Russians to face stricter and longer procedures to enter the EU

From Monday, Russians searching for to enter the EU should pay the next price, current extra paperwork and face an extended time.

Russians searching for to enter the European Union will face longer and stricter procedures ranging from Monday, the EU Council has stated, scrapping a 14-year-long deal between Russia and the bloc.

“At this time the Council adopted a choice that totally suspends the visa facilitation settlement between the EU and Russia,” learn an announcement revealed on Friday. The settlement had been in place since 2007 with the aim of facilitating visas for as much as 90 days.

“A visa facilitation settlement permits privileged entry to the EU for residents of trusted companions with whom we share widespread values,” it stated. “With its unprovoked and unjustified warfare of aggression, together with its indiscriminate assaults in opposition to civilians, Russia has damaged this belief and trampled on the basic values of our worldwide neighborhood,” the assertion added.

Suspending the deal signifies that visa software charges will now improve from 35 to 80 euros ($35 to $80), candidates might want to current extra paperwork and that the issuing course of shall be longer and extra restrictive. The brand new measure will enter into power on Monday.

The fee is anticipated to current extra pointers to verify the suspension doesn’t have an effect on these travelling to the EU for important functions, together with journalists, dissidents and civil society representatives.

The 27-country bloc’s choice comes as a compromise following a debate in late August amongst member states on whether or not to use an outright visa ban in opposition to Russians. Some international locations, equivalent to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland, together with Ukraine, pushed for a more durable stance, however Germany and France disagreed.

“We warning in opposition to far-reaching restrictions on our visa coverage, as a way to forestall feeding the Russian narrative and triggering unintended rallying-around the flag results and/or estranging future generations,” they stated in a joint memo.