What does this mean in practice?
The agreement between Russia and the EU on the facilitation of issuing visas to citizens of Russia and the EU was ratified by the Federal Law of Russia dated March 7, 2007 N 30-FZ and was aimed at facilitating contacts between people, which is an important condition for the sustainable development of economic, humanitarian, cultural, scientific and other ties, by simplification on the basis of reciprocity of the issuance of visas to citizens of the Russian Federation and the European Union, and its purpose was to simplify, on the basis of reciprocity, the issuance of visas for stays of not more than 90 days within each period of 180 days to citizens of Russia and the EU.
According to the provisions of this agreement, the list of documents confirming the purpose of the trip was reduced for certain categories of citizens, namely:
- members of official delegations participating on the basis of an official invitation in official meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programs, as well as in events held on the territory of one of the Member States or the Russian Federation by intergovernmental organizations;
- entrepreneurs and representatives of entrepreneurs' organizations;
- drivers engaged in international passenger and freight transportation between the territories of Russia and the Member States on vehicles registered in Russia or one of the Member States;
- members of train, refrigerator and locomotive crews in international trains moving between the territories of Russia and the Member States;
- journalists;
- persons participating in scientific, cultural or creative activities, including university and other exchange programs;
- schoolchildren, students, graduate students and teachers accompanying them who are sent to study or study internships, including as part of exchange programs or other activities related to learning;
- participants in international sporting events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity;
- participants in official exchange programs between sister cities;
- close relatives - spouses, children (including foster children), parents (including guardians and trustees), grandparents, grandchildren who decide to visit citizens of the Russian Federation or the European Union legally residing on the territory of a Member State or the Russian Federations;
- persons visiting military and civil burials.
These categories of persons had to submit only a letter from the relevant organization or an invitation from the host as a document confirming the purpose of the trip. Also, these categories of persons were exempted from paying the consular fee for obtaining a visa.
For all other categories of persons, a reduced visa fee of 35 euros was established.
The agreement also established a reduced period for consideration of the application - 10 days.
After the suspension of the agreement, the general rules of the EU visa code will apply to all Russian citizens, namely:
1) the visa fee will be 80 euros, for children aged 6-12 years - 40 euros;
2) along with the visa application, you will need to submit the following set of documents:
- documents indicating the purpose of the trip;
- Documents related to accommodation or proof of sufficient funds to pay the costs of accommodation;
- documents indicating that the applicant has sufficient means of subsistence both for the duration of the intended stay and for return to his country of origin or residence or for transit to a third country to which he is guaranteed admission, or that he is able to legally acquire such means, in accordance with point "c" of paragraph 1 of Article 5 and paragraph 3 of Article 5 of the Schengen Borders Code;
- information allowing to assess his intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiration of the requested visa;
3) the term for consideration of the application will be 15 days instead of 10, in some cases it can be increased to 45.
Also, although it is not in the suspended agreement, the official press release states that the conditions for issuing multiple visas will also be limited. In practice, it is likely that for most applicants, visas can only be issued on dates of travel according to the submitted supporting documents.
Also, some EU countries have introduced restrictions on the number of accepted applications. In this regard, the terms for which it is possible to sign up for a visa at the consular offices can reach several months.
This suspension took effect on the morning of September 12, 2022.
The Confidence Group company provides a full range of services in the field of visa consulting, as well as the preparation of travel documents, including those to the countries of the European Union.
For more information, please contact the consultants of the Confidence Group company.
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