From September 14th 2015 all Russians older than 12 will be required to be fingerprinted in order to receive Schengen visas. For those who hold an old-style passport it will be necessary to be photographed so that the eye’s retina is visible.
Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators, explains that the introduction of biometrics has been determined by the interstate agreements among Russia and the European countries in 2011. It was determined that in 2015 a new order of registration of European visas will be introduced. “Now the introduction of biometrics is associated with foreign policy – with tensions that exist now between Russia and the European countries, sanctions, and so on. But these events are not linked with each other,” Lomidze says.
Russia is the 17th country in which European biometric visas have been introduced. However, there are a lot of questions about the issuance of visas, the order of registration, and the order of filing, and the experiences of previous countries are not very applicable to us. Therefore, the ATOR assumes that after the introduction of biometrics on the 14th of September there will be some negative consequences for our market, due to the fact that people will have to visit visa centers personally in any case in order to be fingerprinted.
“Now we are expecting another fall of the ruble, and in this case it will certainly affect tourist trips abroad. Even without the introduction of biometrics we expect a decrease. In connection with the introduction of biometrics, not one Consulate has confirmed that the cost of the visa will be changed. The second component of the cost of the visa is the visa fee of the center. It is also determined by the relevant treaties and cannot be more than 30 euros for a set of documents. An increase of the price will only lead to a further reduction in demand. Not one European country pursues this aim. So I think that they won’t take this measure,” Lomidze says.
