Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands have completely stopped accepting documents from Russian tourists.
The rest of the EU countries continue to issue visas to Russians, but under new, more complicated conditions.
According to the decision of the European Union, the agreement on the simplified visa regime with the Russian Federation has been suspended since September 12: Russians will receive Schengen visas under the general conditions of the EU Visa Code. Information about the increase in the amount of the visa fee has already been published on the websites of the visa centers of several EU countries.
So far, it is only known about the increase in the consular fee to 80 euros and the terms of consideration of appeals up to 45 days, TEZ TOUR noted.
Due to various reasons, the deadlines for consideration of visa applications of Russians have increased. On average, the processing of documents takes about four weeks. Experts draw attention to the fact that the loyalty of individual countries in the visa issue ultimately led to queues for registration and a longer wait for visa issuance. Such countries now include France, Spain and Germany, where the terms of obtaining visas are from one and a half months.
Participants of the Russian market assume that the average terms of Schengen registration will probably increase by another 7-10 days after September 12. Therefore, the minimum period for planning a trip to Europe and obtaining a visa for Russians will be at least one and a half to two months. But it’s better to play it safe and worry about getting a visa three to four months before the trip, local travel agencies advise.
