Putin signs bill raising visa fees for EU citizens traveling to Russia into law

MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill into law suspending a number of provisions of Russia's international treaties on visa facilitation for citizens of the European Union, Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The corresponding document was published on the official website of legal information on Monday.

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

Therefore, the law 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 the Russian government resolution on approving 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 law's authors took into account the launch of e-visas in Russia on August 1, 2023, which EU citizens qualify for among others. The total e-visa fee stands at $52 and is comparable to the short-term single-entry visa fee that is $50, within Russian legislation. This factor will not have a significant effect on the achievement of the law's goals, the authors said.