new delhi come february 2 and you will be able to plan your trip to europe much more in advance currently travellers can apply upto three months ahead of their proposed travel dates for schengen visa this period will be doubled and instead of the usual norm of getting very limited period schengen visas travellers with a positive history could get the same with a validity of one to five yearswhile the european union eu is easing the travel norms with these changes the visa cost is will be raised from 60 euro to 80 euro from february 2read alsoschengen visa application fee hiked to 80 from february 2a trip to much of europe will be more expensive from next month with schengen visa fees set to increase to 80 from the current 60 officials said a schengen visa is needed for 26 european countries including austria denmark france germany greece switzerland and spain the new fees will comethe fee for children in the age group of 6 to 12 will be raised from 35 euro to 40 euro 1 euro is about rs 787 at current exchange ratean eu spokesperson in delhi said the new rules applicable from february 2 will provide faster and clearer procedures for legitimate travellers in particular by allowing for applications to be lodged up to 6 months and no later than 15 days before the trip providing for the possibility of the application form to be filled in and signed electronically and introducing a harmonised approach to the issuing of multiple entry visas to regular travellers with a positive visa history for a period which increases gradually from 1 to 5 yearsthe changes follow with the council of the eu last june adopting the proposed amendments to the schengen visa code the amendments have been approved in a bid of the eu to improve conditions for legitimate travellers the eu spokesperson saidsotc travel leisure president and country head daniel dsouza said with indian travellers planning summer vacations in advance while looking out for destinations most travellers look for ease in visa applications to destinations of their choice eu move will benefit travellers as it will now give travellers a larger window period to apply for visa well in advance for their next holiday this will be beneficial for us to plan our airline seat allocation better it will also give ease and convenience to our customers to avoid lastminute rushtravel agents say the move will be helpful on several counts it will help avoid the rush at vfs centres seen ahead of the peak travel seasons which begins in february for west india and a month later for the north as people will be able to apply in advancefor schengen visa unlike us applicants have to make all bookings like flight tickets hotels travel health insurance at the time of submitting documents visa fee is nonrefundable even if visa is denied but cancellation charges for airlines are higher closer to date of