According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, starting from December 1, 2022, the country will start collecting fees from Russians who want to relax on the island.
In accordance with the new rules, which will come into force in a month, holders of Russian passports who currently exempt from visa fees, will be required to pay 80 euros when applying for a tourist visa.
A fee of 80 euros will apply to adult applicants, children aged 6 to 12 years old will have to pay half — 40 euros.
The decision of Cyprus to introduce a fee for tourist visas follows the complete suspension of the visa facilitation agreement adopted for Russian citizens by the Council of the European Union. Earlier in September, the Council of the EU stated that the general rules of the visa code would now apply to Russians.
In accordance with the decision, which officially entered into force on September 12, 2022, the visa fee for Russians increased from 35 to 80 Euro. This decision also led to the need to submit additional documents.
Moreover, Russian citizens will inevitably face increased processing times and tougher rules for issuing multiple-entry visas.
While some countries have just begun apply strict rules for Russians, others have stopped issuing Schengen visas altogether and banned them from entering.
The list of EU countries that have completely closed their borders to Russian tourists includes Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Czech.