April 6, 201016 yr This is an excerpt from today's BBC website: A new visa code has come into force in most EU member states, speeding up and standardising visa procedures for travellers to Europe. The new rules apply to the 25 countries in the Schengen zone . . . 22 EU countries and three non-EU nations - Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The UK and Irish Republic are among those outside. Getting a Schengen visa will be "faster and fairer", the EU Commission says. The code applies to third-country nationals seeking a short-stay visa for travel within the zone - that is, valid for 90 days. The European Commission says the visa code is now being applied by Schengen countries' consulates worldwide. The code sets a maximum deadline of two weeks for states to interview a visa applicant. Then officials have to decide within 15 days whether or not to grant a visa. Currently officials do not have to explain a refusal to grant a visa, but from 5 April next year they will have to give a reason. Disappointed applicants will have a right of appeal. FUll article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8603580.stm
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