Foreign tourists will pay considerably more for a visit to the Netherlands next year
Tourists from countries for which a visa is required, such as China, Russia and India, will pay considerably more next year to visit the Netherlands or other Schengen countries.
The European Commission has decided that on 2 February 2020 the price for a Schengen visa for an adult will increase significantly. This also applies to the rate of the external service provider where a visa for the Schengen countries must be applied for, according to the online knowledge base www.schengenvisum.info.
This year, an adult foreigner subject to a visa requirement still paid a maximum of € 90 (€ 60 in administrative costs for a Schengen visa application and € 30 in service costs). From February next year this will be € 160 per person (€ 80 for the application for a visa and € 80 for the external service provider). From February, visa applicants are also required to use an external service provider (VFS Global) in almost all cases. If a visa is rejected, all paid costs will be lost, there will be no refund.
A reason to apply for a visa for the Netherlands can be very diverse, but it usually concerns a tourist stay, a visit to family, a stay with a partner or a business visit.
Family visit
Rob Demmers, editor at Schengenvisa.info: “Many different nationalities live in the Netherlands. The purpose of a visa application is often a family visit. Think of family that comes from Suriname, Indonesia, Turkey and Morocco, but also, for example, from Syria. For many groups in the Netherlands, such as migrants and refugees, this cost increase will have a significant impact. Parents, grandparents and other relatives usually come to our country for a short time by invitation. Sometimes it is even the only way to meet the family. The costs for this are considerable and you have to bear them yourself. In addition to the visa application fee, there are also additional costs such as airline tickets, the premium for compulsory travel insurance, travel costs to the embassy, etc. We fear that it will become unaffordable for certain groups to invite family to visit the Netherlands. ”
Economic interest
The increase in fees and service costs for foreign tourists who want to visit the Netherlands is remarkable because an economic study commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into the costs and benefits of the Schengen visa policy for the Netherlands shows that the added value for the Dutch economy exceeds 300 million euros per year.
Sources:
- https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2018/10/13/toegangswaarde—de-maatschappelijke-kosten-en-baten-van-het-schengen-visumbeleid-voor-nederland
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/NL/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019R1155&from=NL
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/NL/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009R0810&from=NL
- https://www.perssupport.nl/persbericht/271118041/vfs-global-wins-global-visa-contract-for-the-netherlands
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