In December 2018, the European Parliament backed a proposal for an EU-wide humanitarian visa. The proposed visa would have allowed asylum seekers to apply at the embassies of EU countries in their homeland, so they could reach Europe legally without using illegal pathways. The proposal was never adopted into law, and no such EU visa exists.
On 11 December 2018, the European Parliament approved the proposal for a humanitarian visa (reported by InfoMigrants.net, a collaboration of France 24, DW, and ANSA). It asked the European Commission to present a legislative proposal by 31 March 2019 for establishing the visa. The legislative initiative was approved by 429 MEPs against 194, with 41 abstentions. The Commission issued a response on 1 April 2019 but never tabled the requested legislation.
Under the proposal, after obtaining such a visa from a participating European country, an asylum seeker would have been able to travel to that country for the sole purpose of applying for international protection. Because the visa was never created, this procedure does not exist.
The proposal aimed to bring the death toll down from 30,000 (about 30,000 people had died in such attempts since 2000, according to the European Parliament).
The European Union has long stressed the need to curb smugglers’ illegal activities and bring down the death toll. The Parliament hoped the proposal would help tackle the risks of deaths and human trafficking. However, the initiative never became legislation, as the European Commission did not present the requested proposal.
The proposal would have allowed people facing political persecution, life threats and other protection needs to apply at European embassies and consulates for a humanitarian visa, so they could travel legally to the issuing country and submit their application for international protection there. The Commission never finalized any application procedure, and no EU-wide humanitarian visa exists.