2. Diplomatic and consular missions of the Member States and the Republic of Azerbaijan would issue a one-year multiple-entry visa to the following categories of citizens, provided that they had obtained at least one visa in the previous year and had used it in accordance with the law on the entry and residence of the State visited. “visa”: an authorization issued by a Member State or the Republic of Azerbaijan to transit or stay on the territory of the Member States or the Republic of Azerbaijan for up to 90 days over a period of 180 days; 1. The diplomatic and consular missions of the Member States and the Republic of Azerbaijan make a decision on the visa application within ten calendar days of receipt of the application and the necessary documents to issue the visa. 3. When a Member State or the Republic of Azerbaijan cooperates with an external service provider to issue a visa, the external service provider may collect a service fee. This fee is proportionate to the costs incurred by the external service provider for the performance of its tasks and may not exceed EUR 30. Member States and the Republic of Azerbaijan retain the ability for all applicants to file their applications directly with their consulates. Subject to national national security rules and rules of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Member States, and subject to EU rules on visas with limited territorial validity, EU citizens and Azerbaijani citizens are allowed to travel on the same footing with the Republic of Azerbaijan and EU citizens. Agreements facilitating the issuance of visas promote contact between citizens between citizens and nationals of non-EU countries. The agreements facilitate the issuance of visas for short-term stays and do not exceed 90 days of stay within 180 days. 2. By derogation from paragraph 1 of this article, this agreement does not enter into force until the date of the readmission agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as of the date set out in paragraph 1 of this article.
(1) The fee for processing visa applications is EUR 35. The aim of this agreement is to facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the issuance of visas to citizens of the Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan for a planned stay of no more than 90 days per 180-day period. 1. The diplomatic and consular missions of the Member States and the Republic of Azerbaijan prohibit the entry of categories of citizens with a validity of five years: in these circumstances, it is desirable that the authorities of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Republic of Azerbaijan enter bilateral agreements to facilitate the issuance of visas.