The Consulate of
Poland in Moscow has issued about 5.5 thousand visas to Russian football fans
going to EURO-2012 that starts in nine days, - reported the Deputy of the
Ambassador of Poland in Russia Yaroslav Ksendzek. According to Poland, about 20 thousand Moscow’s
football fans are to go to Poland.
“We can nominate only approximate numbers as a lot of Russians already have
multi-entry Schengen visas which means they didn’t apply for visa”, - noted Mr.
Ksendjek. He held up as a model Kaliningrad
where 180 thousand people have Polish visa. There’s a similar situation with St. Petersburg. “Taking
in the account Polish Consulates in other cities, a great team is to come to Poland
to pull for Russia,
- stressed the Deputy of the Ambassador. At the same time the Consulate of
Poland is prepared that the number of fans willing to go to EURO-2012 will
increase significantly right before its start.
“We’re ready to work
at the weekends if necessary. But I think there will be no problems. Our
technical reserves allow us to cope with a large number of applications”, -
said Yaroslav Ksendjek. He also made it clear that there’s no line at the
Consulate now. According to the representative of the Embassy, Consulates are
able to serve up to one thousand people a day. Besides, a new Polish visa
center in Moscow
simplified the work. The day before a similar visa center was opened in Kazan. It will be
recalled that 38 Polish visa centers are to be opened across Russia by the
end of the year.
Another issue was
touched upon: if the Polish border guards are ready to face Russian football
fans. Mr. Ksendjek assured that if the number of fans doesn’t overcome the
expected value, there will be no problems with crossing the border. “But we
would like the football fans to arrive to Poland in advance to avoid serious
holdups”, - said the Deputy of the Ambassador.
In its turn, the Head
of the Moscow Representative Office of the Polish Travel Organization Andzhej
Serakovsky said that he forwarded requests to Fans’ Associations asking them to
provide the number of people that will travel to Poland by buses on their basis.
Knowing these numbers would allow Poland to make adjustments to the
number of employees of Border and Customs Services. That would make life easier
for both fans and ordinary tourists travelling to Poland in this period. Yaroslav
Ksendjek noted that tour operators should adjust their travel programs
according to the situation.
