Ascolta

On September 9, 2022, the Council of the European Union, as part of another package of sanctions, ultimately suspended the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia. Thus, trips to the EU have become more complex and costly for Russian tourists.

Already on September 19, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia proposed to introduce a complete ban on the issuance of visas. According to them, in the current circumstances, Russian tourists should not be allowed to visit Europe without any restrictions. This proposal did not receive unanimous support from other EU members. Still, the Baltic countries, which initiated such a ban, became the first European Union states to introduce enhanced control over the entry of Russian citizens into the EU. Sometime later, Finland closed the land border for tourists from Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country said that from September 30, 2022, restrictions will be introduced on the entry of Russians on the eastern border.

Further, other countries of the European Union followed. And although a complete ban on entry for Russian tourists throughout the EU has not been introduced, many countries have suspended the issuance of all types of Schengen visas, instead of which they issue only visas for humanitarian purposes or long-term visas for students, employees of European companies, as well as under the family reunification program.

At the same time, according to official data, from the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to the imposition of severe restrictions by the European Union (from February 24 to September 30, 2022), 1.36 million Russian citizens legally entered the territory of the European Union.

More information: https://www.ascolta.org/?p=3635