Schengen visa may become more expensive before start of summer season

The European Commission has proposed raising the basic fee for a Schengen visa from 80 to 90 euros for adults and from 40 to 45 euros for children, Report informs referring to The Local.fr.

Schengen visas can be obtained by non-EU citizens from countries that do not benefit from the EU / Schengen area's 90-day rule such as such as nationals of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China.

The EU is also proposing to hike the fee even higher for those countries who are deemed not be cooperative with receiving expelled citizens back from member states.

So if the EU Council, which is made up of EU governments, decides that there is “insufficient cooperation on readmission” of expelled citizens with a third country, the Schengen visa fee for citizens from that country will rise from 120/160 euros to 135/180 euros.

In addition, the revision of visa fees impacts the maximum amount that external service providers collecting visa applications on behalf of member states can charge, which is usually set at up to half the standard fee.

This charge would increase from 40 to 45 euros.

The fee for a Schengen visa extension will remain at 30 euros.

The proposal is now open for consultation until March 1. The Commission can then adopt the regulation, which will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The Commission says that even with the increase, the visa fees for the Schengen area are “still relatively low” compared to other countries. For instance, a visa for the US costs €185, or €172; for the UK it starts from £115 (€134); for Canada it is $100 plus $85 for biometrics, or €130; for Australia $190, the equivalent of €117.