Slovakia simplifies visa regime
The temporary introduction of free visas to this country is Bratislava's peculiar response to Kiev's decision to abolish visas for citizens of the European Union entering Ukraine for the period from May 1 to September 1. Let us recall that earlier the Czech Republic introduced free visas for Ukrainians.
Experiments with biometric visas have begun
The French Embassy in Belarus has started issuing visas with biometric data, within the framework of an experiment that the European Commission instructed France and Belgium to conduct. As Izvestia.RU reports, the idea of introducing biometric data for visas issued for visits to European Union member states arose at the end of 2003.
According to the French Ambassador to Belarus, Stefan Shmelevsky, after the experiment and depending on its results, the collection of biometric data will become a general rule for all Schengen zone countries, and this is being done "in the name of security on the European continent and the fight against document fraud."
In addition to Belarus, French consulates are beginning to issue new-style visas in Mali, Sri Lanka, the USA, Belgium, Congo, Algeria, China, and Switzerland. As the French ambassador said, the selection of countries where the experiment is taking place "is in no way connected with any political criteria, the risk of illegal immigration, or terrorism." In Minsk, the experiment will last at least a year.
For a person applying for a visa, "nothing or almost nothing will change." At most, an extra two or three minutes when submitting documents for a visa. The new equipment makes it possible to quickly take a photo and scan the fingerprints of all fingers. Moreover, there will be no need to walk around with dirty hands - no ink is used during scanning. A green circle will be pasted into the passport along with the visa, indicating that the visa is biometric.
When crossing the border, a representative of the border service will offer the passport holder to undergo a scan of the index finger. The police will verify the new data against that which was transmitted by the embassy's visa service.
For more efficient handling of passenger flows, points equipped to read biometric data will be marked with green circles. In Paris, they already exist at Orly and Roissy airports. Where such points do not yet exist, passengers with biometric visas undergo border control on a general basis. By the way, previously issued visas - single-entry or multiple-entry annual - remain valid for their entire indicated validity period.
It is impossible to bypass the new procedure by applying for a visa at other Schengen zone consulates in Minsk. The rules established by the country of first destination - in this case France - will be strictly observed. In the Belarusian capital, the French Embassy also represents the interests of Spain, Portugal, Norway, and Iceland.
Estonia allowed tourists from the CIS to disembark from cruise ships without visas
The Estonian government at a meeting agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to allow visa-free entry into the country for tourists from countries that are not members of the European Union, Interfax reports.
"The permission applies to tourists from countries for which a visa requirement exists who wish to go ashore in Estonia during cruise trips. Thus, the decision also applies to tourists from CIS countries," the press service of the Estonian government explained.
"They may go ashore for up to 12 hours on the basis of lists approved by the ship's captain and submitted in advance to the border service. This permission will be granted provided that the cruise ship is in an Estonian port for at least 72 hours and that foreigners have travel documents recognized by our state," the press service clarified. The permission will be valid from May 1 to October 31, 2005.
As the government press service notes, cruise ferries usually visit Estonia between May 1 and October 31, which coincides with the general peak of shipping traffic. According to the Tallinn Port, 336 cruise ships are expected this summer, bringing about 300,000 tourists, of whom 60% are EU citizens, 30% are US citizens, and 10% are citizens of other countries. According to preliminary estimates, about 5% of tourists will need visas.
According to estimates by Estonia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, there is practically no migration danger on cruise ships, so abandoning visas does not pose a threat to the state's internal security.
Last year, the Estonian shipping company Tallink organized a cruise route Tallinn - St. Petersburg - Helsinki, but due to visa problems and the associated insufficient number of passengers, it was forced to abandon it this year.
Spain's population approaches 44 million
Spain's population as of January 1, 2005, was 43.97 million people, of whom 3.69 million (8.4%) were foreigners. As RIA Novosti reports, these data were published by Spanish media citing the state Institute of Statistics.
If earlier Spain was one of the European countries with few foreigners living there, now by this indicator it is second only to Germany and Austria, where the percentage of foreigners is 9% and 8.7%, respectively. Spain has already surpassed France (8%) and all other European countries.
The number of foreigners living in Spain has grown especially in recent years, due to a sharp inflow of immigrants. For example, in 1996 there were only 542,300 people in Spain, which is seven times fewer than at present. The predominant groups are (in descending order) Moroccans, Ecuadorians, Romanians, and Colombians.
For quite a long time, Spain's population stood at about 40 million people, which was due, in particular, to the lowest birth rate in Europe. As experts note, the country's population growth is caused primarily by the influx of immigrants - they come to Spain in search of work, since the country has a labor shortage. As experts note, immigrants allow Spain to maintain the growing pace of economic growth and the system of social guarantees.
Share of electronic airline tickets exceeded a quarter of the total
Global passenger air traffic volumes grew by 9.4% in the first quarter of 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, and the average aircraft load factor was 73.7%. As RIA Novosti reports, this was announced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Nevertheless, airlines are still very far from profitability due to high oil prices, according to a statement by IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani. According to IATA forecasts, in 2005, with an average price of $43 per barrel of Brent oil, airline fuel costs will exceed $76 billion, compared with $63 billion in 2004 and $44 billion in 2003. In the first quarter of 2005, more than 26% of airline tickets were sold electronically. The association hopes that by the end of this year the figure will reach 40%, and by the end of 2007 - 100%.
No longer need to pay $50,000 for a wedding with a Turkmen
Turkmenistan has abolished a provision of the law under which a foreigner marrying a female citizen of the republic (or a foreign woman marrying a citizen of Turkmenistan) had to pay the state $50,000, the Associated Press reports.
Amendments were made to the country's family code, and now foreigners only need to live in Turkmenistan for at least one year before entering into a legal marriage with one of its citizens.
The rule of the $50,000 fee had been in effect since 2001; the authorities gave no reasons for its repeal. The change in legislation became known when "Neutral Turkmenistan", the republic's largest newspaper, published the new family code, which made no mention of the monetary fee for foreigners. Then the administration of the country's president, Saparmurat Niyazov, confirmed that the fee had indeed been abolished.
Nevertheless, for foreigners wishing to tie the knot with subjects of Turkmenbashi, it is not so easy to carry out this intention. The authorities of this country, closed off from the outside world, reject most visa applications; those foreigners who are allowed entry are placed under unremitting surveillance, and locals caught talking with foreigners may be subjected to interrogation.