The Dominican Republic is continuing to work towards its goal of reaching a visa-free travel agreement with the European Union.
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The President of the country, Luis Abinader, just recently had a meeting with his Italian counterpart, President Sergio Mattarella, during which the two leaders discussed the possibility of the visa requirement being removed for Dominican nationals, Schengen.News reports.
Even though President Abinader’s main purpose of the visit to Italy was not the visa issue, he still used this opportunity to discuss the matter.
While the Italian authorities did not make any official statement on the matter, President Abinader said that he had received support from Italy on its goal to reach Schengen visa exemption.
In addition, President Abinader said that Spain and Portugal have also given their approval on the matter.
He now plans to engage in talks with Germany and France, and once the Dominican Republic’s move to be exempted from the Schengen visa requirement is supported by the majority of the Schengen Area countries, President Abinader said that the country will make an official proposal.
Even though he did not share any additional information on the matter, it is believed that the proposal will include a set of reasons why Dominican nationals should be permitted visa-free entry to the Schengen Area.
The proposal can also include steps that the country has taken to ensure that there will be no migration risks in case a visa liberalisation agreement is reached between the Dominican Republic and the EU.
Dominicans Applied for More Than 52,600 Schengen Visas Last Year
Since the Dominican Republic is yet to reach a visa liberalisation agreement with the EU, all of its passport holders are required to hold a valid Schengen visa in order to be permitted entry into the bloc.
Recent data from Schengen Statistics show that in 2023, nationals of the Dominican Republic filed a total of 52,699 Schengen visa applications.
However, not everyone received a positive decision on their application, with the not issued rate standing at 25.8 per cent.
Of the total number of Dominican applicants who applied for a Schengen visa, 38,091 of them were granted the document. On the other hand, a total of 13,268 Dominicans had their Schengen visa application rejected.
Spain is the Schengen member state that received the highest number of visa applications from Dominicans in 2023. The country received 32,068 Schengen visa applications last year.
Italy and France also received a high number of applications from Dominicans, with them registering 7,314 and 5,166 applications in 2023, respectively.