Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilDangos y teitl llawn

CHAPTER I U.K. Authorities taking part in the procedures relating to applications

Article 4 U.K. Authorities competent for taking part in the procedures relating to applications

1. Applications shall be examined and decided on by consulates.

[F1 1a. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide that applications are examined and decided on by central authorities. Member States shall ensure that those authorities have sufficient knowledge of local circumstances of the country where the application is lodged in order to assess the migratory and security risk, as well as sufficient knowledge of the language to analyse documents, and that consulates are involved, where necessary, to conduct additional examination and interviews.]

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, applications may be examined and decided on at the external borders of the Member States by the authorities responsible for checks on persons, in accordance with Articles 35 and 36.

3. In the non-European overseas territories of Member States, applications may be examined and decided on by the authorities designated by the Member State concerned.

4. A Member State may require the involvement of authorities other than the ones designated in paragraphs 1 and 2 in the examination of and decision on applications.

5. A Member State may require to be consulted or informed by another Member State in accordance with Articles 22 and 31.

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).

Article 5 U.K. Member State competent for examining and deciding on an application

1. The Member State competent for examining and deciding on an application for a uniform visa shall be:

(a) the Member State whose territory constitutes the sole destination of the visit(s);

[F2 (b) if the visit includes more than one destination, or if several separate visits are to be carried out within a period of two months, the Member State whose territory constitutes the main destination of the visit(s) in terms of the length of stay, counted in days, or the purpose of stay; or]

(c) if no main destination can be determined, the Member State whose external border the applicant intends to cross in order to enter the territory of the Member States.

2. The Member State competent for examining and deciding on an application for a uniform visa for the purpose of transit shall be:

(a) in the case of transit through only one Member State, the Member State concerned; or

(b) in the case of transit through several Member States, the Member State whose external border the applicant intends to cross to start the transit.

3. The Member State competent for examining and deciding on an application for an airport transit visa shall be:

(a) in the case of a single airport transit, the Member State on whose territory the transit airport is situated; or

(b) in the case of double or multiple airport transit, the Member State on whose territory the first transit airport is situated.

4. Member States shall cooperate to prevent a situation in which an application cannot be examined and decided on because the Member State that is competent in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 3 is neither present nor represented in the third country where the applicant lodges the application in accordance with Article 6.

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).

Article 6 U.K. Consular territorial competence

1. An application shall be examined and decided on by the consulate of the competent Member State in whose jurisdiction the applicant legally resides.

2. A consulate of the competent Member State shall examine and decide on an application lodged by a third-country national legally present but not residing in its jurisdiction, if the applicant has provided justification for lodging the application at that consulate.

Article 7 U.K. Competence to issue visas to third-country nationals legally present within the territory of a Member State

Third-country nationals who are legally present in the territory of a Member State and who are required to hold a visa to enter the territory of one or more other Member States shall apply for a visa at the consulate of the Member State that is competent in accordance with Article 5(1) or (2).

Article 8 U.K. Representation arrangements

[F2 1. A Member State may agree to represent another Member State that is competent in accordance with Article 5 for the purpose of examining and deciding on applications on behalf of that Member State. A Member State may also represent another Member State in a limited manner solely for the collection of applications and the enrolment of biometric identifiers.]

F3 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F2 3. Where the representation is limited in accordance with the second sentence of paragraph 1, the collection and the transmission of data to the represented Member State shall be carried out in compliance with the relevant data protection and security rules.

4. A bilateral arrangement shall be established between the representing Member State and the represented Member State. That arrangement:

(a) shall specify the duration of the representation, if only temporary, and the procedures for its termination;

(b) may, in particular where the represented Member State has a consulate in the third country concerned, provide for the provision of premises, staff and payments by the represented Member State.]

5. Member States lacking their own consulate in a third country shall endeavour to conclude representation arrangements with Member States that have consulates in that country.

6. With a view to ensuring that a poor transport infrastructure or long distances in a specific region or geographical area does not require a disproportionate effort on the part of applicants to have access to a consulate, Member States lacking their own consulate in that region or area shall endeavour to conclude representation arrangements with Member States that have consulates in that region or area.

[F2 7. The represented Member State shall notify the Commission of the representation arrangements or the termination of those arrangements at the latest 20 calendar days before they enter into force or are terminated, except in cases of force majeure .

8. The consulate of the representing Member State shall, at the same time as the notification referred to in paragraph 7 takes place, inform both the consulates of other Member States and the Union delegation in the jurisdiction concerned about the representation arrangements or the termination of such arrangements.]

9. If the consulate of the representing Member State decides to cooperate with an external service provider in accordance with Article 43, or with accredited commercial intermediaries as provided for in Article 45, such cooperation shall include applications covered by representation arrangements. The central authorities of the represented Member State shall be informed in advance of the terms of such cooperation.

[F1 10. If a Member State is neither present nor represented in the third country where the applicant is to lodge the application, that Member State shall endeavour to cooperate with an external service provider, in accordance with Article 43, in that third country.

11. Where a consulate of a Member State in a given location experiences a prolonged technical force majeure , that Member State shall seek temporary representation by another Member State in that location for all or some categories of applicants.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).

F2 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).

F3 Deleted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).