March 14, 2018 - 18:16 AMT
Schengen visa fee hike won't affect Armenia

The European Commission is planning to increase the Schengen visa fee from €60 to €80, a statement on the Commission's website says.

The move however, won't affect such countries as Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, whose citizens will continue paying €35.

The Commission is proposing to reform the EU's common visa policy to adapt the rules to evolving security concerns, challenges linked to migration and new opportunities offered by technological developments.

Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: "Every year, millions of travellers visit the EU and boost our travel and tourism industry. With the reforms we propose today it will become easier and faster for legitimate travellers to obtain a visa while security standards will be enhanced to better detect and stop those who are not. The new rules will also make sure our common visa policy can help improve our cooperation with non-EU countries when it comes to the return of irregular migrants."

Also, the decision making time for visa applications will be reduced from 15 to 10 days. It will be possible for travellers to submit their applications up to 6 months in advance of their planned trip, instead of the current 3 months, and to fill in and sign their applications electronically.