Multiple EU Countries Stopped Issuing Schengen Visa To Russians

Even though the European Union Commission adopted a decision to fully suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, several EU countries decided to take further measures and stop issuing visas for citizens of Russia.

The list of the EU countries that have banned Russians and have decided not to issue Schengen visas for them includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland recently agreed to stop issuing Schengen visas for citizens of Russia and ban them from entering the country from 19 September 2022.

These countries welcomed the decision of the EU to suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia. However, they insisted that further and stricter measures need to be applied and thus decided to introduce an entry ban and stop issuing visas for them from September 19.

“Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have agreed on a common regional approach and hereby express their political will and firm intention to introduce temporary national measures for Russian citizens holding EU visas in order to address imminent public policy and security threats and restrict the entry into the Schengen area for the Russian citizens travelling for tourism, culture, sport and business purposes.”
A Joint statement of these countries

Arguing their decision, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland said that the measures had been adopted on the common ground of protecting internal security, public policy, and the overall safety of the Schengen space.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Belgium have also stopped issuing visas to citizens of Russians. The Dutch government also decided not to issue visas for citizens of Russia back in April after the latter declared the Dutch consular staff at the embassy in Moscow persona non grata.

“As of April 27, 2022, you can not apply for a Schengen visa. As a result of the decision of the Russian authorities to declare the Dutch consular staff of the embassy in Moscow persona non grata, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has regretfully had to suspend the regular Schengen visa granting.”
Statement from the Dutch government

Other countries have already decided to only suspend the visa facilitation agreement, whereas others are yet to make an official statement on the matter.

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