eu-com-schengen-coop

that as a reciprocity measure the European Delegation staff obtaining their Tajik first visa should be
shown personally in the Tajik Embassy in Brussels.
The European Union's Delegation pointed out that the personal appearance was made necessary by
the world-wide introduction of the fingerprint system in the Schengen zone. It is not directed
against the Republic of Tajikistan. As a mutuality principle, in fact, it would had been made
necessary merely after introducing similar fingerprint system in Tajikistan which may occur in the
future but not from 14 January 2014 onwards.
The European Union's Delegation was assured by the German party that Tajik diplomats travelling
to work at the Tajik Embassy in Berlin or to official visit continue to be exempted from the visa fee.
The visa fee has been applied just for those who intend to travel with diplomatic passport without
official reason supported by a Note Verbal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The European Union's Delegation reminded the practice of German Federal Republic concerning
visas for Tajik citizens with diplomatic passports:
(1) Diplomats going to work at the Tajik Embassy in Berlin: national visa is issued for 90
days because they will obtain residence permit for 4 years. Free of charge.
(2) Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Ministries travelling officially: visa
free of charge. This implies also for the family members with diplomatic passport of the diplomats
serving in Germany.
(3) Owners of diplomatic passport travelling with no official aim (private business, tourism
etc.): visa - charged. Nevertheless, even from those travelers the German Embassy does not require
health insurance.
For a tourist visa, even if it issued for a relative the Tajik party collects visa fee – as practiced by the
German Embassy.
Consequently, according to the stance of the European Union's Delegation in Dushanbe:
(1) In the judgment of the European Union's Delegation in Dushanbe, the Tajik action is not
based on the reciprocity principle. It afflicts those Schengen citizens with diplomatic passport (i.e.
Laissez-passer of the European Union) working officially as diplomats at the European Union's
Delegation in Tajikistan who intend to prolong their visas – all of them have already a Tajik visa
issued mainly in Brussels while:
(2) The Tajik diplomats obtain a residence permit ("Protokollausweis") for 4 years. By the
official request of the Tajik Embassy in Berlin (Note Verbal) it can be prolonged for another 2
years; thereafter it should be prolonged every year.
(3) In Berlin no Tajik diplomat is obliged to apply personally for the prolongation of his/her
official visa while, according to the new regulations, European Union's Delegation staff in
Dushanbe is compelled to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs every year with their families.
(4) Mutuality principle would require from the Tajik party to extend the visa (resident
permit) for 4 years – and not just for 1 year which burdens heavily both the European Union's
Delegation 's and the Tajik party's administration.
(5) Reciprocity principle should require that the European Union's Delegation staff should appear
once at the Tajik Embassy in Brussels when applying for the visa. Nevertheless, through lack of
fingerprint system in the Tajik system of issuing a visa, even this is not really justified by technical
requirements at the moment apart from the mentioned mutuality principle.
12893/14 PR/lm 170
DG D 1 A
EN