Number of applicants for EU visas twice larger than last year

The Common Visa Issuing Center housed by the Hungarian Embassy in Chisinau this year will issue twice more visas that last year. Over 14,000 applications have been submitted by October 25, up two times compared with 2009, Hungarian Ambassador to Moldova György Varga told a news conference on Wednesday. The Ambassador stressed the number of issued visas by the end of this year is expected to be 20,000, while in 2011 – 25,000-30,000. About one third of the applicants go to Greece, 18% to Hungary, 11% to Austria, while about 10% to the Netherlands. Only 0.6% applied for visas for Luxemburg. Most of the applicants go on visits, mainly to Greece, while other travel, go to do business, to take part in cultural activities, etc. Approximately one fourth of the visas issued to official delegations were given for Hungary. 56% of the visas were granted free of charge, as against 53% in 2009. The rate of refusals so far this year is 9%, as opposed to 13% in 2009. György Varga said the Common Visa Issuing Center now issues visas for 13 countries. Slovakia will join the Center on November 1. Another country will join on January 1, but the Ambassador refused to say which one. He voiced hope the visa regime with the EU will be soon liberalized and the Center would be closed. The Common Visa Issuing Center was founded on April 25, 2007. The applicants can now obtain here visas for Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, and Hungary