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EU lifts Schengen visa for UAE citizens

EU, UAE sign Schengen visa waiver agreement
EU, UAE sign Schengen visa waiver agreement
BRUSSELS, May 6 (KUNA) -- The EU and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a Schengen visa waiver agreement at a ceremony in Brussels Wednesday afternoon.
The new visa regime provides for visa-free travel for EU citizens when travelling to the territory of the UAE and for citizens of this country when travelling to the EU, for a period of stay of 90 days, said a statement released by the EU Council of Ministers.
UAE is the first Arab country to sign the Schengen-visa wavier agreement with the 28-member European bloc.
On behalf of the EU, the agreement was signed by representatives of the current EU Latvian Presidency and the European Commission. The UAE Ambassador to the EU Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui signed the agreement for his country.
Visa-free travel applies to all categories of persons and for any kind of purposes of travel, tourism, cultural visits, scientific activities, family visits, business etc., except to persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.
The agreement will now be sent to the European Parliament with a view to obtaining its consent before it can be concluded. However, it will apply on a provisional basis as from today.
Ireland and the United Kingdom will not be subject to the application of the agreement. The visa regime to these two EU member states remains subject to their national legislation, it noted (end) nk.mt