The European Union (EU) signed short-stay visa waiver agreements on Thursday with Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Seychelles.

The new visa regime provides for visa-free travel for EU citizens when traveling to the six countries and for citizens of these six countries when traveling to the EU, for a period of stay not exceeding three months during a six-month period.

For benefiting from visa-free travel, citizens from the EU and the six countries concerned must be in possession of valid ordinary, diplomatic or service/official passports.

Visa-free travel applies to all categories of persons and for any kind of purposes of travel, except to persons traveling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

The EU and the six countries will apply on a provisional basis the visa waiver agreements as from May 28, 2009, pending completion of the procedures for their formal conclusion.

Source: Xinhua