Italy issued record number of entry visas in 2013

Claudia Astarita

According to the new data released by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy issued  2,125,490 entry visas in 2013.

This is definitely a record number, with visa increasing by 13.5 per cent compared to 2012, and generating 104 million euros in revenues for the country. These numbes allowed Italy to become the second best nation in the Schengen area for the number of visas issued, behind France (2,471,220) and, for the first time, ahead of Germany (2,084,213).

Most of visas have been issued to tourists coming from Russia, China, Turkey and India, and according to several expertes this huge increased has been generated by the improvement, in terms of time and efficiency, of the visa issuing service.

Priority is currently given to visas for business purposes, and to foster investment in Italy, a new "start-up" visa has been introduced for people wishing to set up innovative new businesses in Italy.

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