12% Hike in Schengen Visa Fee

In addition to rising number of applicants for Schengen visas around the world and the lack of slots for interviews by European countries, the European dreamers, once again, are presented with another hurdle in their travel plans — increased visa prices. The European Commission is all set to hike the fee for the Schengen visa starting June 11, 2024.

The news was confirmed by Slovenia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. June onwards, the price for an adult Schengen visa will be set at €90 (increased from €80), and the visa fee for a child, aged six to twelve, will be €45 (increased from €40). The Ministry also announced that the countries not cooperating with the EU “with the readmission of their irregularly staying citizens in the EU” will face a harsher visa fee increase of €135-180. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia stated, “The European Commission adopted a decision to increase short stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12%. The increase will apply worldwide as of June 11, 2024.”

The increase in the visa price comes as a regular revision, done every three years, mandated by the Schengen Visa Code. The last revision, according to the same, was done in February 2020 when the fee was hiked from €60 to €80. The news also comes in the midst of a shortage of visa interview slots in Schengen countries.

The Schengen Visa allows entry into countries such as Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.