Memo: The Commission proposes special visa for local border traffic

The Commission adopted a new proposal for a Regulation on 'local border traffic', i.e. the crossing of borders by nationals of third countries who live in border areas and regularly travel for legitimate reasons to a Member State without constituting a threat to security. The proposal created the possibility of issuing a special visa to nationals of third countries subject to visa requirements who reside in border areas, for the specific purposes of local border traffic. This visa, whose territorial validity was planned to be limited to the border area of the Member State that issues it, allows the holder to cross the border of this Member State many times for a stay of up to seven consecutive days and less than three months every half-year. It is planned to be valid for at least one year and can be issued free of charge.