Travelling to Europe will mean paying higher visa application fees after the European Commission today increased Schengen visa fees by 12%.
A flight attendant walks past a banner reading “Welcome to Schengen!” in Romanian a few minutes after midnight, shortly after Romania formally joined the European free movement area on March 31, 2024. (AFP) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
A Schengen visa allows its holder to travel freely within the Schengen Area, a group of 27 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, that have abolished passport and other border controls at their mutual borders.
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Under the new fee structure, adult applicants will pay 90 euros (previously 80 euros) and children aged 6 to 12 will pay 45 euros (previously 40 euros). Countries deemed uncooperative in the EU's efforts to repatriate their citizens will see their fees increase further, reaching either 135 euros or 180 euros, News18 reported.
The European Commission cited inflation and rising civil servant salaries as reasons for the price increase. The last price increase was in February 2020.
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In 2023, the Schengen Area will receive more than 10.3 million short-term visa applications, up 37% from the previous year. However, this is still below the pre-pandemic peak of 17 million applications in 2019, according to the article.
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The increase in visa fees also comes at a time when Europe is trying to attract tourists from around the world. On April 18, 2024, the European Commission introduced a new visa regime called “visa cascade” exclusively for Indian nationals residing in India, which includes easier access to multiple entry visas, rewards for good visa history, and the possibility of obtaining a five-year visa.
Schengen visas are usually issued for short stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period, such as for tourism, business or family visits.
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According to a Firstpost article, there are different types of Schengen visas, including the Unified Schengen Visa (USV) for short stays, the Airport Transit Visa (ATV) for passing through a Schengen airport without entering the Schengen area, and the National Visa for stays longer than 90 days.
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The Schengen Area includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway.
Norway is not officially a Schengen country, but it follows the same regulations.
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