Council of European Union approves suspension of visa facilitation agreement with Russia

BRUSSELS. Sept 9 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union approved on Friday the full suspension of the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement: Russian citizens will be paying a higher visa fee and the processing of visa applications will take longer.

"Today the Council adopted a decision that fully suspends the visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Russia. Consequently, the general rules of the visa code will apply to Russian citizens," the Council of the European Union said in a statement on its website.

This will result in an increase in the visa application fee from 35 to 80 euros, the need to present additional documentary evidence, increased visa processing times and more restrictive rules for the issuance of multiple-entry visas.