A bill to increase the visa fee for citizens of the European Union has been introduced to the State Duma of the Russian Federation

A bill has been introduced to the State Duma of the Russian Federation aimed at increasing visa fees for citizens of the European Union. The initiative proposes aligning the collection of visa fees for Russian visas with the established norms in the European Community, Denmark, Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. These countries have terminated agreements with Russia on mutual visa simplification and switched to increased visa fee rates.

According to the proposed changes, citizens of EU countries of all categories will be subject to visa fees in accordance with the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated November 11, 2010. This will lead to an increase in the cost of Russian visas to $50–300 depending on urgency and multiplicity. The corresponding revenue from visa issuances could increase by 2.8 times.

Additionally, restrictions on visa-free entry for diplomats have been introduced, and visa privileges for members of official delegations, journalists, and other categories from the EU and several other countries have been abolished.

Despite these changes, the possibility of issuing Russian visas to certain categories of Europeans, such as entrepreneurs, scientists, cultural figures, and others, who can obtain visas without invitations from the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, will be retained.

It is anticipated that the law will come into effect upon publication, citing the urgency of the operational implementation of new rules for collecting increased visa fees.