The revised visa suspension mechanism is published: investor citizenship becomes a new ground

The mechanism has existed since 2013 and, according to the Council of the European Union, has only been applied once, in 2024. In procedure 2023/0371(COD), the European Parliament adopted the text on 7 October 2025 and the Council on 17 November. The regulation was signed on 26 November and published in the L series of the Official Journal of the European Union on 10 December. It entered into force on the twentieth day following publication, 30 December 2025, and is directly applicable in all Member States.

Under the amended Article 8a, the mechanism can be triggered, among other cases, where a visa-free third country operates an investor citizenship scheme under which citizenship is granted in exchange for pre-determined payments or investments, without any genuine link to that country. Further grounds are a significant risk to the public policy or internal security of the Member States, including hybrid threats, and a visa policy not aligned with EU visa policy where this could lead to a substantial increase in irregular entries.

The Commission suspends visa-free travel for 12 months by an implementing act; if the circumstances persist, it can extend the suspension by a further 24 months by a delegated act. The suspension can also be applied to specific groups defined by the type of travel document, so, according to the Council, an extension need not affect the whole population: the EU can decide to target only government officials and diplomats.