Facilitated visa regime with Russia will be suspended

According to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylv Johansson, the decision of the European Commission to abandon the simplified visa regime with Russia may come into force as early as September 12. 

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“I hope that the EU Council will quickly, already this week, approve the proposal, thus, as early as Monday, the usual visa regime will apply to Russia,” Johansson stressed.

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Under the new rules, the terms for obtaining a Schengen visa may increase up to six months, and the fee will increase from 35 euros to 80. At the same time, the issuance of long-term and multiple-entry visas will be significantly reduced or completely canceled.

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The Russians will be offered “Schengen” strictly according to the dates of the trip. At the same time, holders of valid multiple-entry visas will still be able to visit EU countries until their expiration date.

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Maria Zakharova said that Russia is not going to become like the European Union in the unreasonable policy of “burning bridges” between people, but reserves the right to retaliate, and Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that if the European Union imposes restrictions on issuing visas to Russians, then their citizens will also face inconvenience when crossing the border.