Source: Schengen Visa Info
Cypriot authorities have announced that the country will no longer apply facilitated rules for citizens of Russia applying for tourist visas.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, starting from December 1, 2022, the country will start charging Russians that apply for tourist visas.
In line with the new rules that are set to enter into force a month from now, the holders of the Russian passport who are currently exempt from visa fees will have to pay €80 when applying for a tourist visa, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The price of €80 will only apply to adult applicants, as children between the age of six and 12 will have to pay half of the price – €40.
The decision of Cyprus to introduce tourist visa fees for Russians follows the full suspension of the visa facilitation agreement adopted by the Council of the European Union. Earlier in September, the EU Council said that general rules of the visa code will now apply to citizens of Russia.
In line with the adopted decision, which officially entered into force on September 12, 2022, the visa application fee for Russians increased from €35 to €80. The decision also resulted in the need to present additional documentary evidence.
Moreover, citizens of Russia applying for a visa in one of the EU countries that have suspended their visa facilitation agreement, including here in Cyprus, will also face increased visa processing times and more stringent rules for the issuance of multiple-entry visas.
While some countries have only started to apply stringent rules for Russians applying for a visa, some others have stopped issuing Schengen visas and have banned Russians.
Find out which European countries have imposed visa and entry sanctions on Russian tourists #europe #russia #ukraine #war #ukrainewar #russiaukraine #ukrainerussiawar #europeanunion #travel #tourism #news #breakingnews #russiantourism #visa #schengenvisa pic.twitter.com/u5DVeeUTAS
— SchengenVisaInfo (@schengen_info) October 20, 2022
EU countries that have imposed visa & entry restrictions on Russian tourists so far
The list of the EU countries that have completely closed their borders to Russian tourists includes Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
The four EU countries that border Russia – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland – were among the first countries to stop issuing visas for Russians and ban them from entering their today. The ministers of foreign affairs of these countries said they decided to introduce measures on the common ground of protecting public policy, internal security, and the safety of the Schengen zone.
Previously, the Lithuanian Interior Minister, Agnė Bilotaitė, called all the other EU Member States to follow the example of the Baltic States and Poland and ban entry for all tourists from Russia. Bilotaitė stressed that the EU countries should show a strong backbone to this issue by introducing restrictions.
