On
December 21, 2007, nine new countries will join the Schengen
treaty. These countries are: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Malta. This means
that Schengen visa holders henceforth may travel also to the
countries mentioned.
In
conjunction with the enlargement of the
number
of Schengen members now comprising 24 countries, the
Council of the European Union in Brussels has informed
its members about some changes concerning the obligation
of diplomatic and consular missions of member states to
consult with the authorities of certain countries before
issuing a Schengen visa.
Due
to the above, all visa applications by Bangladeshi nationals for the
Schengen countries, as of 23 December, will have to be consulted
before the visa can be issued. As a result the
waiting period for a visa will be a minimum of 7 calendar days.
Applicants are advised to submit their visa application well in
advance!
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