EU Proposes Updates to Visa-Free Travel for Countries Posing “Security Concerns and Rights Violations”

In a press release issued in March 2025, the Civil Liberties Committee announced that it was adopting its draft position on new visa-free travel policy changes. The proposal has now been approved by the European Parliament’s Committee on Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), marking another step towards implementing the changes.

These proposed changes would see short-term visas for non-EU nationals suspended for short stays in the EU based on security concerns and rights violations. Citizens intending to travel to the EU from countries with a visa-free travel suspension will need to apply for a visa instead.

The news follows a vote by MEPs in the Civil Liberties Committee, with 41 in favor, 10 opposed, and 21 abstentions for the policy changes. If the proposed changes are implemented, travelers could be suspended from visa-free travel to the EU due to security concerns linked to hybrid threats and breaches of international human rights.

The changes would be an expansion of the current list of existing grounds for suspending visa freedom. This would mean visa-free travel could be suspended from citizens of a country due to:

• The state-sponsored instrumentalization of migrants
• Investor citizenship schemes, known as ‘golden passports’
• Violations of the United Nations Charter
• Severe breaches of international human rights or humanitarian law
• Failure to apply EU sanctions
• Hostile acts against EU member states

Additionally, MEPs want to change the threshold for visa-free travel suspension due to a sudden increase in asylum applications, illegal travel, or serious criminal offenses. The bar is currently set at a 50% increase, but the proposed changes will drop this to 40%.

For the proposed changes to be implemented, they must be voted on in the next European Parliament plenary session and then negotiated with the European Council. Once both parties are in agreement, the position will be considered approved.