Russia to increase visa fees for all EU citizens - law

MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - A bill suspending certain provisions of Russia's international agreements on easing visa requirements for citizens of the European Union, Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland passed its third and final reading at the State Duma on Wednesday.

The bill aims to synchronize Russian visa fees with the norms in effect in the European Union, Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which unilaterally suspended the international agreements with Russia on mutual easing of visa requirements and, in particular, raised visa fees, the bill's explanatory note said.

Hence, the bill halts the validity of article 6 in each of the agreements (article 7 in the case of Liechtenstein).

As a result, citizens of European countries of all categories will be charged visa fees stipulated by Russian government resolution on approval of consular fees charged by officials for consular actions, dated November 11, 2010

This means that, depending on the urgency and number of visits, Russian visas will cost from $50 to $300, which will increase visa fee revenue by 2.8 times, the explanatory note said.

The bill's authors take into account the launch of e-visas in Russia on August 1, 2023, for which EU citizens qualify among others. The e-visa fee ($52) is comparable with the short-term single-entry visa fee ($50), consistent with Russian laws.

This factor will not have a significant effect on the achievement of the bill's goals, the authors said.