Russian women lose €8K over passport delays in Italy
Two Russian women reported that the Italian consulate held their passports for the entire summer due to prolonged visa processing, resulting in lost travel bookings and financial losses. They also complained about difficulties securing appointments at visa centers and high fees for expedited services.
Consensus
- Two Russian women reported that the Italian consulate took their passports for the entire summer.
- The women submitted visa applications in May and did not receive their passports by mid-August.
- One woman lost approximately €8,000 due to canceled travel bookings.
- The women stated that their passport applications were not processed in a timely manner.
- The women reported difficulties in securing appointments at visa centers.
- Some intermediaries are offering paid appointment services for up to 20,000 rubles.
- The Italian consulate confirmed that the documents had been processed.
Points of divergence
- One woman lost about 8,000 euros due to failed bookings. — vm
- One woman, named Alexandra, submitted her application on May 14 and planned to fly on July 19. — vesti
- Another woman, named Lyudmila, submitted her application on May 27 with a partner and planned to travel on July 27. — vm
- The partner of the second woman was invited to the visa center in early August, but she was not. — vesti
- The Russian ambassador in Bern reported that the Swiss embassy in Moscow has tightened visa rules for Russians. — vm
- Russian citizens are now facing increased difficulty obtaining Schengen visas in Turkey, with some EU embassies refusing to accept applications from Russian nationals. — vesti
Coverage (2 sources)
- Russian women complained about multi-month passport delays at the Italian consulate — Вечерняя Москва
- Media: Italian consulate took Russian women's passports for the whole summer — Вести