Germany Limits Visa Issue for Russians
The German Embassy is limiting the tourist visa issue for Russians. As little as 600,000 passports a week will be accepted for the visa issue without an interview starting from February, the embassy announced last Friday. Travel agencies estimate that at least 25 percent of those willing to go to Germany will be unable to receive it in the high season.
The German Embassy to Russia announced introducing a quota on the visa issue at a meeting with travel agencies late last week, the press service of the Russian Tourism Industry Association, www.ratanews.ru, reports. Starting from February 1, travel companies will be able to submit no more than 600,000 passports a week. This is the average number of applications that travel agencies filed in 2006, embassy employees say.
The German Embassy has also cut on the categories of applicants who do not need to come in for an interview to get a visa.
230,000 Russians traveled Germany in 2005, according to the Russian Statistics Agency. Over the first nine months of 2006, 178,500 Russian tourists visited the country.
The Germans accounted the quota for the limited time they have to process applications. Embassy workers also complained that Russian officials won’t respond their requests for additional premises essential for hiring additional personnel.
The quota is more or less equal to the volume average tourist flow to Germany. However, not everyone will be able to file documents in April, July, September, November or December when the tourist flow is at its highest. The number of those willing to go who will be left without a visa may be at least 25 percent, according to Vladimir Kantorovich from the Russian Tour Operators Association. The figure may be even twice as high, he adds.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 29, 2007
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