The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has warned third-country nationals needing a Schengen visa that as of June 11, 2024, they will need to pay higher fees to apply for one.

According to a statement from the Ministry, as of June 11, visa fees for adults filing a short-term visa application for Slovenia will be €90, instead of €80 as it has been so far, and €45, instead of €40, for children between six and 12 years old, SchengenNews reports.

The European Commission adopted a decision to increase short-stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12 per cent. The increase will apply worldwide as of June 11, 2024.

New Schengen visa fees will be €90 for adults and €45 for children aged six to below 12 years of age, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia said.

In 2023, 105,926 Nigeria applicants applied for Schengen Visa, 62,099 visas approved, resulting in an approval rate of approximately 58.61 per cent.

Furthermore, nationals of countries who have not cooperated on readmission of their nationals irregularly staying in the EU will be paying a visa fee of €135 or €180, depending on the Councils decision.

The European Unions Commission has not made any announcements yet regarding the date of the increase but is expected to publish the change in its Official Journal by the end of this week.

The decision comes at a time when the EU has revealed the number of visas issued in 2023 has increased by 36.3 per cent compared to 2022, though the same remains down by 39 per cent compared to 2019, when the Schengen states had received 16 million applications.

Nigerians spent €8,474,080 on Schengen visa applications in 2023. With the new fee structure, if the same number of people apply, the total expenditure will rise to €9,533,340 marking an increase of €1,059,260, according to SchengenNews. (THISDAY)