Businesspersons Want Russia and Germany to Lift Visa Regime

Germany and Russia need to lift their visa requirements to develop economic cooperation and help boost bilateral relations in general, Russian-German Chamber of Commerce estimates.

Matthias Schepp, the chairman of the managing board of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that the visa regime between both countries need to be facilitated, mentioning Russian e-visas as a helpful and easy way to enter in Russia, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“We see a demand for visa liberalization among businessmen. Some companies are now holding meetings not in Moscow but St. Petersburg because electronic visas [to travel to St. Petersburg] are very quick and easy to get,” Schepp highlighted.

The chairman of the managing board of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce hopes that the visa requirement between two countries will be abolished, as so far both countries are in the process.

“In particular, for German businessmen, and in general for all Germans, a short film was made on how to correctly fill out forms for getting an electronic visa, which is available for visiting Russia’s St. Petersburg, as well as the Kaliningrad and Leningrad Regions,” Schepp added.

Recently, Germany has become one of the countries eligible to apply for Russian e-visas.

The Russian online visa enables foreigners to visit three regions of the country; the Far-Eastern Federal District, Kaliningrad Oblast, and Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast.

This kind of visa is considered as an easy-to-get because the applications are processed within four days, and the invitation letter, hotel booking or similar documents are not required for applying.

The possibility that the visa regime between two countries will be put to an end have been discussed in the past, but so far, such a thing has not happened yet.

Last year, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas had given hopes that Russian citizens will not need a visa to enter to the Schengen countries, in the future.

So far, Russia has a visa facilitation agreement with the European Union, which enables lower fee for visas, for Russians.