THE GOVERNMENT yesterday dismissed the notion that plans to relax and speed up visa procedures for Russian nationals would put Cyprus in hot water with the European Union’s border controls policy.
“This has nothing to do with the Schengen Treaty…we shall continue to conform to all EU travel regulations regardless,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told the Mail.
The spokesman confirmed reports that the Ministry of the Interior has asked to hire 28 policemen who would be assigned to passport control at the airports. The extra personnel would be tasked exclusively with checking and stamping Russian passports.
Under the proposed scheme, Cypriot consular services in Russia will issue ‘pre-approved’ visas to Russian nationals wishing to come to the island. Visa application forms will be filled out online on a Cyprus government website and the information submitted to the consular services.
Once the Cypriot consulate determines that everything is in order and that the applicant is not on any stop list, it will ‘pre-approve’ a visa and send it to the applicant via email.
According to Politis, with this pre-approval Russian nationals will be able to pass quickly through passport control once they land at Larnaca or Paphos. Moreover, they will no longer be subjected to questions regarding their purpose of visit to the island, their place of stay or how much money they have on their person.
The paper said also that authorities would stop checking whether a Russian visitor has exhausted his or her limit of 90 days’ stay over the past six-month-period.
It’s understood the move is intended to simplify travel procedures and attract as many tourists—and much-needed foreign cash—as possible.
Currently, tourist visas issues issued to Russian and Ukrainian nationals are valid up to three years, but travellers are not allowed to stay on the island for more than 90 days over a period of six months.
The government spokesman said yesterday that granting facilities to non-EU nationals did not constitute a snub to the Schengen acquis or law.
“Streamlining procedures is not the same as deviating from EU travel policy,” offered Stefanou.
Implementing the Schengen rules involves eliminating border controls with other Schengen members while simultaneously strengthening border controls with non-member states. The rules include provisions on common policy on the temporary entry of persons (including the Schengen visa), the harmonisation of external border controls, and cross-border police and judicial co-operation.
Before joining the Schengen Area countries must upgrade their border controls with non-Schengen states so as to ensure the Area’s integrity. Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, did not meet all the necessary criteria and requested a delay.
