Article 1
The Schengen Convention is amended as follows: (1) Article 18 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 18 1. Visas for stays exceeding three months (long-stay visas) shall be national visas issued by one of the Member States in accordance with its national law or Union law. Such visas shall be issued in the uniform format for visas as set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 ( *1 ) with the heading specifying the type of visa with the letter “D”. They shall be filled out in accordance with the relevant provisions of Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) ( *2 ) . 2. Long-stay visas shall have a period of validity of no more than one year. If a Member State allows an alien to stay for more than one year, the long-stay visa shall be replaced before the expiry of its period of validity by a residence permit. ( *1 ) OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1 ." ( *2 ) OJ L 243, 15.9.2009, p. 1 .’." (2) Article 21 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. Aliens who hold valid residence permits issued by one of the Member States may, on the basis of that permit and a valid travel document, move freely for up to three months in any six-month period within the territories of the other Member States, provided that they fulfil the entry conditions referred to in Article 5(1)(a), (c) and (e) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) ( *3 ) and are not on the national list of alerts of the Member State concerned. ( *3 ) OJ L 105, 13.4.2006, p. 1 .’;" (b) the following paragraph is inserted after paragraph 2: ‘2a. The right of free movement laid down in paragraph 1 shall also apply to aliens who hold a valid long-stay visa issued by one of the Member States as provided for in Article 18.’. (3) Article 25 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. Where a Member State considers issuing a residence permit, it shall systematically carry out a search in the Schengen Information System. Where a Member State considers issuing a residence permit to an alien for whom an alert has been issued for the purposes of refusing entry, it shall first consult the Member State issuing the alert and shall take account of its interests; the residence permit shall be issued for substantive reasons only, notably on humanitarian grounds or by reason of international commitments. Where a residence permit is issued, the Member State issuing the alert shall withdraw the alert but may put the alien concerned on its national list of alerts.’; (b) the following paragraph is inserted after paragraph 1: ‘1a. Prior to issuing an alert for the purposes of refusing entry within the meaning of Article 96, the Member States shall check their national records of long-stay visas or residence permits issued.’; (c) the following paragraph is added: ‘3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply also to long-stay visas.’.