Consequences of Schengen Visa Liberalisation for the Citizens of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova

2012. No. 1.

Korneev O., Weinar A., Makaryan S., Mananashvili S.

This report asks one overarching question: “What impact would liberalisation of the visa regime produce on actual migratory movements between Ukraine and Moldova, and the EU?”. Therefore, we are not interested in assessing the mobility of tourists, but rather of migrants who work in the EU. This gives our study a specific perspective that looks at the Schengen visa regime as a tool of labour migration policy. We base our conclusions on primary and secondary qualitative data. We do not discuss here statistics but rather rely on the opinions and testimonies of experts, migrants and potential migrants. The first section of the report is a review of the most important public reports and studies of the impacts of EU visa policy on the mobility of Ukrainians and Moldovans. The second part, delineating current visa practices, is based on three types of data: the Delphi survey of experts conducted in December 2011 by the research team, qualitative interviews with Moldovan and Ukrainian migrants in Germany, Italy and Poland as well as interviews with potential migrants in Ukraine and Moldova, all conducted in the countries by our research colleagues; and a review of the legal framework performed by the research team. The content of the third section, focusing on forecasts, is derived from the same data sources as the second section and translates the results of our research into a set of recommendation and policy options.

Keywords: Украина, Ukraine, Moldova, Молдова, Шенген, миграционный потенциал, Schengen, migration potential, EU visa policy, visa liberalisation, визовая политика ЕС, либерализация визового режима