EU countries have stopped issuing visas to Russian tourists for more than a year

As a rule, after September 12, Russians have a chance to get a tourist visa only for the dates of the trip.

This is reported by Interfax with reference to the data of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

Tour operators point out that after the start of the military special operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, obtaining visas for Russians has become significantly more complicated — both in terms of terms and the number of required documents.

"But the most unpleasant thing is the short period of visas issued. If earlier Russians received visas for two, three years, and often five years, now a multiple—entry visa can be issued for a maximum of six months or a year," the report says.

Now, even if a tourist has often been abroad, has several long-term visas in his passport and a good visa history, he will be issued a new visa for only six months. Those who have a small number of long-term visas and a weak visa history will be given only a single-entry visa for the duration of the trip, tour operators indicate.

To get a visa, you must submit to the consulate a voucher for a tour, a hotel reservation, round-trip air tickets, certificates from your place of work, a bank statement, as well as other documents. Some also require data on the availability of their real estate in Of Russia.

It should be noted that after the cancellation of the agreement on a simplified visa regime between Russia and the EU, the consular fee for Russians increased from 35 to 85 euros.

Now the terms of Schengen registration for Russians have increased to 2.5-3 weeks, and you can get visas to visit far from all countries. Among the destinations available to Russians are Austria, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France, Hungary, Slovenia and Switzerland. You can count on long-term visas only in the consulates of France and Italy. The rest of the countries, basically, issue only single-entry visas.

Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Czech Republic and Estonia.

It has become very difficult to get a visa to visit Germany because, according to the new rules, insurance from a European insurance company and a bank account that operates in the EU are now required to visit this country.

The requirements for obtaining visas, which the European Union now imposes on Russians, were called "impossible" by the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Yevgeny Ivanov.

"Some EU countries, without formally refusing to issue visas to Russians, put forward obviously impossible conditions," Ivanov said. He explained that a number of European countries often require Russians to pay visa fees through their banks or a foreign-style medical policy, which is "extremely problematic" in the current conditions of sanctions.