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How will EU visas affect US and Canadian cruise passengers

Submitted by kgnadmin on

It seems unlikely that the EU Commission will act against the US and Canada, given the fact that the current visa dispute has been ongoing. But if the EU Commission will vote next week to implement Visas, it is far from certain that the European Parliament would support the move.

The EU Commission will consider imposing visa requirements on tourists from the United States and Canada because not all EU citizens enjoy visa-free travel to North America. EU spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said the proposal would be on the commission's agenda for next week on 12 April 2016 .

Vast majority of EU citizens enjoy visa-free travel, however Romanian and Bulgarian citizens need visa to enter to both Canada and United States, while Croats, Cypriots and Poles, need visas to enter into the USA. Canada and USA have made clear that their criteria are not based on reciprocity, but instead must be "satisfied" in several respects to include a country in a waiver of visa do.  In the past , the Canadian government has said it has many problems withcitizens of some countries in Eastern Europe, which have applications for refugee status in high numbers, although, according to Ottawa , if countries where the rule of law and where laws are respected.

Imposing visa to US and Canadian citizens traveling to EU countries will have impact on the cruise industry. If implemented every cruise ship passenger with US or Canadian passport will need to pay non-refundable mandatory visa fee of 60 Euros or around 75 USD for adults, and 35 Eros or around 45 USD visa fee for children between the age of 6 and 12. Crew members working on cruise ship will have to add EU Long stay visa, next to their C1/D US visa during the European season adding 99 euros to their expenses. This will apply to all crew except the citizens of European Union working on cruise ship. According to US National Travel and Tourism Office In 2014, Europe was visited by more than 12 million Americans.