1. Who needs a visa / when it is not required
   • Citizens of the European Union and Schengen Agreement countries do not need a visa if the festival is held in a country within the same agreement.
   • If the festival is in a country outside the EU/Schengen, even EU citizens must check the entry requirements.
2. For non-EU/Schengen citizens
   • A visa is required to participate in a festival when the host country requires it.
   • In such cases, organizers must be able to issue an Official Invitation.
3. What the “Official Invitation” must include
   • A signed document from the mayor of the city, the Minister of Culture of the respective country, or another authorized institution.
   • A list of participants with passport details.
   • Proof of paid accommodation and meals (boarding), international insurance, and reservation of plane tickets or the means of transport that will be used.
4. Deadlines
   • Requests for invitations must be submitted at least 3 months before the start of the festival.
   • The maximum visa issuance period is 30 days.
   • If 2 months before the festival the visa documents have not yet been submitted to the respective embassy, the group’s participation may be cancelled.
5. Other important notes
   • If a visa is refused in due time (according to the conditions), the losses for both sides — the group and the organizers — are minimal.
   • The EAFF application system does not override the legal procedures of the respective country — local visa regulations must always be followed.

 

 

In dependence with the country in which the festival is held there is need for issuance of Visa for entrance at the country during the border control.

About the travel of citizens of the countries in the European Union and the countries from the Schengen Agreement in the co-operation area there is no need Visa to be issued.

For citizens of the European Union who want to visit festivals outside the agreement area, they need to know about the entry requirements of the country.

For citizens outside of the European Union and the Schengen area, who will be visiting a festival, a Visa is required.

Representatives of countries for which visas are required to be issued are admitted only if the organizing teams have capabilities to issue the relevant Visa issuing documents.

The organizing teams of the festivals provide an "Official Invitation" - a document signed by the Mayor of the respective city, the State Culture Minister or an Authorized Institution. "Official invitation" is needed for issuance of Cultural Exchange Visas. For the procedure, the Application must be submitted at least 3 months before the start of the festival. The "Official Invitation" requires a list of travelers' passports, as well as a paid reservation at the place of accommodation and boarding. It is necessary to have international insurance and reservation of air tickets or the type of transport to be used.

The maximum period for issuing Visas is 30 days. If, until 2 months before the start of the festival, Visa documents are not entered into the respective Embassy, then the application for participation of the group is canceled.

If there is a refusal to issue a Visa at this time, the loses of both sides - the group and the organizers will be minimal.

Cultural exchange visas are issued on the basis of a signed agreement between all States under the United Nations Convention on the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage and Human Rights.

Submission of an application in the EAFF system does not exempt from the laws of the respective country. All procedures regarding the issuance of Visas are state policy of the respective country and the intervention by the EAFF administration or by the organizing teams of the relevant festival is inappropriate and incorrect.