Estonia

Last Thursday, August 18, 2022, Estonia stopped issuing Schengen visas to Russians. On Wednesday, August 17, the country's Foreign Ministry reported that entry for Russian citizens with Schengen visas from other states would also be banned in the near future. By the way, the visas previously issued by Estonia will be valid, but their holders will be turned back at the border. Exceptions apply to employees of diplomatic missions in Estonia and their family members, persons engaged in international freight and passenger transportation, holders of humanitarian visas, persons entitled to free movement under EU law, close relatives of Estonian citizens or holders of a permanent residence permit. According to Reuters, 2.500 Russians entered Estonia every day, half of whom had Schengen visas. A month earlier, Estonia froze the issuance of visas and residence permits for Russians coming to study. In addition, since April 2022, citizens of the Russian Federation have not been issued visas and residence permits for work and doing business. The acceptance of applications for short-term tourist visas from Russians ended in March this year.

Latvia

Another state that banned the issuance of visas to Russians was Latvia. On Tuesday, August 16, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins announced the intention of the republic's coalition authorities not to extend temporary residence permits for Russians. In addition, Russian citizens are restricted entry on Schengen visas of other states. Earlier, Latvia declared Russia a «terrorist-supporting» state, banning the issuance of short-term and long-term visas to Russians. Since the beginning of August, obtaining visas has been postponed «indefinitely». An exception is entry into the country on the occasion of the funeral of a close relative. In the spring of 2022, the country's authorities imposed a ban on the provision of residence permits to Russians, and now they are ready to refuse to renew valid visas. According to politicians, those Russians who received a residence permit through investment may be denied their renewal. At the same time, the prolongation of temporary residence permits will not affect citizens who are married to citizens of Latvia.

Finland

In July 2022, the Finnish authorities began discussing the so-called «unbearable Russian tourism». It is worth recalling that after the lifting of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large-scale influx of Russians holding tourist visas was recorded in the country. However, at the end of August, the Finnish government announced that from September 1, 2022, the documents requirements for applying for a visa for Russians will become tougher. At the same time, the number of time slots for receiving documents for issuing visas will be halved. According to the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, currently about 1,000 visa applications are registered in Russia per day, from September there will be no more than 500 applications. The ministry believes that the measures taken will help Finland significantly reduce the number of visas issued to Russians. The priority direction for the leadership of this northern country is work and student visas. Last Wednesday, August 17, it became known that Finland will not impose restrictions on visitor visas issued for family reasons. This relief applies to student and work visas for Russians. The country's authorities will also not cancel Schengen visas issued earlier.

Countries issuing visas to Russians on certain conditions

Experts recommend that Russians wishing to obtain a Schengen visa for tourism purposes contact the embassies of France, Germany, Italy or Greece. These embassies provide the opportunity to obtain a multiple entry visa. However, there are pitfalls: it can take up to three months from the moment of application to receipt of documents. According to a representative of the Department of Economic and Financial Studies of the CMS Institute, it is possible to obtain a visa to Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia only on so-called «humanitarian grounds» (illness and funeral of relatives living in the country, as well as persecution at home for political reasons). In the near future, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Denmark will issue visas to Russians only in exceptional cases: for medical treatment, to visit relatives or for the purpose of family reunification. As for granting a residence permit, preference will be given to people with higher education or who have experience of successful entrepreneurship.