EU Considers Issuing Russian Tourists Schengen Visas Valid only in Certain Territories
The proposal would limit Russian tourists to selected Schengen countries as EU members weigh tighter visa rules over security concerns.
- On Wednesday, an EU Council working group will discuss issuing Russian nationals visas with Limited Territorial Validity for non-essential travel, restricting access to specific countries rather than the full Schengen Area.
- Several EU nations, including Poland, Sweden, and Estonia, are pushing for stricter policies, citing Moscow-led hybrid warfare as a security threat. Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer noted that sabotage and arson exploit system vulnerabilities.
- Around 478,000 Schengen tourist visas were issued to Russian citizens in 2025, though France, Italy, Spain, and Greece continue granting entry while many member states halted issuance.
- Representatives of Russia's tourism industry warn that LTV visas would significantly complicate multi-country bus routes, while Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo plans to submit a proposal for a total ban at the summit on October 15–16.
- The European Commission is preparing proposals for new restrictions as early as next year, aiming to tighten requirements for the hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists entering the EU annually.
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14 Articles
Germany has proposed limiting the validity of tourist visas that Schengen area countries still issue to Russian citizens, writes the Rapporteur, citing a document from the Council of the European Union (EU).
The Presidency of the EU Council, Ireland, questioned Berlin ' s proposal to issue visas to Russian tourists operating only on the territory of the country of issue; Berlin, an initiative to issue Schengen visas to Russian citizens, which would be valid exclusively within the country of issue, in order to oblige countries that continue to accept Russian tourists to take responsibility for them, gave TASS with reference to the Rapporteur por…
Russian tourists may not be able to visit several Schengen countries on a single visa, as reported by European media.
Withdrawing visas is not new. What draws attention is the scale and the political meaning.
More and more EU Member States are calling for restricting the freedom of entry and movement of Russian citizens into European territory, among them France, which has so far been rather reluctant to restrict access to the Schengen area.
The head of European Union diplomacy, Kai Callas, stated that the heads of the EU Ministry of Foreign Affairs had discussed restrictive measures for Russian diplomats, tourists and athletes on Monday. "We discussed restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats, the reduction of tourist visas for Russians," she said at a press conference following the meeting.
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