A trip to much of Europe became costlier on Sunday with an increase in Schengen visa fees to 80 euros (Rs 6,345) from 60 euros (Rs 4,759), officials said.

A Schengen visa is needed to visit 26 European countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Spain and Greece.

“The visa fee increases from 60 euros to 80 euros. This increase is the first since 2006,” a European Union (EU) official said.

The increase in the visa fee comes as an updated Schengen Visa Code took effect from Sunday. It brought the fee in line with the level where it would be today if it had been aligned to the general EU-wide inflation rate since 2006, the official said.

“The increased visa fee will provide member states with additional financial resources to process visa applications quickly and more efficiently. By international standards, the visa fee remains low,” the official said.

For regular travellers, the fee increase is offset by the new rules on long-validity visas. These travellers may actually save money under the new provisions, since they have to apply for visas less often, the official said.

Under the new rules too, no visa fee will be charged for children below six years. “The visa fee for minors between the ages of six and 12 years remains half of the general fee, and thus increases by 5 euros (to 40 euros),” the official said.

People can now apply for Schengen visas six months before the intended date of travel instead of three months. The minimum time period will be nine months for seafarers, the official said.

Frequent travellers with a positive visa history will be granted multiple-entry visas with a gradually increasing validity period from one year to a maximum of five years, which will save applicants time and money, the official said.