The ministry of foreign affairs of Kazakhstan intends to negotiate a reduction in the consular fee for a Schengen visa, BaigeNews.kz reports.

Why so expensive?

The decision comes in response to a resident who had posed a question on the Open Government website. Why does the Schengen visa for short-term stay cost us twice as much as Russians? The resident asked.

For comparison, he cited official data. In Kazakhstan, the consular fee for a Schengen visa is 80 euros; for Russian citizens, it's 35 euros.

Meanwhile, citizens of Schengen Agreement countries can visit Kazakhstan without a visa for up to 90 days. Shouldn't the government at least work on the issue of reducing the visa cost not to mention achieving visa parity?

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tleuberdi said the ministry has considered the appeal and aims to reduce the consular fee for the Schengen visa. He added that setting the consular fee for a visa is the sole prerogative of each state.

On top of that, the minister informed that Kazakhstan is currently working on the issue of loosening the visa regime with the countries of the European Union.