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While several Schengen Area countries have halted the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian nationals following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia a year ago, several other countries continue to issue Schengen visas with a territorial validity of all 27 Member States, while three of them are even seen as “loyal to Kremlin” when it comes to visa issuance for Russians.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) has advised Russian citizens on Tuesday, February 14, to apply for Schengen visas at the visa processing authorities of Hungary, Greece, and Italy in Russia, as these three countries are their best options for obtaining a Schengen visa, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The advice comes following an analysis of the association done in collaboration with tour operators who assist in visa applications.
“You can easily and quickly get a Schengen visa for a tourist trip to Hungary, thanks to a loyal visa policy. This is one of the most popular European countries among Russians, even under sanctions,” ATOR says in a statement regarding the analysis.
It further explains that there is no shortage of visa applications slots for Hungary, and applications are processed between 17 to 20 business days.
“At the moment, as an accredited tour operator in Greece, we have no problems with obtaining Schengen visas… Refusals are not a threat for our tourists, since they happen only in very serious cases, as a rule, not related to the tourist purpose of the trip,” experts from tour operator Ambotis Holidays have told ATOR regarding Greece.
The same also points out that the top favorite destinations in Greece for Russian tourists are Halkidiki, Crete, and Rhodes.
Whereas regarding Italy, tour operators also say that obtaining a visa for Italy in Moscow is easier than for some other countries, like France, though there is a record demand for them. The average processing time for an Italian Schengen visa in Russia is approximately 20 working days.
Other countries that accept applications for a Schengen visa are Austria, Croatia, Spain, France, Slovenia, Switzerland, Portugal. Amongst them, ATOR claims that Russians have it the most difficult to obtain a Schengen visa from the French embassy, as the same has a very limited number of slots.
It also advises Russian citizens to submit documents at least a month before the planned departure at the visa issuing embassies, in order to avoid possible delays for getting the passport back.
On the other hand, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Slovakia, do not issue Schengen visas to Russians. The six first do not permit entry to Russian tourists either.
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