eu-com-schengen-coop

With the exception of one Member State, the agreed harmonised list of supporting documents is
being implemented in St. Petersburg even in the absence of the related Commission Decision
(which awaits the conclusion of the amended EU-Russia Visa Facilitation Agreement). Practical
implementation was on the LSC meeting agendas throughout the reporting period during which the
Member States did not express particular problems or concerns.
3.3 Exchange of information
The LSC discussed regularly monthly statistics; in 2013, the number of visa applications submitted
by Russian citizens increased (from 5.9 to 7.0 million), the rate of issued multiple-entry visas
increased (from 49 to 55%) and the refusal rate remained stable (at around 1%) in comparison to
2012. In St. Petersburg, 1.6 million Schengen visa applications were submitted, the rate of multipleentry
visas was 86% and the refusal rate 0.8%. Cases of fraud were regularly discussed within the
LSC.
In addition to the issues mentioned above and outcomes of the EU-Russia Joint Visa Facilitation
Committee meetings, the LSC exchanged information about
submission of visa applications (immediate appearance at the consulate);
principles of visa issuance (applications and requirements of third-country nationals,
issuance of urgent visas, issuance of visas for EU citizens, visas for stateless persons);
visa fees (methods of payment of visa applications, fees for family members of EU citizens
for tourism purposes);
other practicalities (annulments and revocations of visas, parental consent for travelling
children, maintenance of paper archives on decisions on visas applications, signing/stamping
of visa stickers, documents requested from urgent cases of medical treatment);
information provision (requests by Russian authorities for information contained in visa
applications, sharing of information on inbound tourism, sharing of information and/or
scanned copies of visa applications with investigative authorities of other Member States);
cooperation with external service providers (fees charged) and travel agencies
(accreditations and cancellations thereof, acceptance of powers of attorney, submissions at
consulates, number of documents requested);
the EU's visa related policy (timetable for the start of VIS roll-out in Russia, revised method
of calculation of stays of 90/180 days, functioning of the FTD/FTRD transit scheme, fees
for overstays, revised residence permits of Member States);
Russia's visa policy (appeal procedures against visa refusals by Russia, 72-hour visa-free
transit for tourism purposes, cases of EU citizens faced with re-entry bans for minor
offences); and
relevant events and developments (notably the Visa Dialogue, negotiations on the amended
EU-Russia Visa Facilitation Agreement, EU-Russia Migration Dialogue).
3.4 Any other initiative taken in LSC
The LSC prepared and updated comprehensive tables on consular presence in the Russian territory
for the purpose of receiving visa applications as well as on accredited and 'blacklisted' travel
agencies. It was also agreed to organise, in cooperation with Frontex, consular staff training on
falsified travel and supporting documents.
4. Challenges
12893/14 PR/lm 145
DG D 1 A
EN