Finland restricts visas to Russians amid rush of tourists heading to Europe

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland will reduce the number of visas granted to Russians from Sept 1, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, amid a rush of Russian tourists heading to Europe.

Finnish land border crossings remained among the few entry points into Europe for the Russians after a string of Western countries closed their airspace to Russian aircraft in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

The Finnish government agreed on Tuesday to reduce their numbers, after Russian tourists began using Finland’s Helsinki-Vantaa airport as a gateway to European holiday destinations after Russia lifted border restrictions related to the pandemic a month ago.

“And this may not be very appropriate if we think, for example, about the airspace restrictions imposed on Russia,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters after government talks.

The ministry said Finland will reduce daily visa application schedules in Russia from 1,000 to 500 per day, with only 100 designated for tourists.

The number of visas granted was already much lower than it was before the pandemic and the war. Foreign Ministry statistics showed that in July Finland granted only 16,000 visas to Russians, compared to 92,100 during the same month in 2019.

Haavisto said Finland and the Baltic states would also propose that the EU halt a visa facilitation agreement with Russia that makes it easier for Russians to travel to and within the EU.

Some EU leaders, such as Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her Estonian counterpart Kaja Kallas, have called for an EU-wide visa ban, which German Chancellor Olaf Schulz objected to on Monday, saying that Russians should be able to flee their homeland if they disagree. with the government. Read more

Haavisto added that Finland was looking into creating a national humanitarian visa that could be granted to Russians who need to flee or visit Europe for purposes such as journalism or advocacy.

According to EU rules, a tourist must apply for a visa from the country he intends to visit but can enter the border-check-free Schengen area from any point and travel around it for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.

In an article published by Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian parliament, said Moscow should stop allowing Finns to travel to the country except for things like medical treatment or attending funerals, saying that Russia could manage without “border trips by by the Finns to buy gasoline.”

(Reporting by Essie Leto; Editing by Stein Jacobsen, Bernadette Bohm and Alex Richardson)

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.