To apply for a Schengen visa after National Day, you must first go to Shanghai to record your fingerprints. Travel to Europe is recommended to report at least 45 days in advance

After the United Kingdom and the United States, China tourists also need to collect fingerprints when applying for Schengen visas. Recently, the official website of the EU Mission in China released the "Introduction to the Visa Information System (VIS) to be launched on October 12, 2015", fulfilling the long-heard requirements for fingerprint collection. In other words, if you travel to the Schengen countries in Europe next, you must first visit the consulate in Shanghai to enter your fingerprints.

Schengen visa process recommends more registration at least 45 days in advance

A Schengen visa refers to a visa issued by any Schengen member state and is also considered valid in all other member states and no need to apply for a separate visa. Currently, Schengen member states include 26 European countries including France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Recently, the official website of the EU Mission in China released the "Introduction to the Visa Message System (VIS) to be launched on October 12, 2015". According to the new policy, all visa applicants will be required to provide biometric data when applying for a Schengen visa., that is, fingerprints must be submitted. China tourists who have successfully applied for a Schengen visa with their fingerprints for the first time do not need to be re-collected within 5 years.

"At present, users have prepared passports and other materials and choose to agency visa services. Generally, they will receive Schengen visas within 7 to 15 working days after the visa is delivered. Countries that are faster, such as France and Italy, may be able to issue visas in 3-7 working days." The relevant person in charge of Tuniu Travel Network hinted that users can basically guarantee that visas will be issued 30 days in advance. However, with the implementation of the new policy, based on the original application procedure, a fingerprint entry procedure will be added to apply for Schengen visas. The overall processing time will be extended, and users must register 45 days in advance. The person in charge reminded that if users book a "UK + Schengen Countries" multi-country joint tour, since the UK tourist visa also requires fingerprint collection, it is recommended to apply for a visa 60 days in advance.

In addition, the relevant person in charge of Tuniu Travel Network also revealed that in the past, users could ask travel agencies and other institutions to handle Schengen visas without having to go to the embassy, consulate or visa center of the destination country in person. After the implementation of the new policy, because Schengen embassies and consulates are concentrated in places such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, users who are not in these areas must go and collect fingerprints in person. They will pay for round-trip transportation expenses such as high-speed rail, and the cost in this regard will also increase.

Northern Europe and Eastern Europe are the new hot spots

Traveling to Europe around 10,000 yuan has gradually become the norm

Before the implementation of the New Deal in October, in order to avoid waiting in line to enter fingerprints, many users moved forward their travel plans to Europe, including the National Day holiday. World Customs Network. Zhang Weiyao, manager of the European Department of the Provincial International Travel Service, told "Travel Hui" that it is now the peak time for bookings for European tour products during the National Day holiday, and the prices have increased compared with normal days. In mid-September, the 17000 yuan route from the four Nordic countries rose to nearly 20,000 yuan during the long holiday.

September and October are the peak seasons for tourism in Europe. After October, Europe will be colder and will enter the off-season for tourism. Looking at this year, European tourism has grown very rapidly in the Hangzhou market. Zhao Yueli, head of the European Department of CYTS, said,"On May 1 this year, Alitalia launched a direct flight from Shanghai to Milan, attracting a large number of China tourists to travel to Italy. In the past, when traveling to Italy, I could only take Qatar Airlines to transfer in Doha to Milan. This summer, our travel agency organizes more than 1000 trips to Italy every month."

Hangzhou's tourism market is gradually entering the stage of leaving Europe twice."More and more customers are going to Europe for the second time, and their destinations will choose more Nordic and Eastern European countries." Zhang Weiyao said that the prices of the "French, Italian and Swedish" general route, which many tourists visiting Europe for the first time, are getting lower and lower, and the price of a 10-day tour of around 10,000 yuan has gradually become the norm. "This has a lot to do with the decline in the euro exchange rate, which has greatly reduced the tour fee." The euro exchange rate has fallen from 8.6 to 6.5. Even if it has increased recently, it is still very cost-effective compared with the same period in previous years.