1. The diplomatic and consular missions of the Member States and the Russian Federation issue entry bans of up to five years for the following categories of citizens: multiple-entry visas, lasting at least two years and lasting up to five years, are issued to the aforementioned categories of citizens; provided that they benefit from one-year multiple-entry visas in accordance with the law on entry and residence in the territory of the State visited and the grounds for applying for multiple-entry visas remain valid. 1. Visa facilitation under this agreement applies only to citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation as long as they are not exempt from the visa requirement by the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation, the Community or the Member States, this agreement or other international agreements. Visa fees imposed by Russia have been significantly reduced due to the alignment with the Schengen visa fees (i.e. 35 euros). This fee is levied for all EU and Russian citizens (including tourists) and applies to both individual and multiple-entry visas. In the case of urgent applications for which the visa application and supporting documents are submitted by the applicant only three days or less before departure, it is possible to collect a higher fee of 70 euros. This does not apply to cases related to humanitarian or health reasons or the death of relatives. Duration of visa processing procedures Full text of the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement, that this facilitation should not lead to illegal immigration and that it should pay special attention to security and readmission, citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation who have lost their identity papers or to whom these documents were stolen during their stay in the territory of the Russian Federation or Member States may leave the area without a visa or authorisation, on the basis of valid identity documents that allow them to cross the border established by the diplomatic or consular missions of the Member States or the Russian Federation. VU the joint declaration adopted at the St.

Petersburg Summit of 31 May 2003, that the European Union and the Russian Federation have agreed to consider visa waiver conditions as a long-term perspective, Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia to facilitate the issuance of visas (Official Journal of the European Union, 31 October 2013 no L 289/2) Relations between the EU and Russia should not improve in the foreseeable future to enable the signing and ratification of new legally binding agreements. Nevertheless, the visa dialogue could adopt the “OSCE method” with political commitments, parallel steps taken by both sides to meet these commitments and jointly verified progress. The more important issues, including those relating to the OSCE principles, will not be easy to resolve, but strengthening communication between citizens could help the EU, Russia and their common neighbours in the long run. 1. Citizens of the Russian Federation or member states holding valid diplomatic passports may enter, leave and transit visa-free on the territory of the Member States or the Russian Federation.