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The Ambassador of the European Union in Ecuador Charles-Michel Geurts says that the consulates of the Schengen Member Countries are working to extend the validity of visas issued to Ecuadorians from two to four years.

In an interview for El Comercio, Ambassador Geurts talked about several issued regarding EU and Ecuador, including the possible abolishment of the visa regime for Ecuadorians, now that Ecuador issues biometric passports to its citizens.

Ecuador is following the necessary steps, including the implementation of the biometric passport that will be a necessary requirement at the time when processing starts, he noted regarding the requirements that Ecuador needs to meet in order for it to achieve a visa liberalization agreement with the EU.

On the other hand, as a transitory measure, work is being done with the consulates of the Member States to extend the duration of the visas (from 2 to 4 years) so that they have multiple entries, he added as per the validity of Schengen Visas issued to Ecuadorian passport holders.

The South American country has recently requested for visa-free regime for its citizens more frequently.

Only last week, Ecuadors Foreign Minister Luis Gallegos Chiriboya held a virtual meeting with the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Ylva Johnson during which meeting was also discussed the issue of visa liberalization for Ecuador.

Minister Luis Gallegos Chiriboya held a virtual meeting with Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for the Interior of the European Union, where he presented Ecuadors request to this bloc for the exemption of the short-term visa in the Schengen area, the MFA said in a tweet in their official Twitter account.

According to the MFA, throughout the meeting, the Minister informed Commissioner Johnson that Ecuador is complying with the necessary requirements to reach an agreement, including the issuance of biometric passports to Ecuadorian citizens, which began on September 14.

Both, the Commissioner and the Minister agreed by the end of the meeting that the EU and Ecuador should work on the advancement of this process, while always taking into account the evolution of the Coronavirus pandemic and the obstacles that come with it.

Ecuador had hoped they could travel visa-free to the Schengen Area by mid-2020, but the country has yet to meet the criteria set by the EU. The Foreign Ministry hopes that the criteria will be met by 2021 so that Ecuadorians can travel visa-free later on the same year.

The visa liberalization may be a bit more complicated to be achieved than what the Ecuadorian authorities describe it to be. Aside from meeting all requirements, the Schengen Members must agree on granting Ecuador with visa-free entry by the end of the process, which may slow things down.

In the case of Kosovo, which has met all criteria in July 2018, the Schengen Members France and the Netherlands havent agreed to permit Kosovars to enter the territory visa-free, so the process has been put at a halt for almost three years now.

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EU Ambassador in Ecuador: EU Is Working to Extend Validity of Schengen Visas From 2 to 4 Years - SchengenVisaInfo.com