eu-com-schengen-coop

EUROPEAN UNION
DELEGATION TO THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE
25 May 2014
LOCAL SCHENGEN COOPERATION (LSC) in PRAIA, CAPE VERDE
2013-2014 REPORT 18
4. Introduction
Cape Verde is a lower middle-income ACP country with overall good governance. The country
consists of 10 islands and both travel and communication between those islands remain a challenge.
In rural areas, the local population often cannot understand written communication.
Cape Verde has a Special Partnership with the EU and is also implementing a Mobility
Partnership (MP) with the EU and some of its Member States. Within the framework of the MP
the EU-CV Visa Facilitation Agreement was signed on 26/10/2012 in Praia and the Readmission
Agreement – on 18/04/2013 in Brussels. The documents are expected to enter into force
simultaneously, later in 2014.
Cape Verde has a long tradition of emigration and an estimated 200 to 500 thousands diaspora
living in the US (51%), Portugal (15%), Angola (9%), France (5%) and Senegal (5%). Apart from
the traditional outward migration flows, in recent years, Cape Verde has become a country for both
legal and illegal migration from the African continent.
The government has been active in responding to this new phenomenon. In January 2012 the
National Policy on Immigration was approved. It needs to be completed and implemented through
the legislation on migration and asylum which has been drafted with support of the EU-financed
MIEUX project. The final full law proposal has not been presented to the government yet.
There are four MS present in Cape Verde: ES, FR, LU, PT. The representation of other Member
States in visa issues is as follows:
ES: representing no other country;
LU: representing no other country; (for long stay visas)
PT: representing AT, BE, CZ, DE, FI, FR, IT, LU, NL, SE, SI (for Schengen visas).
PT took up the representation of FR, DE and NL as of 1 March 2014. SK will be represented
by PT as from 2 June.
There are no external service providers active in Cape Verde but there is a local EU Common Visa
Centre (CCV) financed by an EU project and implemented by the PT Government, in partnership
with LU and BE. The CCV issues Schengen visas on behalf of AT, BE, CZ, DE, FI, FR, IT,
LU, NL, PT, SE, SI and SK. The Centre also organizes seminars and trainings for CV migration
authorities and since 2013 it is equipped with a hi-tech anti-fraud document laboratory.
Since 12/2012 CCV performs duty trips with specialized equipment to Sal, S. Vicente and Boavista
islands to collect biometric data from the visa applicants.
Despite temporary difficulties in 2013 MS continued financing the CCV. The 3 rd project started on
01/09/2012 and ran till 02/2014. An extraordinary extension to the financing was granted until 31
18 April 2013 – March 2014
12893/14 PR/lm 52
DG D 1 A
EN