During three months since the liberalized visa regime with the EU took effect, over 1 million Moldovans went to the EU member states. Of them, 135,171 travelled based on biometric passports, visa-free. Over 68,000 of these had new biometric passports.

The head of the press service of the Border Police Daniela Manzatu has told IPN that the over 135,000 people left without other additional travel documents, such as the visa. In the period, 66 persons were banned from entering the EU – 12 because they earlier violated the regime of stay in the EU and another 54 because they didn’t fulfill the entry conditions.

According to the Border Police, over 400,000 of the 1 million people who travelled to the EU returned home. The authorities cannot now classify the people who returned into those who travelled with biometric passports and those who applied for a visa. A modern program is being worked out for furnishing such information.

The Moldovans who will not obey the legal period of stay in the EU, of 90 days within six months, will be fined up to €3,000 or will be banned from entering the Schengen Area for a period of up to five years. The visa-free travel regime does not offer the right to work.

The Moldovans can travel visa-free in the EU member states, except for the UK and Ireland, and in the non-EU member states Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, which form part of the Schengen Area.