Brussels, April 28 (INEP): Travellers to the European Union will soon have to pay nearly twice as much for visa fees.

A meeting of the EU justice and home ministers yesterday decided to raise the Schengen visa fee from the present 35 euros to 60 euros for a stay lasting less than 90 days.

The visa fee hike was necessary to cover additional costs of new technology such as biometrics in the visas, said a statement.

The new fee will apply from January 1, 2007, at the latest.

There are, however, exceptions for certain categories. The visa fee will be waived entirely for children under 6, schoolchildren, students and accompanying teachers on exchange programmes, and researchers travelling within the EU for the purpose of carrying out scientific research.

A Schengen visa entitles a traveller to enter one EU country and travel freely throughout the Schengen zone.

The name Schengen originates from a small town in Luxembourg where the treaty was first signed in 1985 to lift internal border checkpoints and controls in the EU.

However, not all 25 EU states are part of the Schengen Zone. The 15 Schengen countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

All these countries, except Norway and Iceland, are EU members.

However, Indian visitors to the UK, an EU member but not in the Schengen zone, need a separate visa.