Russia will independently issue EU visas to its citizens
The official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry has published a document “On the provisional procedure for issuing visas to countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement.” From October 1, citizens receive a visa to any country of the European Union by contacting the internal affairs bodies or submitting messages on the State Services portal.
Diplomats have learned that access with the EU is governed by dozens of treaties, according to one from Moscow, which can take over the issuance of visas in case of force majeure. The contents of the document were never ruled out, but officials promise: in the coming year, there will be no problems with leaving the EU for Russian citizens.
The cost of a visa is estimated at one thousand rubles, while citizens have the right to independently choose the country, the “Schengen” of which they want to receive. Document production time is calculated from 3 to 10 working days.
The EU has not yet officially commented on the situation, but a source from the authoritative French newspaper L’Humanité in the European Commission said that Russia really has the right to start issuing visas on its own in the current situation.
“Unfortunately, we just forgot. We can break it even tomorrow, but it will be valid for at least another year,” he explained.
In the near future, the Foreign Ministry plans to begin issuing visas to the US, Australia and Canada – diplomats have already been instructed to find a document that could be interpreted as giving the right to such an action.