament, PACE and the Council of Europe to cooperate to solve the visa-related problems, it is emphasized that the personal data in the SIS should be arranged in a way that does not violate the private life law of the person and family.

Seeking visa facilitation to EU member states, Ankara aims to ensure that visa decisions are taken to the judiciary and the SIS are standardized for all countries.

All Schengen countries should have standard, uniform and clear regulations on how the process works, according to Altunyaldız.

Türkiye also wants the visa process to proceed in a more dialogical manner and the citizens to be able to receive at least a part of the money they pay if their application is refused.

“If one has missing documents and information, a period of time should be given for this and the application not be rejected immediately. Let them complete this as they pay money,” Altunyaldız said earlier.

The authorities should get in touch with the applicants, he also suggested.

Turkish people spend some 100 million euros annually to obtain Schengen visas, according to Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, the head of the Economic Development Foundation (İKV).

Head of the European Union Delegation to Türkiye Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut said earlier, the recent rejections were mainly due to fake and incomplete documents.