Immigration: New Rules for Schengen Visa Application for Netherlands as of February 2020 – Including Increased Visa Fees
Did immigration issues drive us to Brexit? What is the word on the streets right now?
Travelers applying for a Schengen visa at one of the Schengen embassies or consulates abroad as of February 1, 2020, will be subject to the new Schengen visa application rules conform the new updated Schengen visa code.
The Netherlands becomes the second Schengen Area member country to have moved on to announce the appliance of the new visa application rules after Switzerland had made a similar announcement in mid-August this year. In Switzerland, the new rules will enter into force in February 2, next year.
“As of February 1, 2020, new rules are in force if you apply for a Schengen visa. This is a consequence of new regulations adopted by the European Union,” a notice posted on the netherlandsandyou.nl website of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
According to the notice, the main changes are as follows:
- Travelers can apply for a Schengen visa six months before this trip. Currently, an application can be filed only three months in advance.
- Seafarers will be eligible to apply as early as 9 months in advance
- Those holding a valid visa or a valid residence permit for Aruba, Curacao, Saint Maarten, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius or Saba will not need an airport transit visa.
- Those currently paying a visa fee of €60 will need to pay €80 after February 1, 2020.
- Those currently paying a visa fee of €35, including children aged 6-12, will need to pay €40.
The proposed amendments to the Schengen Visa code have been approved by the Council of the European Union on June 6 this year, in a bid to facilitate traveling to the Schengen Area for tourism, trade, and business, and at the same time to contribute to internal security.
The price of the visas has been raised in order to increase the tools available to respond to the challenges posed by illegal migration. The code also introduces a mechanism that assesses whether the visa fees should change or remain the same, for every three years.
In addition, it obliges EU member states to work with external service providers for visa admission, in the non-EU countries where they are not present or represented by another country. Multiple-entry visas will be available for frequent travelers to the Schengen Zone, and additional facilities will be made for well-known artists and high-performance athletes touring in the EU.
Related information
[top]
from WordPress https://ift.tt/2JCNl3G
Comments
Post a Comment