It has become more difficult for Russian citizens to obtain a Schengen visa – a laborious process takes a lot of time, and you will have to pay more for documents.
Among the countries that remain loyal to the Russians are Greece, Italy, Spain and Hungary. But they provide, as a rule, one-time visas. A multiple-entry visa is available at a French consulate, while in a German one you will have to present a foreign company’s health insurance and an extract from a foreign bank.
It has become difficult to apply for a Schengen visa to Finland, even for a trip to your parents or wife. Only three days a week are allotted for submitting documents to the consulate – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Ekaterina Pustovalova, director of the Hummingbird travel agency, says:
“We are trying to negotiate with the visa center, and they give us places. It is more difficult for people to do this on their own, some of them are looking for such an opportunity for 2-3 months.”
If you are going on a trip, you need to start processing documents no earlier than six months in advance. After submitting documents for Schengen, you will have to wait from two weeks to a month. The chances of obtaining a visa increase if you have a stable job in the Russian Federation and a decent amount in your account – in this case, you can count on receiving a document valid from 3 to 90 days. The consular fee has increased from 35 to 80 euros. The help of intermediaries is widely used, but they do not give any guarantee.
Earlier, experts listed European countries that most often refuse to issue Schengen visas. The leader in the rejection of applications is Estonia, writes GreekReporter.
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