From June 11, the European Commission plans to raise the cost of Schengen visas.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia has confirmed that, while the fee for adult visas would increase from €80 to €90, children between the ages of six and 12 will also see a rise in fees, from €40 to €45.
Moreover, nations that refuse to assist their citizens, who are staying in the EU irregularly, with their readmission may have to pay increased visa fees of €135 or €180.
"The European Commission adopted a decision to increase short stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12 per cent. The increase will apply worldwide as of 11 June 2024," the Slovenian government said in a statement.
The fee increase comes after the Schengen Visa Code-mandated review of EU visa fees in December 2023, which takes place after every three years. The EU justifies the raise by pointing to inflation and the pay of civil servants. The last increase in fees was from €60 to €80 in February 2020.
People who live in Turkey and are waiting for a visa-free agreement with the EU are particularly unhappy with the decision. Last year, over 10.3 million applications were received for short-stay visas in the Schengen area, up 37% from 2022 but still less than the peak of 17 million applications in 2019.
The Schengen region includes 29 European countries, with 25 being EU states. The countries part of the Schengen area are Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
