France to join Chisinau-based Common Visa Application Centre

19:41 | 09.06.2016 Category: Social

Chisinau, 9 June /MOLDPRES/ - France will join the Common Visa Application Centre at the Hungarian Embassy in Moldova. Ambassador of Hungary to Moldova Mátyás Szilágyi made statements to this effect at a news conference today.

According to the new provisions, France become the 17th country to join the Common Visa Application Centre, besides Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Croatia, Switzerland, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Hungary.

Thus, at the Common Visa Application Centre, Moldovans who do not hold biometric passports will be able to get short-stay travel visas for France. “The change is based on cooperation between the countries of the Schengen Area and it is about the issuance of short-stay visas, and long-stay visas will be issued by the Embassy of France from Bucharest. No changes have been made in the technical parameters. The work will be carried out as so far,” the head of the Consular Department at the French Embassy in Moldova, Bernard Etinof said.

According to the head of the Chisinau-based Common Visa Application centre Gyula Levente Sass, the liberalized visa system works very well in Moldova. “Nevertheless, according to information provided by the State Register, the number of biometric passports is equal to the one of identity cards. Thus, the persons who do not hold biometric passports may come to the Common Visa Application Centre. Presently, most applications are addressed to Greece, Austria and Hungary,” Gyula Levente Sass said.

The Chisinau-based Common Visa Application centre was set up on 25 April 2007. The centre started working, after Hungary and the other member countries had concluded agreements of representation, in line with the general Schengen norms.

Data by the Common Visa Application Centre shows that the number of applicants reached 1,000 in Moldova in 2015, and now there are only 300 ones.

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor M. Jantovan)

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