BRUSSELS - People travelling into Europe who overstay their visa, even for legitimate reasons such as unforeseen hospital stays or transport delays, could face automatic sanctions and fines, under new rules unveiled on Thursday (28 February).
The proposal is part of a larger "smart borders" package presented by the European Commission designed to make foreign travel into the Union’s borderless zone easier, increase border security and prevent irregular migration.
“There are of course legitimate reasons for an overstay and it is not for me or the commission to judge about that. The system will give an alert to the Dutch or the Slovene or the Polish authorities and then it will be up to them to follow up,” EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels.
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