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On September 12, the Danish government decided to temporarily suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia amid a full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It is surprising that Russians go to European countries, in particular for holidays, while their country has burst into a free and democratic European country. I am glad that the EU has decided to suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Denmark supports this, although we are not part of the agreement,” Kaare Dibwad Beck, Minister of Immigration and Integration, commented on the government’s decision.
The SchengenVisaInfo publication writes that the Danish authorities have also strengthened national visa rules. Russians will undergo additional checks when applying for a visa.
Russian citizens will now pay an increased fee when applying for a visa and will be subject to stricter rules.
Recall that the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have reached an agreement to restrict the entry of Russian citizens due to land borders.
As reported, on September 6, the European Commission supported the suspension of the simplified visa regime for all citizens of the Russian Federation. Now the decision must be approved by the European Council. The European Commission also proposed not to recognize Russian passports issued in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
As reported earlier, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that all Schengen visas for Russians would not be cancelled, but the fact that they have a visa does not guarantee entry into the European Union for Russian citizens.
Recall that Germany stops the visa facilitation agreement with the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the governments of Germany and France, in a joint statement, opposed the introduction of a ban on issuing visas to Russians. They want to tighten checks, but not refuse to issue visas.
As you know, in early August, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that the European Union should limit the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens. This issue is planned to be considered in the European Council. At the same time, the head of the Finnish government said that her state is ready to act independently.
Subsequently, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called for stopping the issuance of tourist visas to Russians for trips to the countries of the European Union. She called visiting Europe a privilege that citizens of an aggressor country do not deserve.
Source: PRM
