Filenews 9 September 2022
The EU Council of Ministers adopted a decision suspending the agreement on visa facilitation between the EU and Russia in full. Accordingly, the general rules of the Visa Code will apply to Russian citizens.
This will result in an increase in the visa application fee from €35 to €80, the need to provide additional evidence, increased visa processing times and more restrictive rules for issuing multiple-entry visas.
History
The EU-Russia Visa Facilitation Agreement entered into force on 1 June 2007. Its purpose was to facilitate the issuance of short-stay visas (no more than 90 days every 180 days) on the basis of reciprocity.
On 24 February 2022, the European Council condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and expressed full solidarity with Ukraine and its people. On 25 February, the EU adopted further restrictive measures against Russia, as well as the partial suspension of the visa facilitation agreement for diplomats, other Russian officials and businessmen.
Since then, the EU has adopted additional measures to respond to Russia's actions and to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. At their informal meeting on 31 August, foreign ministers reached a political agreement to proceed with the full suspension of the visa facilitation agreement.
The full suspension affects all categories of travellers coming to the EU for a short stay. The Commission is expected to present additional guidelines to ensure that this suspension does not adversely affect certain people travelling to the EU for key purposes, such as journalists, dissidents, as well as representatives of civil society.
Source: AMPE
