The specialist spoke about the problems with visas to Europe and the USA

“I’ll calm the audience down a bit,” the specialist says. – Because recently there has been a panic that the visa regime has been canceled, that it will become more expensive and more difficult to obtain a visa, that it will be almost impossible to obtain them at all. In fact, there is no need to panic. What does the abolition of the simplified visa regime mean? Most importantly, it will not apply to beneficiaries, or to categories of disabled people. The visa fee will be the same as for an ordinary citizen of the Russian Federation. This will also apply to those who have relatives living abroad. Accordingly, unfortunately, the terms of consideration of documents for visas will increase. Some additional documents will be required. Now we are looking at the issue of visas, which have begun to be considered under the new rules.

– The visa restrictions being introduced seem to harm not only the Russians, but also the Europeans themselves…

– Entry to Russians is forbidden only by three countries – these are Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. I am very glad that Finland did not support this initiative. This will have a negative impact in the sense that single-entry visas will be issued to Russians, which will have to be issued in a new way at each next entry. It will only have a negative effect. But Russian tourists have traveled and will continue to travel. The only thing is that the European Union is considering a law, according to which it is necessary to enter the country to which the visa was issued. As practice shows, it is possible to enter that country, but it is in no way possible to track movement within the European Union. At least currently, moving within the EU does not depend on what kind of visa you have. In the future, we will see how it will look in practice.

– That is, you can enter, relatively speaking, into Finland, and then you can at least Italy or Spain, beloved by Russians, at least one of the Baltic countries?

– No, as far as these three countries are concerned – Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania – unfortunately, I don’t know now what the movement by land transport within the European Union through these countries will look like. But it will be possible to travel to other countries.

– Obtaining visas will be more difficult and more expensive. How costly will the process of obtaining a Schengen visa be for Russians? How much more time will it take? Maybe something you need to pay attention to, so that there are more chances to get a visa?

– I will talk about those countries that were the first to tighten the requirements for documents. Italy was the first. During the pandemic and after, she began to demand not only a certificate of the balance from the bank, but also an extract with the movement of funds for the last three months. Spain then began to demand the same. We are now waiting for new requirements after September 12, but they have not been set yet. The consular fee has now increased to 80 euros. As for the timing, if Italy, even before the adoption of the law on the abolition of the simplified visa regime by the European Union, had already increased the terms from two weeks to a month, now the terms in all countries have increased from 15 to 45 working days.

– If a Russian citizen wants to go somewhere in Europe for the New Year, then he needs to take care of this much in advance?

– I always advise tourists to draw up documents for a trip as early as possible. And before there were such recommendations, but now you need to start applying for a visa at least two months in advance.

– In the current conditions, what is better for obtaining a visa – to have a clean passport or a document with a large number of visas?

– Of course, a passport with a visa history is better. Because in connection with the tightening of requirements for documents, a single entry visa will be put in a clean passport and documents will be considered more strictly. Additional documents will be requested. So far, this has not happened in practice, but in a month, we will probably see the whole picture better.

– How much has the flow of customers wishing to obtain a visa dropped? How do Muscovites react?

– The flow of customers has not fallen, but only increased, because everyone is afraid that in the future it will be even more difficult to obtain a visa. And they want to do it now. As for the terms of submission. If earlier we submitted documents as an accredited visa center, now applicants can only submit documents on their own. We can help thanks to the staff of specialists who register applicants.

– Which European countries are still happy to see Russian tourists?

– It is difficult to answer this question unambiguously. The most positive countries are France and Italy, in my opinion. In third place is Spain. If we talk about those who do not want to see us, these are Poland, Slovenia and the entire Baltic.

– How is the situation with obtaining an American visa? Are there options to do it in Moscow?

– In Moscow, it is now impossible to pass an interview, because the US consulate is closed. According to statistics, the highest approval of visas is now recorded in Croatia. We apply not only through European countries, but also through Thailand, Israel (for 2023), but the advantage of European countries is that you can pass the interview with an interpreter. And it simplifies the approval of the visa applicant. We are faced with the problem of paying the consular fee to America. Since now the transactions of Russian banks are prohibited, so the consular fee for a visa to the United States has to be paid through third countries (Kazakhstan, Belarus, etc.). Therefore, the fee increases due to commissions and other expenses. It turns out not 160 dollars, but 180-200.

How often do applicants get rejected?

– Most refusals in Oman, more approvals in Croatia and Poland (Krakow). Then more failures in Israel. In Kazakhstan, the number of approvals and refusals is approximately the same.

– How much interest in obtaining citizenship of other countries has grown?

– Demand for citizenship and residence permits has increased. Currently, this can be done in a variety of ways. Starting with investments and ending with the search for roots in a particular country. It all depends on the wishes of the applicants – and depending on this, the visa centers will select one or another program.

– What are the most popular countries in this regard?

– Italy, UAE, Slovenia.