Visa-free travel to EU for Seychellois |04 April 2009

This follows unanimous approval by the National Assembly for Seychelles to ratify an agreement with the EU to waive the short-stay visa requirement.

A motion asking the assembly to give its decision on the issue was tabled by leader of government business Marie-Louise Potter during Tuesday’s sitting.

The key provisions of the agreement are that EU citizens holding valid passports may enter and stay in Seychelles without a visa for up to three months, and Seychellois citizens with valid passports may enter and stay without a visa in EU countries for the same length of time.

The scope of the agreement does not cover working overseas, and each member country of the EU may, individually, decide whether or not to impose a visa requirement on Seychellois citizens in this category.

Similarly, Seychelles may decide on a visa requirement or visa waiver for this category of people travelling from EU countries. 

The agreement will come into force after Seychelles and the EU notify each other that their internal procedures for adoption have been completed.

The assembly also gave its unanimous approval to amendments to the Maritime Zone Act to bring it in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982.