To enter the Schengen zone, the passport shall not be more than 10 years old

The Consul of France Frederic Grapen in Armenia is on the left.

The changes made by the European Parliament of the European Community in the legislation related to the procedure of issuing visas will enter into force starting from the 5th of April.

A joint press release was announced today on behalf of the Consuls of Germany, France, Poland and Italy. The press release contained information about the newest changes and the roads of their implementation.

The Consul of France in Armenia Frederic Grapen said that the reason for the changes is the alleviation of the regime of movements in the euro zone.

‘I want to emphasize that all the changes are related to the visas for short-term and especially for tourist or family visits,’ said Grapen. ‘The long stay visas did not undergo changes excluding one point only. For example, if a student studies in France wanted to attend lectures in Germany or Italy, he/she was supposed to have two types of visas. Now he/she needs to have only one type.’

One of the main changes is that the citizen of the Republic of Armenia should not bear a passport the term of the use of which exceeds 10 years from the date of its issue. At the moment of application, the passport of the bearer shall have at least two blank pages for visa entries. The passport should also be valid for the length of time more than three months longer than the foreseen end of his stay in the country.

Grapen said that the explanation for the refusal to issue a visa allowing to travel in the Schengen zone is not that they do not want a citizen of the republic of Armenia to come there.

‘We all do want that the RA citizens are able to travel to Schegen zone or that the students are able to come to study there, ‘ said Grapen. ‘However, we demonstrate a zealous approach to the collection of all necessary documents for the visa. The reason is that we do not want to encounter a situation when a citizen enters the boundary of the Schengen zone and the border guards of the given country call us to inform that such and such document is missing.’

According to the new changes, the Consulate is obliged to give written explanation for the refusal to issue a visa.

‘This is only one year from the moment of the implemented changes. The changes are aimed at the increase of the transparency for the procedures related to the visas,’ said Grapen.

Grapen says that it is possible that should the necessary documents be complete and consistent, the issuing of the visa may take two days altogether. The delay of the issuing of the visa can now be dependent only on the condition when a citizen is able to provide the required documents.

‘Since we are the consuls of the Schengen zone and represent our respective countries, we also require that the rules of our countries should be observed,’ said Grapen. ‘Therefore, A consul of one country of the Schengen zone may ask to present such documents which will not be required for the travel to the other country.’

The changes cover all the Consulates of the Schengen zone.