FM calls for complete EU ban on Russian tourist visas

Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Monday called for a tighter visa policy to be applied across the EU for Russian citizens and urged EU Member States to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians until Russia ends its war in Ukraine, said the ministry in a press release.

The minister in a letter urged the European Commission to adopt stricter guidelines on the processing of visa applications by Russian citizens and to introduce necessary amendments to EU legislation to implement a ban on tourist visas.

The number of tourist visas issued by the Schengen countries to Russians has increased in recent years. About 500,000 tourist visas were granted to Russians by the Schengen countries in 2025.

“As long as Russia continues its invasion, Russian citizens should not be issued tourist visas. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is now in its fifth year. It is not right that Russians can travel to Europe to enjoy the way of life and freedoms here while their country bombs the homes of Ukrainians,” the Foreign Minister said in the press release.

“Issuing visas to Russians for non-essential travel was banned by government resolution in Finland already in 2022,” Valtonen said, adding, “The same must finally happen at the EU level.”

Valtonen has invited other Member States to accede to a joint letter addressed to the European Commission.

In addition to the complete ban on tourist visas, the letter proposed a ban on Schengen visas to President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, visa restrictions for Russian athletes, and the effective implementation of the visa ban on Russian (ex)combatants agreed by the EU Member States this summer.