Tourists will be able to apply for a visa to Spain using the old system until September 10

Consulate of Spain in Moscow suggests to accept documents for visas using the old system until 10 September 2015 inclusive, the general consul of the Consulate of Spain in Moscow Miguel Baus Sea said in an interview to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

"To prevent possible problems with the documents, the Consulate of Spain in Moscow suggests taking documents on the old system until 10 September 2015 inclusive. Further documents will be accepted from September 14 already on the new system, with the delivery of biometric data. We will inform later, until what date the documents in the regional visa centers will be accepted" the General Consul informed.

Since September 14, according to the rules, a tourist him/herself will be obliged to bring whole package of documents for Shengen visa to the Consulate. "We will open a special account for the clients of travel companies. Accredited tour operator will sign a tourist for a certain day, and will notify of the date of bringing documents and biometrics. It is desirable that a representative of the tour company accompanies the customers. This will also change the principle of paying the visa fee and service fee of the Visa Application Centre: if now all of this is paid by the fact, in case of the introduction of biometrics it shall be prepaid. However, this issue is not solved yet," Miguel Baus Sea said.

He added that for additional payment the representative of VFS Global will come to tourist with mobile devices to deliver the biometric data. Also according to preliminary information, the fee for tourists who wish to deliver the data in the office of tourism companies, may be about 100 euros.

In addition, Miguel Bausa Sea said that after September 14, tour operators will not be able to submit data of tourists through VISATUR, as the new system does not support collecting biometric data from travel companies. The question of possible changes in VISATUR is discussed in Madrid. It might be that only 11 tour operators aroundthe world will be allowed to submit via an analogue of VISATUR, accessible through the web-page. However, it is a question of an uncertain future," the General Consul of Spain in Moscow said.