The Estonian government banned Russians with valid Schengen visas issued by Estonia from entering the country
The Estonian government banned Russians with valid Schengen visas issued by Estonia from entering the country. The sanction will take effect in a week and includes few exceptions,saysEstonian Public Broadcaster ERR.
The Estonian government banned Russians with valid Schengen visas issued by Estonia from entering the country. The sanction will take effect in a week and includes few exceptions, says Estonian Public Broadcaster ERR.
"This sanction means that the visas will remain valid, but the holders of the visas will be sanctioned when entering Estonia, they will not be allowed to enter Estonia," said Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu.
The restriction does not apply to Russians who have been issued Schengen visas by other EU countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will prepare proposals on how to close the border for Russians who have Schengen visas from other countries. This issue will be discussed at the next government meeting.
The restriction will not apply to employees of the Russian Embassy and their family members; people who directly transport goods and passengers; people visiting Estonia for humanitarian reasons, or visiting a relative or partner who is an Estonian citizen or has a long-term residence permit. Also, the restriction does not apply to Russians permanently residing in Estonia.
Earlier, the Prime Ministers of Estonia and Finland urged to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians for trips to the European Union. The prime ministers of the countries consider it wrong that Russians go on vacation to Europe while Russia is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine.
Since air traffic with Russia has been suspended, Russian tourists are crossing the border with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, with which Russia shares a land border.
At the end of July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia announced that it was preparing a proposal for the European Union to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. The Ministry offered to issue only humanitarian visas, for example, to Russian oppositionists.
The EU Commission believes the visa ban for Russians does not correspond to their visa policy.