‘We issued about 16,000 visas last year, which was 30% less than in the year 2008,’ the Czech Republic’s Consul General in Yekaterinburg Miroslav Ramez said at a recent press conference in Yekaterinburg.

‘However, we can see a positive trend in 2010. The number of Czech visas grew by 8% in February, by 14% in March, and by 12% in April. This means traveling is on the increase, so we expect to issue some 20,000 visas this year,’ he added.

‘We reject 1% to 1.5% of visa applications, mainly for reasons of factual inaccuracy,’ the Consul explained.