11 European countries call for tighter visa issuance to Russians

11 European countries have called for tighter visa issuance to Russians

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, as well as non-EU Norway and Iceland, sent a corresponding letter to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.

The authors of the letter, Politico, Deutsche Welle, and the Polish outlet RMF24 write, believe that Russian tourists are enjoying vacations on European beaches and at resorts "while missiles and drones continue to strike civilians and Ukraine's civilian infrastructure."

They consider such a situation unacceptable.

RMF24 writes, citing the letter, that 11 European countries are demanding an immediate stop to the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. Politico and Deutsche Welle do not use that wording.

After the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the European Union canceled the visa facilitation agreement, which had given Russian citizens advantages in the form of long-term multiple-entry visas, lower fees, and shorter application processing times. Some countries stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians altogether.

In November 2025, the European Commission announced the suspension of the issuance of multiple-entry Schengen visas to Russian citizens.

According to official EU statistics, in 2025 European Union countries issued 620,000 Schengen visas to Russian citizens, which is 10.2% more than a year earlier. Nearly three quarters of all visa applications from Russians are accounted for by France, Italy, and Spain.

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Before the full-scale war, Russia had a visa facilitation agreement with the EU: it gave Russian citizens advantages in the form of easy long-term multiple-entry visas, lower fees, and shorter application processing times. Since 2022, the agreement has been terminated:…