Third country nationals can enter the EU with a valid passport but not necessarily a valid visa and with a valid visa affixed to an invalid passport

On 4 September 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a case-law concerning the interpretation of the Regulations establishing the Schengen Borders Code (2006) and the Visa Code (2009)

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The request has been made in proceedings between Air Baltic Corporation AS, an airline company, and Valsts robežsardze (Latvian border control authorities) concerning the border control authorities’ decision to impose an administrative fine on Air Baltic for transporting to Latvia a person who did not have the travel documents necessary to cross the border.

On the basis of the Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), as amended by Regulation (EU) No 265/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 March 2010, and of the Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code), the Court has ruled as follows:

  1. The cancellation of a travel document by an authority of a third country does not mean that the uniform visa affixed to that document is automatically invalidated.
  2. The entry of third-country nationals into the territory of Member States is not subject to the condition that, at the border check, the valid visa presented must necessarily be affixed to a valid travel document.

As a matter of fact, this condition is not listed in the Schengen Border Code and Member States cannot refuse the entry of a third country national on the basis of a condition that is not referred to in the Schengen Border Code nor require further entry conditions than the one listed.

Read the full case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.