European Union
Commission adopts a first-ever EU Visa Strategy
On 29 January 2026, the European Commission adopted its first-ever EU Visa Strategy. It sets out a framework for a strategic visa policy that aims to advance the EU’s long-term interests, allowing it to be better equipped for growing mobility as well as the consequences of regional instability and geopolitical competition.
The Strategy aims to make Europe (1) safer, by strengthening the first line of security screening; (2) more prosperous and competitive, by facilitating access for those who contribute to our economies and societies; (3) more influential globally, by advancing the EU’s strategic interests, values, and global standing; and (4) more efficient, through a smarter, modern and coherent visa policy.
Alongside the Strategy, the Commission has adopted a Recommendation on attracting talent for innovation, to make the EU more attractive to highly qualified and skilled professionals, students, researchers and innovative entrepreneurs and to support the EU’s competitiveness in a global context.
The Visa Strategy is built on three key pillars:
- Strengthening the EU’s security
- A modern assessment framework for granting visa-free status to partner countries.
- Stronger monitoring of existing visa-free regimes under the reformed Visa Suspension Mechanism.
- Stronger visa leverages, which allows the EU to take targeted visa measures in cases of lack of cooperation on return and readmission and introducing ad hoc measures to incentivise cooperation on security and against illegal migration. This will be done through a revision of the Visa Code in 2026.
- Possible targeted restrictive visa measures to suspend, refuse or restrict visa applications in response to hostile actions by third countries that undermine EU security, as part of the Visa Code revision, in consultation with Member States.
- New measures to strengthen travel document security to counter fraud, with new harmonised definitions and sanctions at EU level for document fraud.
- Boosting prosperity and competitiveness
- New digital proceduresfor both visa-free and visa required travellers: ETIAS will simplify and partly automate pre-departure checks for visa-free travellers, as of Q4 2026. Digital visa procedures will allow visa-required applicants to complete the entire visa application process online.
- Multipleentry visas with a longer validity for trusted travellers, to stimulate economic activity and reward visitors with a proven travel history and acommon list of verified companies, to facilitate visa processes for business travellers invited by trusted sponsors.
- Better conditions for talent:exploring possible amendments to EU rules on students and researchers and highly qualified and skilled workers and exploring a targeted EU legal framework for start-up and scale-up founders and innovative entrepreneurs.
- Additional support to non-EU nationals and employers to address challenges related to the visa process through European Legal Gateway Offices.
- Additional EU funding to support visa processing for highly qualified and skilled non-EU nationals.
- Modern visa tools
The EU is deploying advanced digital tools to modernise visa and border management. TheEU’s IT systems will be interoperable by 2028, making it possible to query multiple databases at once and through a single, central search, improving information-sharing and preventing visa abuse.
Recommendation on attracting talent for innovation
The Recommendation, meanwhile, sets out concrete ways in which Member States can better use their processes to attract and retain students, researchers and highly qualified and skilled workers, startup founders and innovative entrepreneurs in key sectors for the EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
The recommendations encourage Member States to have simpler and faster procedures for long-stay visa and residence permitsthrough more digitised processes, fewer documents and shorter processing times, easier transitions to work or entrepreneurshipfrom study or research in the EU, improved intra-EU mobility as well as better access to information and stronger coordination between Member States’ authorities, universities, and research organisations.
Ireland
Travel Confirmation Notice extended
Immigration Services are currently experiencing a backlog in processing registrations. Following the completion of a registration, it may take a further two weeks to receive an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card via post.
Visa-required nationals who are in possession of a valid, in-date Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card do not require any type of visa to facilitate their return to Ireland following travel.
Non-visa required nationals also do not require an IRP card or any type of visa to enable their return to Ireland following travel.
To facilitate non-EEA nationals legally resident in Ireland who are required to renew their current permission and who wished to travel internationally during the Christmas period, the Minister issued a Travel Confirmation Noticerequesting carriers to allow individuals to travel on their recently expired IRP card where an application to renew their permission was submitted in advance of the expiry date of their IRP card.
This travel notice has now been extended to28 February 2026.
The updated notice can be found here: ISD announces initiative to facilitate customers travelling at Christmas
- IRP holders can apply to renew their IRP up to 12 weeks prior to its expiry date. Applicants are strongly advised to apply in a timely manner to allow enough time to process your application prior to the current expiry date.
- Stamp 2 applicants (students) must wait until their course starts before they can apply to renew.
- All permissions to remain will be renewed from the current expiry date; there is no disadvantage or time lost in renewing prior to expiry.
- IRP holders must currently be present in Ireland to be eligible to renew their permission to remain online. Applications submitted from outside Ireland will not be accepted.
- Further information on renewing the IRP card and the current date of applications being processed can be found here: Renewing your registration permission
- Those who have urgent, emergency, or extenuating circumstances that necessitate immediate travel should contact the Registration Office.
Portugal
Online residence renewal for investors
The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has announced that, effective 16 February 2026, the renewal of Residence Permits for Investment (ARI) will be available through the online Renewal Portal.
AIMA clarifies that all appointments previously scheduled for ARI renewal must be maintained. These appointments will be used exclusively for biometric data collection. From 16 February 2026, appointments will not be used for the submission of the renewal request or the payment of fees, which must be carried out via the Renewal Portal.
In cases where, after analysing the application submitted via the portal, there is a need for face-to-face collection of biometric data, AIMA will automatically schedule a date for this purpose and will notify the applicant of the appointment.
