Italy, which Russian tourists put at the top of their list of preferences for foreign tourism, in addition to the sanctions barrier has put before tourists from Russia and a visa. VMS, the visa center of Italy, announced the temporary suspension of documents from tourists for visas. The reason is also indirectly sanctioning – it is officially called the inability to make payments to pay the consular fee.
“Due to the temporary inability of Intesa Bank to accept and make payments for the consular fee, the Italian Visa Application Center cannot accept documents from persons who have not paid the consular fee,” the VMS Visa Application Center said in a statement. As a result, only tourists who have paid the visa fee in advance and have a printout confirming payment will be able to apply for a visa. Or those who are exempt from paying the Consular Fee.
It will be recalled that tourists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Arkhangelsk receive visas to Italy via VMS. Another Italian visa center, Almaviva, which operates in Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Kazan, and Samara, was also unhappy with Russian tourists. will not be able to apply for a visa yet.
The main news for Russian citizens – especially for visa-free tourists who hoped to enter Italy “on the transfer” – is completely unknown. Visa center experts cannot answer the question of when it will be possible to re-apply for a visa.