Italy’s visa centers in Russia, VMS and AlmavivA, stopped accepting applications submitted through third parties as of May 12, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reported.

Agents, couriers, authorized representatives, notaries, and lawyers can no longer file applications on behalf of applicants. “The only alternative is to apply in person: the applicant must come to the visa center at the appointed time, with a passport and a confirmed online appointment,” ATOR said.

The change will stretch wait times for appointments, the association warned. Applicants registered in Moscow and the Moscow region who apply in person cannot get an appointment before the end of June; those from other regions face a wait until around July. Once processing time is factored in, the full cycle — from booking an appointment to receiving a passport — could run to four months.

ATOR tied the new submission rules to a case involving the illegal issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens.

In early May, Italian media reported the arrest of Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini di Sant’Agnese, a former ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is accused of illegally issuing Schengen visas to Russians while posted to the embassy in Tashkent. He took over as head of the Italian diplomatic mission in Uzbekistan in December 2024 and subsequently arranged for an acquaintance, Tatyana Tarakanova — a Russian woman with an Italian passport whom he had worked with at the Italian consulate in Moscow — to be transferred to the visa section.

Papadia and Tarakanova organized a scheme to issue long-term tourist visas to Russian citizens in circumvention of Schengen zone rules, according to Italian investigators. For each visa they processed, they received between four and 16 thousand euros. Three Moscow travel agencies — Happy Travel, Visa4you, and Park Lane — were involved in the scheme. La Repubblica reported that at least 95 Russian citizens had used those agencies and subsequently entered Italy without meeting the required visa conditions.

In 2025, EU countries issued Russian citizens 620,000 Schengen visas, up 10.2% from the previous year. Over all of 2025, Russians submitted more than 670,000 visa applications — 8% more than in 2024. Nearly three-quarters of all visa applications from Russians came from those seeking to visit France, Italy, and Spain.