The European Commission on December 19, 2025 published its eighth report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism, a yearly check on whether countries that enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen area are still meeting the rules that come with that privilege. The report reviews 27 partner countries and measures them against benchmarks on migration management, security, borders, readmission of people ordered to leave, visa policy choices, and the fast-growing risks linked to “citizenship-by-investment” programs.
It is issued under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, the law that sets out which nationalities need visas for short stays in the EU and how visa-free access can be paused when problems build up.
Overall message and timeframe
The Commission’s message is clear: visa-free access is not a one-way gift. It is a deal that depends on steady compliance, and the Commission warns it now has sharper tools to react quickly if partner countries drift away from EU standards.
The report covers developments in 2024 and flags major events in 2025 for:
– Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries
– Eastern Caribbean states that run investor citizenship schemes
– Several Latin American nations whose citizens can travel without a visa
Asylum claims and pressure on asylum systems
Among the most politically sensitive findings is the Commission’s continued concern about asylum claims it calls “unfounded.” These claims have become a long-running pressure point because they clog national asylum offices and courts and can trigger domestic calls to scale back visa-free regimes.
Key figures and trends:
– Unfounded asylum applications represent 18% of all EU claims since 2015.
– Applications rose in 2024 from Kosovo and Ukraine.
– Levels from Albania, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Serbia stayed high even where they fell compared with the prior year.
– Georgia: 14,530 applications in 2024, down from 2023 but described as “still high.”
– The report also notes “high volumes” from Latin American visa-free countries, putting additional strain on EU asylum systems.
Readmission and cooperation with EU agencies
The Commission credits partner countries for closer work with EU agencies, especially Frontex and the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA).
However, it pairs praise with blunt language on returns:
– Readmission—taking back a country’s own nationals (and sometimes third-country nationals who transited through)—remains a sore point.
– Where readmission agreements exist but results lag, the report calls for urgent action.
Why this matters:
– Weak readmission cooperation can turn a short-stay overstay into a long, costly case for EU governments.
– It also fuels political narratives that visa-free travel brings “irregular migration” that states cannot control.
Visa policy alignment and side-door risks
The report stresses the need for visa policy alignment—bringing partner countries’ entry and visa rules closer to the EU/Schengen approach. This includes which third-country nationals they admit without a visa.
Issues highlighted:
– Practices that open a side door into Europe—such as seasonal visa waivers or admitting people based solely on third-country visas or residence permits—are problematic.
– The Commission points to examples tied to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and says such approaches “must end” to match EU standards.
Practical effects:
– These rules determine who can transit, who can board flights, and how smugglers and fraud networks choose routes.
Public order, security cooperation, and document fraud
The report devotes attention to public order and security cooperation, including links with Europol and Eurojust.
Progress and risks:
– It notes progress by Western Balkan partners on counter-terrorism through the Joint Action Plan.
– Forged documents remain a risk and can lead to tighter checks at borders and more scrutiny at consulates—even affecting law-abiding travelers.
A familiar pattern: a small amount of fraud can raise costs and delays for many.
Investor citizenship schemes (Eastern Caribbean)
Investor citizenship schemes in the Eastern Caribbean are flagged as a red-flag area.
Summary:
– The report says five Eastern Caribbean states (unnamed in the provided summary) show “high volumes,” “short processing times,” and “low rejection rates”, even where due diligence has improved.
– The EU’s concern: a passport sold through a weak vetting process can become a back door into the EU’s visa-free zone.
Consequences:
– For EU officials: risks to the integrity of the visa-free area.
– For citizens of those states: their own visa-free access could be jeopardized if the EU finds integrity controls insufficient.
Georgia: systemic backsliding and escalation path
The sharpest warnings focus on Georgia, which the Commission describes as facing “systemic backsliding.”
Key points:
– Georgia failed to implement almost all recommendations from the seventh report and made no meaningful progress after a Commission letter in July 2025 to Tbilisi.
– The Commission cites laws it says violate fundamental rights and non-discrimination, naming:
– a “foreign agents law”
– an “anti-queer law”
– amendments on foreign grants
Legal and procedural context:
– Under the revised Visa Suspension Mechanism, human rights concerns can now be part of the trigger set for action on visa-free travel.
Visa policy specifics:
– Georgia maintains 26 visa-free agreements with countries whose citizens need visas for the EU, with no alignment since 2022.
– Georgia granted visa-free entry to China citizens in 2024—described in the report as a backtrack.
– Georgia allows entry for nationals of 17 countries ( 12 African and 5 Asian) solely on the basis that they hold GCC visas or residence permits, which the Commission says diverges from the EU acquis and “must terminate immediately.”
Escalation path:
– The Commission sets out a stepwise option to apply “appropriate measures” under the revised mechanism, starting with holders of diplomatic, service, and official passports, and potentially extending to the entire population.
– This signals that partial suspension is a real, staged option—not only a theoretical tool.
The Commission’s language turns partial suspension from a theoretical threat into a concrete option and signals a step-by-step response rather than a single dramatic break.
Other partner countries: issues and outreach
The report does not spare other partners, though with less severe language in some cases.
Examples:
– Albania, Kosovo, and Serbia have run awareness campaigns about visa-free rules, focusing on the 90/180-day short-stay limit and the risks of working without the right permission.
– Broader problems such as corruption and irregular migration remain in the background and continue to create domestic pressure on EU governments.
Revised mechanism and timing
A revised mechanism, adopted in November 2025, enters into force on December 30, 2025.
What the revision does:
– Adds new grounds for suspension—including human rights violations and visa policy misalignment
– Lowers thresholds for action
– Allows partial suspensions by passport type
– Speeds up procedures
Plain-language implication:
– The time between a warning and real consequences could now be shorter for partner countries.
Practical impact on travelers and next steps
For travelers who rely on visa-free travel for short visits—family, students, or couples maintaining long-distance relationships—these reports can feel distant until airlines or consulates start enforcing new rules.
The Commission urges partner countries to fix problems quickly to avoid Article 8 triggers that could reimpose visa requirements. It will review the situation again in 12 months.
For those wanting the legal details:
– The Staff Working Document contains country data.
– The legal backbone is available in Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 on EUR-Lex: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1806/oj
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the December 30, 2025 start date for the revised mechanism makes early 2026 a sensitive period, because partner countries facing warnings may have less room to delay fixes once the faster rules are live.
The European Commission’s December 2025 report warns that visa-free travel depends on continuous alignment with EU migration, security, and human rights standards. While cooperation with agencies like Frontex is praised, high volumes of unfounded asylum claims and ‘side-door’ entry risks remain problematic. Georgia is specifically flagged for systemic backsliding. New rules starting late 2025 enable faster, more targeted suspensions to protect the integrity of the Schengen zone.
