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EAC residents to pay more for EU visas

Saturday December 21 2019
visa

Currently, travellers from 104 countries and entities need to obtain a visa to enter the EU for stays up to three-months within the Schengen Zone. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By ANTHONY KITIMO

All Schengen visa applicants will pay more for the travel document from February next year.

Under the Updated Schengen Visa Code, adopted by the European Union Council in June this year, the fee goes up by more than 30 per cent — to $90 from $67.

Children between the ages of 12 and 18 years will pay $45 from the current $40.

Previously, those who were traveling to European countries on Schengen Visa including from East African countries were required to pay standard fee of $67 for adults and $39 for children.

Schengen refers to the EU passport-free zone that covers most of the European countries and it's the largest free travel area in the world.

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any members of the Schengen Area per stays up to 90 days for tourism or business.

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However, if you are planning to study, work, or live in one of the Schengen countries for more than 90 days, then you must apply for a national visa of that European country and not a Schengen Visa.

Currently, travellers from 104 countries and entities need to obtain a visa to enter the EU for stays up to three-months within the Schengen Zone.

In 2018, statistics show 63,905 applicants from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania applied for the Schengen visas with a total of 8,885 applicants denied the travel permit.

Regulations

"Since Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) is binding in its entirety, and is directly applicable in all EU Member States in accordance with the Treaties, all Schengen countries, including Lithuania, will apply it from February 2, 2020," an official from the Information Monitoring and Media Division of Lithuania.

The new rules require one to submit an application up to six months in advance of their trip, instead of three currently, and foresee a harmonised approach to the issuing of multiple entry visas with lengthier validity to regular travellers with a positive visa history.

External service providers have been introduced to facilitate visa applications for travellers in EU member states. They are allowed to charge a service fee, which cannot be higher than the visa fee.

In addition, the updated Visa Code introduces a mechanism that assesses whether the visa fees should change, every three years.

The mechanism may also shorten visa validity, and introduce prolonged visa processing periods.

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