Visa and Consular Affairs Act 2018

Visa and Consular Affairs Act 2018
Esquarian Community
Citation	EC/2018/01
Enacted by	Council of Esquarium
Date enacted	24 March 2018
Enacted by	Esquarian Parliament
Date enacted	31 March 2018
Date commenced	31 March 2018
Status: In force

The Visa and Consular Affairs Act 2018 is an Esquarian law that harmonizes the visa policies of Esquarian Community Member States and provides for mutual consular assistance as set out in the Treaty of the Esquarian Community.

Text

Visa and Consular Affairs Act 2018

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An Act made for purposes pursuant to Article I, Sections 5 and 6, and Article IV, Section 5 of the Treaty of the Esquarian Community.

§1 — Definitions

1. “Community” means the Esquarian Community.
   
2. “Consular protection” means the provision to a person in a foreign country assistance in the event of death, serious accident or illness, arrest or detention, becoming the victim of violent crime, loss of travel documents, or other circumstances requiring relief or repatriation.
   
3. “Diplomatic missions” means embassies, consulates, permanent missions, and any other place of diplomatic or consular representation.
   
4. “Lawful reason”, in respect to §4, means fraud, criminal record, suspected visa type violation, gross offence to public morals, or credible and imminent threat to public health and safety.
   
5. “Passport” means any document intended to allow the bearer to cross an international frontier.
   
   1. “Diplomatic passport” means a passport issued to a person who is to enjoy diplomatic immunity.
      
   2. “Official passport” means a passport (other than a diplomatic passport) issued to an employee of a national government or international organization for the purpose of travel related to their duties.
      
   3. “Community diplomatic passport” means a diplomatic passport issued on behalf of the Community.
      
   4. “Community official passport” means an official passport issued on behalf of the Community.
      

§2 — Consular protection

1. Member States are obliged to provide consular protection to Esquarian Citizens at their diplomatic missions located outside the Community in the event that the Esquarian Citizen is unable to obtain the consular protection of his or her nationality.
   
2. Member States may require that a foreign national seeking consular protection under the provisions of this Act and pursuant Esquarian law provide proof of Esquarian Citizenship.
   

§3 — Community diplomatic affairs

1. All passports issued by Member States must conspicuously display the words “Esquarian Community” on the front cover in at least one official language of the Community.
   
2. The Secretariat of the Community will issue Community diplomatic passports and Community official passports to officials and employees of the Community who are engaged in travel related to their duties.
   
3. The following officials are entitled to a Community diplomatic passport:
   
   1. The President of the Esquarian Community
      
   2. The President of the Council of Esquarium
      
   3. High Representatives of the Community accredited to foreign states or international organizations
      
   4. Officials and staff of Community diplomatic missions
      
   5. Other officials as designated by the President of the Esquarian Community
      
4. Employees of the Community who are not entitled to a Community diplomatic passport may be issued a Community official passport when engaged in travel related to their duties at the discretion of the Esquarian Secretariat.
   

§4 — Visa policy

1. The Community constitutes a single area for visa purposes.
   
2. Member States will cease to issue visas with solely domestic validity on 1 July 2018 and will from that date issue visas in the name of the Community.
   
3. Nationals of non-Community states which do not have a visa waiver are required to obtain a visa to present themselves at a port of entry to a Member State.
   
4. Member States will admit non-Community nationals at their ports of entry—
   
   1. when they are in possession of a valid Community visa issued by any duly empowered authority, and;
      
   2. when the visa was first used in the country of issuance, and;
      
   3. when the visa has validity throughout the Community, and;
      
   4. when no lawful reason exists for the individual’s exclusion.
      
5. All nonimmigrant visas have validity throughout the Community for the purpose of exercising freedom of movement.
   
6. Immigrant visas have validity in the country of issuance.
   
7. Non-Community nationals lawfully admitted into a Member State without visa shall be considered to have been issued a nonimmigrant visa by the Member State upon arrival.
   
8. The ability of Member States to restrict the ability of non-Community nationals to work, study or access public services shall not be limited by this Act.
   
9. States listed in Schedule A of this act constitute the visa-waiver list. Citizens of such states may enter the Community without a visa for 90 days in any 180-day period for personal or business purposes upon presentation of a passport valid for the length of the stay, provided that they may not engage in paid or unpaid work or study while in the Community and notwithstanding other reasons for inadmissibility. The Council of Esquarium may add or remove states from the visa-waiver list.

SCHEDULE A — VISA-WAIVER LIST

1. People’s Republic of Namor