EU visa fee down to €35 but borders still closed

On July 1, the Visa Facilitation Agreement between Belarus and the EU came into force.

According to the agreement on visa facilitation, the cost of short-term Schengen visas for Belarusian citizens has been reduced from €80 to €35.

The list of documents to be submitted when applying for visas is reduced. There is also a possibility of issuing multiple-entry visas for a period of one to five years. The decision-making time for issuing a visa will be reduced to 10 days. Many categories of citizens will be able to apply for a free visa.

European Union ambassadors have agreed on a list of 14 “safe” countries, whose citizens will be able to enter the EU from July 1, BBC News reports. Belarus is not on this list, as well as neighboring Russia and Ukraine.

The list includes Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, Montenegro, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and Japan.

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