Schengen visa fees to get costlier from June 11. Know more
The EU has decided to increase short stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12 per cent
Indians, who seem to be showing a growing interest in travelling to Europe, may want to note that Schengen visa fees have been hiked from June 11, 2024.
In a statement issued by the Slovenian ministry of foreign and European affairs, the cost of visa applications for adults has shot up from €80 to €90. The visa fees for children from six years to twelve years will rise from €40 to €45.
The European Commission (EU) has decided to increase short stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12 per cent. “The increase will apply worldwide as of 11 June 2024," the Slovenian government said in a statement, according to media reports.
Europe continues to be a favoured destination for travellers as Schengen Area received more than 10.3 million short-stay visa applications in 2023. This was a 37 per cent jump from the previous year but still fell short of the 2019 peak of 17 million applications.
Which countries come under Schengen area?
The Schengen area, a zone of free movement within Europe, comprises 29 countries, including 25 EU member states. The participating nations are Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
EU decides to hike fees
This spike in visa fees comes as a routine adjustment for EU as visa fees have to be reviewed every three years. This is a requirement by the Schengen Visa Code.
Though the EU cites inflation and the rising salaries of civil servants as a reason as well. The previous hike occurred four years ago in February 2020, when fees were raised from €60 to €80.
Who is angry?
The decision has sparked a lot of discontent, particularly among Turkish citizens, who were hoping for a visa-free agreement with the EU.
Which country tops Schengen visa applications
Turks and Indians seem to flock to Schengen countries the most. But it is China that occupies the dominant slot as according to SchengenVisaInfo, Chinese nationals accounted for more than 10 per cent of the total applications in 2023, followed by Turkish and Indian citizens.
Chinese nationals filed 1.1 million applications returning to their top most position since 2018.
EU has seen a 43% surge in Schengen visa applications from India in 2023 as compared to the previous year.
India bagged the third position in terms of Schengen visa applications, with a total of 966,687 submissions, followed by Turkey.
To ease access for Indians
To ease access for Indians, the EU introduced a new visa "cascade" system for Indian nationals. This initiative simplifies the process of obtaining multi-entry visas with extended validity periods.
This will allow Indians to obtain a two-year multi-entry visa after lawfully using two visas within the previous three years. Subsequently, they can apply for a five-year visa, enabling short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period.