The Council’s Visa Working Party convened in Brussels on 14 September 2026, with one key agenda item: a discussion paper proposing an inflation-indexed increase in Schengen visa fees to bolster the EU’s common-visa budget. The meeting record, published on the Council website, also lists follow-up documents on governance of the visa-waiver process. Although final decisions will require a formal Commission proposal and qualified-majority approval in the Council, delegates signalled broad support for lifting the basic short-stay fee from €80 to €90, the first adjustment since 2020. Member-state representatives, including Germany’s Interior Ministry, argued that higher IT-security and biometric-upgrade costs justify the increase. For German multinationals that frequently sponsor invitation letters for partners from emerging markets, the prospect of higher visa costs may affect budgeting for training visits, trade-fair participation and warranty-service deployments. The German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) warned in a pre-meeting brief that rising fees could deter SME suppliers from attending the 2027 Hannover Messe. The Working Party also reviewed draft benchmarks for visa-waiver countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Brazil—popular corporate travel destinations for German exporters. Any tightening of waiver governance could lead to reciprocal measures, potentially complicating future business travel for German passport holders. Next steps: The Commission is expected to table a legal proposal in October, with a target application date of May 2027. Mobility managers should monitor the legislative calendar and factor potential fee hikes into 2027 travel-budget forecasts.
