Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen on Monday urged EU member states to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians until Moscow ends the war in Ukraine.
She calls on the European Commission to “adopt stricter guidelines regarding the processing of visa applications by Russian citizens” and to “introduce the necessary amendments to EU legislation to implement a ban on tourist visas” in a declaration published by her ministry.
Finland seeks to broaden restrictions to other categories of Russians
“The aggression war waged by Russia against Ukraine is now in its fifth year. It is not normal for Russians to be able to travel to Europe to enjoy its lifestyle and freedoms, while their country bombs Ukrainians’ homes”, added Mrs Valtonen in this statement.
She also urged member states to join a letter addressed to the European Commission that, in addition to the ban on tourist visas, also advocates “Schengen visas for the inner circle of President Vladimir Putin, visa restrictions for Russian athletes, as well as (…) Russian fighters, former or present, to be decided by EU member states this summer”.
Finland – which shares 1,340 kilometres of border with Russia – has already ceased issuing visas to Russians for non-essential travel in 2022.
In September, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said that the European Union should strengthen measures against the Kremlin, notably by re-examining the issuance of tourist visas, to counter Moscow’s “hybrid attacks”.
The country of Ms. Kallas, Estonia, has pushed for an EU-wide visa ban targeting Russian veterans of the war in Ukraine, a move supported by the Baltic and Nordic states.
In June, a group of European countries urged the EU to crack down on tourist visas for Russians in a joint letter.
More than 470,000 Schengen tourist visas were issued to Russian citizens in 2025, many of them multi-entry, according to this letter.
