Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico (L) and Austria's Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer saw a symbolic border gate at the border between Slovakia's Petrzalka and Austria's Berg December 20, 2007. The European Union's border-free zone will be extended to Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia on December 21.
Photo: Reuters
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Schengen Visa Regulations Won’t Change for Russians
The fact that nine more countries will become member states of Schengen border-free zone won’t drastically change the visa regulations for Russia’s residents, said the RF Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Mikhail Kamynin.
Nine states – Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland – joined the Schengen zone December 21, 2007. “We don’t expect any crucial changes,” the diplomat told RIA Novosti.
“The full-value entry of these countries to the Schengen zone has resulted from a long period of preparation, during which they adjusted their visa services to standards that are common in Schengen,” the diplomat went on, specifying that the changes in documents package or in inquiry forms are most unlikely.
According to Kamynin, the Russians pay ˆ35 for a Schengen visa, although the charges were hiked to ˆ60. "If there are any technical changes, our co-citizens will be always able to learn about them in consular offices of these countries,” the diplomats said.
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