Recall that in the early autumn of 2022, the European Union suspended the visa facilitation regime with Russia. This situation has greatly influenced the process of obtaining Schengen visas for Russian citizens. Let's analyze the changes that took place in November.
At the moment, the EU is considering the issue of banning the issuance of Schengen visas to citizens of the Russian Federation who received passports in the territory of new regions of Russia (DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions), as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
So far, this prescription is being approved by all members of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament.
It also became known that now, in order to apply for a Schengen visa, Russians who are notare outside the territory in the Russian Federation, it is necessary to prove the legality of stay in a third country, i.e. have a valid residence permit.
The presence of a residence permit does not guarantee visa approval, as the European Commission recommended that countries that continue to issue Schengen to Russian citizens should check the above applicants more carefully.
Another important change was announced by the Italian representation in Russia. From December 15 this year, visa applications will be accepted only on biometric passports, that is, with a validity period of 10 years.
If we talk about the Schengen countries that now issue visas to Russians, then the visa issuance statistics have improved. You can highlight:
- Spain and Italy — they issue multiple-entry visas well, there are places to apply in the near future;
- France — multischengen can also be obtained, but it is quite difficult to sign up for the submission of documents;
- Greece, Austria and Hungary — they are consistently good at issuing visas for single visits.
At the moment, these are all changes in the procedure for issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens. TURIZM will promptly inform readers about all changes together with Uway — specialist in the field of immigration and visa services.