Schengen visa fees are set to increase by 12.5% for both adults and children starting on June 11. In the weeks following the decision's publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 22, the embassies and consulates of Schengen Area Member States have been notifying nationals of third countries about the upcoming fee changes.

Starting next Tuesday, Schengen visa fees will increase: for adults, the fee will rise from €80 to €90, and for children, it will increase from €40 to €45. Additionally, visa fees will rise to €135 or €180 for applicants from countries that have declined to cooperate with the EU in readmitting their nationals who are irregularly staying in the bloc.

However, not everyone will be affected by this measure, as certain categories of people will be exempt from the price increase. Nationals of countries with a visa facilitation agreement with the EU will not be impacted by the new Schengen visa fee changes and will continue to pay only €35. These countries include:

- Armenia

- Azerbaijan

- Belarus (excluding officials of the Belarus regime)

- Cape Verde

When the EU reached agreements to facilitate visa conditions for the nationals of these countries, they included provisions for fixed visa fees. This means that even if visa fees increase in the future, they will remain unchanged for nationals of these specific countries.

Furthermore, visa fees will stay at €35 for nationals of another eight countries that have visa-free entry agreements with the EU but cannot enter visa-free because they do not possess biometric passports. These countries are:

- Albania

- Bosnia and Herzegovina

- Georgia

- Moldova

- Montenegro

- North Macedonia

- Serbia

- Ukraine

Children under 12 applying from countries where the EU has increased visa fees as a sanction for not readmitting their nationals staying irregularly in Europe will see their visa fees increase to only €45, unlike the higher fees for adults.

This is specified in Article 1 (2a) of the Schengen Visa Code amending regulation, published in the Official Journal of the EU on May 22. Visa applications for children under six from these countries will continue to be free of charge.

The Schengen Visa Code exempts several categories from paying a fee when applying for a Schengen visa. These exemptions will continue to apply for short-term stays even with the new changes. The first category includes family members of EU citizens and citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, regardless of nationality, as well as holders of diplomatic, service, or official passports.

Pupils, students, postgraduate students, and accompanying teachers entering one or more Schengen countries for studies or professional training will remain exempt from visa fees. Additionally, representatives of non-profit organizations under 26 years old participating in seminars, conferences, sports, cultural, or educational events organized by non-profit organizations will not be required to pay visa fees.

Applicants who may fall into any of these categories should note that the decision to exempt them from paying the visa fee is made by the consulate where they are applying.