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ARCHIVED - EU makes it harder for Russians to get visas
Spain and the other member states will impose restrictions on Russian tourists from next week
The 27 member nations of the European Union have come to a decision on Friday September 9 to levy further restrictions on Russia by suspending the current visa facilitation agreement, making it much more difficult for Russian citizens to travel as tourists within the EU.
Once it comes into effect on Monday September 12, Russians wishing to travel to any EU country will have to pay an inflated visa application fee of 80 euros instead of the 35 euros currently charged. The process will also become more complicated, requiring far more documentation, resulting in longer waiting times for the granting of entry permits. In addition, there will be more restrictive rules for the issuance of multiple visas.
The change was made at the prompting of the European Commission, which insists that visa facilitation agreements are only granted to countries with whom there is a relationship of trust and shared values, qualities which are no longer shared with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign ministers met in Prague this week to discuss the proposal of Finland and the Baltics to completely ban Russian tourism, and the visa restriction was the compromise they reached. However, member states will still have free rein to impose additional limitations if they feel there is a threat to national security.
Crucially, Brussels has also given countries the green light to review visas that have already been granted. Already, the governments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have announced a "temporary" ban on Russian citizens from September 19, including those who have previously been issued with visas from other Schengen nations.
Image: Pixabay
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