It has become easier for Russians to obtain a Schengen visa

After the New Year vacations, it became easier for Russians to obtain a Schengen visa for travel in Europe. This was reported in a press release of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) on Thursday, January 16, with reference to the data of tour operators.

According to the head of sales department of tour operator "Sodis" Irina Manuilskaya, the most affordable option for Schengen registration is Greece. At the same time, she noted that in the summer Greeks put visas in a week, but under the dates of the trip.

"For France, Italy and Spain, you can always find a window for the record, but in the consulate of Spain, our tourists have recently received one-month visas, that is, almost under the dates of the trip with a minimum corridor. France, notorious for unpredictable record for filing, before the New Year suddenly began to open windows more clearly and issue visas. We hope that this year everything will be better organized," Lenta.Ru quoted the expert as saying.

Manuilskaya added that the French are currently issuing the longest visas.

"Tourists who already have a five-year Schengen in their passport can sometimes get annual visas and even three-year visas," the expert noted.

She noted that it is recommended to apply for a visa in the country that once already issued visas to the applicant for five years, then the probability of repeating a multi-year Schengen is higher.

January 15, Schengen News reported that Russian citizens use French visas to enter Finland. The authors of the material recalled that since the fall of 2022 Finland stopped accepting applications and does not issue Schengen visas to Russians, but they were able to find a way around this restriction, reports 360.ru.

It is noted that Russians get French visas and then use them to enter Finland, as well as other EU countries, RT reports.

Earlier, on September 18, European Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that the EU is discussing measures to tighten the process of obtaining visas by Russians. She added that the number of visas issued to Russian citizens has already dropped by about 90%.

At the same time, in July Hungary expanded its "national card" program, which gives the right to work in the country, to include citizens of Russia and Belarus. The measure sparked outrage in the EU. The European Commission demanded an explanation from Budapest. In addition, a number of European politicians demanded to suspend Hungary's participation in the Schengen zone.

Currently, three European countries have a visa-free regime with Russia: Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro.