ATOR announced the refusal of the EU to issue visas to Russians for a period of more than a year

The consulates of the EU countries after the suspension of the simplified visa regime with RUSSIA stopped issuing Schengen visas to Russians for a period of more than a year, and the validity of visas now does not depend on the “visa history” of the applicant, ATOR notes

Consulates of European countries after the cancellation of the visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the European Union stopped issuing Schengen visas to Russians for a period of more than a year, most often visas are issued for the period of the trip. This was reported by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) with reference to the information of tour operators.

The European Union has suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia since September 12, 2022. The fee has increased from €35 to €80, the period for reviewing applications has increased from 15 to 45 days, and tourists have decided to give low priority when considering (they may also request additional documents).

A representative of one of the Russian tour operators noted that the most unpleasant thing in the current situation is the short period of visas issued. According to him, now visas are issued at best for six months or a year. At the same time, those who have a weak visa history are given only short-term visas for the duration of the trip.

At the same time, experts interviewed by ATOR believe that the validity of visas no longer depends on the visa history.

At the same time, it is still possible to obtain a Schengen visa, experts say. According to the summary data of tour operators, it will take an average of 2.5–3 weeks to obtain a Schengen visa in Moscow. “The Russians accept documents for a Schengen visa for tourist trips in such countries as Austria, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland,” the association said in a statement.

As market participants pointed out, as in autumn, there are still difficulties with free slots for filing documents by appointment at the visa centers of France and Spain, and it is easiest to register at the visa centers of Hungary and Italy.

Klishas called on the Foreign Ministry to mirror the “discrimination” of Russians in the EU Politics

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After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, several European countries suspended the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. In particular, Finland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland did so. In addition, the European Union has suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia since September 12. Also, EU member states were allowed to cancel existing Schengen visas that were previously issued to Russian citizens if, after verification, it turns out that their holders have become a security threat.

As of September 1, 2022, about 963 thousand Russians had valid Schengen visas.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Yevgeny Ivanov spoke about the fact that a number of EU countries put forward obviously impossible conditions for obtaining entry permits for Russians. “Some EU countries, while not formally refusing to issue visas to Russians, put forward obviously impossible conditions. In particular, they require payment of visa fees through Western banks or the presentation of a medical insurance policy of a foreign insurer, which is extremely problematic in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions,” he noted.

In response, Andrey Klishas, ​​head of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building of the Federation Council, called on the Foreign Ministry to take a "clear position" and respond to discrimination against Russians in the EU. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the EU countries, when applying for visas, require our citizens to comply with impossible requirements. Obviously, this is evidence of discrimination and treatment of Russians as second-class people, such a policy of Western countries has not been carried out for the first time, and we still cannot get a clear position from our Foreign Ministry, what kind of response Russia is ready to take in relation to these countries in a response to open discrimination,” the politician noted.

In his opinion, the Foreign Ministry needs to mirror the Western restrictions and make sure that the rules for issuing Russian visas to foreign citizens "contain the same (up to impossible) set of requirements."