By Hassan Adan

The Council of the European Union has announced temporary restrictions on the issuance of Schengen visas to Somali nationals, citing what it described as insufficient cooperation by Somalia in accepting the return of its citizens who are staying irregularly in European Union member states.

In a decision adopted on Thursday, the Council said the measures were taken after the European Commission assessed Somalia’s cooperation on migrant readmission and found it to be inadequate.

“Today, the Council decided to temporarily restrict visa provision for Somali nationals after the Commission assessed cooperation on readmission as insufficient,” the Council of the European Union said in an official statement.

Under the new measures, EU member states will no longer issue multiple-entry Schengen visas to Somali applicants. Visa applicants will also be required to provide a full set of supporting documents, while the standard processing time for applications will increase from 15 days to 45 calendar days.

The decision also removes visa fee waivers previously available to holders of Somali diplomatic and service passports.

According to the Council, the restrictions are temporary and are intended to encourage greater cooperation between Somalia and the European Union on the return of Somali nationals who have no legal right to remain in EU countries.

The Council said the European Commission will continue monitoring Somalia’s progress and could recommend lifting the restrictions if cooperation improves.

The measures are expected to affect Somali students, business people, tourists and government officials applying for short-stay Schengen visas, who are likely to face longer processing times and stricter documentation requirements.

However, the decision does not amount to a travel ban on Somali citizens, nor does it prohibit all Somali passport holders from entering Europe.

Instead, it makes obtaining a Schengen visa more difficult under the EU Visa Code.

As of Friday, the Somali government had not publicly responded to the Council’s decision.