The PCT advised the Russians not to count on multiple Schengen

The Russian Union of the Travel Industry, citing tour operators, indicated that out of 27 countries of the Schengen zone, only eight accept documents from Russian tourists,and multiple-entry visas are rarely issued and only to a “narrow circle of people”

Russians can still sign up to apply for Schengen visas, but you should not count on getting multiple-entry visas, the Russian Union of the Travel Industry said, citing tour operators.

“Of the 27 countries of the Schengen zone, only the visa centers of Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia accept documents from Russian tourists. Visas for two or three years are given rarely and only to a narrow circle of people. Most are issued for the duration of the trip or up to six months, ”the message says.

According to the PCT, most often multiple-entry visas are issued by the French consulate, but it is almost impossible to make an appointment to submit documents to the visa center of this country. “This is due to the fact that the number of slots for filing documents is limited, and with the help of bots they are booked by intermediary companies for subsequent resale to those who wish to apply for visas. With Italy, Spain, Greece and Hungary, the situation is slightly better: an individual can still submit a request on their own. If you're lucky, you can find temporary slots for tomorrow at the visa centers in Moscow," the union said.

Earlier, Kommersant reported that scammers using bots learned to reserve all free slots on the website of visa centers. According to the publication, the market price per seat starts at 4,000 rubles. for regions and from 7.5 thousand rubles. for Moscow and St. Petersburg.

ATOR announced the EU's refusal to issue visas to Russians for more than a year Politics

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, from September 12, the EU suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia: the fee increased from €35 to €80, the period for reviewing applications increased from 15 to 45 days, and it was decided to give tourists a low priority when considering (they may also request additional documents).

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 risk.

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Before the CORONAVIRUS pandemic, RUSSIA topped the list of countries whose citizens applied for a visa to the Schengen countries. In 2019, Russians filed about 4 million applications for a Schengen visa, or more than 23% of all applications.

In mid-January, ATOR reported that 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.