Moldovan citizens holding biometric service passports will be exempted from the visa requirement for short stays and will be allowed to enter, leave and transit through the territories of the EU member states without visas, IPN reports.
According to the website of the European Parliament, the amended visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Moldova was adopted on April 18. The documents to be presented regarding the purpose of the journey have been simplified for a wider category of Moldovan applicants, such as journalists and their technical crew, close relatives of EU citizens and participants in official EU cross-border cooperation programs.
The amended agreement also simplifies the criteria for multiple-entry visas for spouses, children and parents visiting Moldovan citizens legally residing in the EU.
The Moldovan citizens will no longer have to file the application for visas personally. They can make a request through the providers of foreign services and pay a tax of €30 besides the visa fee, which the persons who do not have biometric passports will continue to pay.
The visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Moldova was signed by Prime Minister Vlad Filat and European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in June 2012.
