Tourists from Russia, as well as from the UK and Israel, from next year will have to pay an entry duty for the right to enter Cyprus – the favorite island of many Russians. Such a measure will be taken after the EU decision imposing a visa-free fee on all third-country nationals. In accordance with the European Tourism Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), fees are expected to be introduced in May 2023.
The mechanism is expected to be as follows. Plans to introduce visa waiver security checks require all tourists to apply to enter the Schengen area and pay a fee before travelling. This visa waiver fee will apply to travelers between the ages of 18 and 70. It is expected that it will cost about 7 euros, or about 400 rubles at the current exchange rate.
Moreover, tourists were warned that although a visa is still not needed to visit Cyprus, they may be denied at the border if their ETIAS application is not approved before their trip. The European Commission assured that filling out the form should take 10 minutes, only a passport is required. “The system will carry out checks on EU border and security information systems and, in the vast majority of cases, issue a travel authorization within minutes. An ETIAS travel permit will be a prerequisite for entry into the Schengen area. Its presence will be checked together with travel documents by border guards when crossing the EU border,” the European Commission added.
In general, the travel agencies of the mentioned countries believe that tourists will react calmly to the innovation. During the covid period, everyone got used to filling out various “covid safety passports”. And the amount of the fee is not so large as to repel the tourist.
Recall that before the pandemic, more than 53% of the 3.97 million tourists in Cyprus came from the three countries mentioned above. Primarily from the UK 33.5% and Russia 19.7%. At the moment, the Russian tourist flow, for obvious reasons, has seriously decreased, but has not completely dried up.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “The Russians were told how coffee really helps to lose weight.”
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