After the EU decision to suspend of the visa agreement, the French consulate in Moscow announced that France will continue to issue short-stay visas to Russian citizens. However, the document emphasizes that “modified and stricter rules” will apply.
Under the new policy, the consulate said that all Russians applying for a short-stay visa will now be required to pay a fee of 80 euros instead of 35. In addition, processing of visa applications submitted by Russian citizens can take up to 45 business days.
“France continues to issue short-stay visas. However, please note that the conditions for issuing such visas are subject to change. The cost is 80 euros for all applicants. Consideration of visa requests can now take up to 45 days, and you need to carefully compare these terms with the date of the planned departure, — said in a statement by the Consulate General of France in Moscow.
While those who apply for a short-stay visa will now be subject to the new rules, the consulate stressed that this decision does not affect the issuance of long-stay visas. This means that Russians applying for a long-term visa at the French consulate will not be subject to the new rules.
Like France, Denmark has also abolished visa facilitation with Russia. While Denmark has no EU visa obligations, Russians are now subject to stricter visa regulations.
The complete suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Russia was adopted by the EU Council on 9 September. Commenting on this decision.
While a number of EU members limited themselves to a decision only to suspend the visa agreement, four European countries bordering Russia — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — agreed to stop issuing visas to Russians from September 19. Moreover, these countries also banned Russians from entering their territory.