From September 12, it will be more difficult for Russian tourists to travel to Europe. A visa agreement between Russia and the EU, which was concluded before the war, is suspended as long as the war lasts.
As a result, applying for a short-stay Schengen visa will become a lot more expensive for Russian citizens and the application procedure will also take longer. In addition, stricter requirements are set for issuing Schengen visas to Russians.
The cost of applying for a Schengen visa for a Russian will increase from 35 euros to 80 euros. The issuance of multiple entry visas will be severely restricted. The tightening of the rules may lead to Russian visa applications being rejected more quickly.
No visa stop for Russians
There is no question of a complete stop of issuing Schengen visas to Russians as some EU member states had requested. Russians who travel to the European Union for urgent reasons still have a chance of an accelerated and relatively cheap visa processing, but this must concern an urgent visit to relatives, Russian dissidents and people from civil society organisations. EU member states can reduce or even completely abolish visa costs for Russians from such groups.
