Muhammad Irfan, urdupoint.com, Fri 01st March 2019
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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 01st March, 2019) Washington and Moscow have agreed to issue mainly three-year visas and return to a universal visa application fee in the amount of$160, the US embassy in Russia said Friday.
"The new visa fee will apply to all citizens of the Russian Federation applying for a US visa in any country of the world. These changes are the result of the joint efforts of the US and Russian governments to equalize the cost of visa fees for tourist and business visas for citizens of both countries in accordance with the principle of reciprocity," embassy's press secretary Andrea Kalan said in a Russian-language commentary.
"In addition, both sides have agreed to mainly issue three-year multiple-entry visas.
We regard this as a positive step contributing to the development of relations between our countries in business and tourism. Public diplomacy [JB emphasis] through mutual visits of our citizens deepens mutual understanding between our countries and creates a wide range of opportunities for cooperation," Kalan said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier announced that Moscow and Washington had agreed to resume from March 4 the practice of charging a fee of $160 for all types of visas issued in accordance with the 2011 bilateral agreement on visa processing facilitation, and described this joint step as a "good example of mutually beneficial cooperation."
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