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Lithuania opens its visa centre in Moscow

Visa applications can be submitted to the visa centre by an authorized representative without personal presence and long queues

MOSCOW, March 12 (Itar-Tass) – Lithuania has unveiled its visa centre in Moscow.

This will be the world’s unique centre, which will start its operation on March 14, Lithuanian ambassador to Russia Renatas Norkus said at the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.

After the visa centre starts its work “the procedure of getting Schengen visas to Lithuania will be much easier and more affordable,” he said.

Visa applications can be submitted to the visa centre by an authorized representative without personal presence and long queues.

Lithuania plans to open such centres in fourteen Russian cities at the end of March and the beginning of April, the ambassador said.

“This will expand the geographic map of consular services, what is important for such a big country as Russia,” Norkus said.

The visa centre will provide the whole range of additional services, including insurance, photo services and visa application tracking. Along with this applicants will be able to address the Lithuanian embassy in Moscow directly, but they will be deprived of the opportunity to get use of advantages provided by the visa centre.

The director of the Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department, Andrius Pulokas, said the opening of such centre is very important.

The diplomat noted that the influx of Russian tourists to Lithuania has been on the rise of late.

“We are glad to receive Russian tourists and business people in Lithuania,” Pulokas said. The opening of the visa centre is “a step forward for people to be able to open Lithuania for themselves again and again.”

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