«Since the new regulations on visa issuance for those willing to go to the Czech Republic are stricter than the previous ones, travel agents are bound to lose a part of their customers. Even though it is not painstakingly difficult to collect all the papers needed for a visa application, some travelers might still decide to simply go somewhere else where getting a visa is less time-consuming», Olga Gulyar, Director of Zima Leto Travel Agency, said to UrBC.

Applicants for a Czech visa will now have to wait for ten rather than seven days. Apart from that, they must provide copies of their Russian passports (the pages that have a stamp verifying that these citizens do have an international passport), and the consular fees that could heretofore be paid at the diplomatic mission will now have to be paid through a bank.

«Nevertheless, I must admit the situation is only predictable. When a country enters the EU, its visa regulations grow harsher. I feel this is a temporary thing, and people will have less difficult time getting Czech visas as soon as 2010», she added.