The European Parliament adopted the measure on October 7, 2025, amending the current visa suspension mechanism. The rules stipulate that the EU will be able to temporarily or permanently suspend visa-free travel for citizens of 61 countries, including Moldova, in case of security threats or human rights violations.
According to the amendments, the European Commission can reintroduce the visa regime if hybrid threats are detected, such as the use of migrants for profit, golden passport programs, non-compliance with EU visa policies or violations of the UN Charter, human rights or international law.
The reform expands existing criteria that already allowed for visa suspensions due to increased crime, increased asylum refusals or nationals of a particular country exceeding their period of stay. The new provisions also allow for the suspension of visa-free travel for foreign officials involved in serious violations.
The thresholds for activation of the mechanism will be a 30% increase in the number of illegal stays or serious crimes or a 20% increase in rejected asylum applications, although exceptions may apply.
Moldova, whose citizens enjoy visa-free entry to the EU with biometric passports, remains part of the system. Holders of regular passports are still required to obtain visas.
The law, passed with 518 votes in favor, 96 against and 24 abstentions, will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The European Commission can initiate a suspension procedure on its own initiative or at the request of a member state, based on data from the EU institutions.
So far, the EU has canceled the visa-free regime only once – for Vanuatu. Analysts note that the reform comes amid growing concern over Georgia’s recent political break from the EU.
