The EU is preparing to impose stricter restrictions on visas for Russians and citizens of other hostile states. Relevant recommendations for the blocʼs countries are due to be published by the end of the year.
A European Commission representative told Politico about this.
Two European diplomats from countries bordering Russia said their governments had been lobbying for years for such guidelines, with one diplomat calling them “overdue”.
The European Commissionʼs upcoming pan-European strategy, to be published in December, will not establish binding rules, but will set out common recommendations, including stricter criteria for Russians entering the EU, a Commission representative said.
The proposed guidelines are still under discussion — they are different from a possible visa ban, which is being considered as part of the next EU sanctions package against Russia.
How Russians enter the EU now
The EU already canceled the visa facilitation agreement with Russia in September 2022, after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — making the application process more expensive and complicated.
But visas remain the responsibility of individual member states, so the European Commission cannot impose a blanket ban on Russians entering the bloc.
As a result, national policies vary widely: some countries, such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, block or severely restrict visa applications from Russians except in specific cases; while others, including Hungary, France, Spain, and Italy, continue to issue them more liberally.
In 2024, more than half a million Russians received Schengen visas, according to the European Commission. This is significantly more than in 2023, but still far fewer than in the pre-war period (over 4 million were issued in 2019).
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