Russians overpaid almost 6 billion rubles for Schengen visas

      In 2024, visa expenses reached approximately 5 billion rubles, although without the currency exchange rate fluctuations and service fees, they could have amounted to around 2.1 billion rubles — resulting in an overpayment of about 3.4 billion rubles, according to Vedomosti.

      At the same time, the number of visas issued in 2024 increased: 542,000 Schengen visas were issued, a 21% rise compared to 2023, but significantly below pre-pandemic levels — in 2019, around 4 million people obtained visas.

      Experts note that the surge in visa costs, including an increase in the visa fee to 90 euros for adults and 45 euros for children, has affected the affordability of trips to Europe. For example, the cost of a Schengen visa for Greece increased from approximately 5,000 to 11,000 rubles.

      Meanwhile, Latvian authorities called on EU countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens, citing internal security threats, while the European Commission reported an increase in visa issuance to Russian tourists in 2024.

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Russians overpaid almost 6 billion rubles for Schengen visas

Russians overpaid approximately 5.8 billion rubles for Schengen visa processing from 2022 to 2024 — this is the result of the abolition of the simplified visa regime with Europe.