By Nilay Kar Onum </p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – The European Parliament and the European Council informally agreed on Tuesday new rules for issuing short-stay visas to nationals of more than 100 non-EU countries traveling to the EU.</p> <p>According to a statement by the parliament, the general visa fee will be raised from €60 ($69) to €80 ($91) “with a possible reduction for people under 18-year-old, children under 6, students and researchers will continue to be exempted of visa fee.”</p> <p>Visa applications will have to be submitted between six months (instead of the current three months) and 15 days ahead of the trip.</p> <p>“Procedures for bona fide travelers will be simpler, and there will be a direct link between visa and migration policy,” the statement said.</p> <p>EU member states will also have to “work with external service providers to manage visa requests in non-EU countries where they are neither present nor represented; and additional facilities for well-known artists and high-performance athletes touring in the EU, and multiple entry visas for frequent travelers,” it added.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to the statement, the main purpose of the changes is to “facilitate legitimate travel for tourism, trade, and business, whilst preventing irregular immigration and contributing to internal security.”</p> <p>The informal agreement will now be voted in the Civil Liberties Committee and will also require to be confirmed by plenary before formal adoption by the Council of Ministers.

