The Greek interior ministry announced that the number of visas issued by the Greek consular services in Russia increased by up to 15 percent duting the first eight months of the year.
Greece’s three consular offices in Russia have issued 450,000 visas compared to 390,000 issued during the same period last year.
The difficulties that were recorder regarding the visa process for Russian travelers to Greece during April and May were overcome and the procedure now runs smoothly with the number issued between January and July 2016 up by 11 percent compared to last year.
Greek consular authorities were able to issue visas within 24 hours making Greece the Schengen Zone country with the fastest procedure. Consequently, Russian tourist arrivals rose by 7.7 percent to 162,000 in the first half of the year, according to the Bank of Greece.
Furthermore, Greece issues multiple entry visas valid for one to three years and expected to bring in even more Russian tourists during 2017.
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