Proposed changes to Schengen visas welcomed

CHANGES to the
processing of Schengen
visas would be
particularly advantageous to
clients seeking multiple-entry
visas and clients who book
travel well in advance, should
these changes go through.
The European Commission
has published new proposals
aimed to ensure Europe’s
continued success as a longhaul
travel destination.
The proposals include
reducing processing time
from 15 to 10 days;
increasing advance
application time from three
to six months; and gradually
increasing multiple-entry visa
terms from one to five years
for trusted regular travellers.
Additionally, plans to
introduce short-term singleentry
visas on arrival for a
maximum of seven days have
also been proposed, but will
come with strict conditions.
However, visa processing
costs are also likely to
be increased from €60
(R875) to €80 (R1 165) to
maintain adequate levels
of visa consular staff and
to upgrade IT and software
worldwide. Processing costs
have not been increased
since 2006.
Melissa Phillips, owner
of Sure Map Travel, said
any improvements in
visa processing would
be considered excellent
news. She said a longer
multiple-entry visa would
be particularly well received
and that clients would be
willing to pay a bit more for
this than go through the
time-consuming and costly
exercise of applying for
separate Schengen visas
for each of their trips, and
sometimes for more than
one visa per year.
“The 10-year US multipleentry
visa is extremely
popular in South Africa for
both convenience and the
opportunities it opens up
for South Africans to take
advantage of last-minute
travel deals,” she said.
Melissa added that many
of her clients liked to arrange
their holidays in advance and
that a six-month application
window would help with this,
particularly for the family
market.
“Due to biometric visa
requirements there is
currently a rush of Schengen
visa applications during the
Easter school holidays ahead
of the European summer. A
longer window application
period would help to spread
these applications out a bit,”
explained Melissa.
Megan D’Arcy, product
manager – international for
kulula holidays agreed with
all the positive points but
cautioned: “Even though
the rand is currently quite
strong, any cost increase
would impact the client’s
overall budget, particularly
for families, who would be
adding €80 (R1 165) to the
cost of the trip for a party
of four.