New EU rules will make it more difficult for Russians to enter Schengen countries

The European Union is preparing new restrictions for Russian citizens planning to travel to the Schengen zone. Under the new rules, most Russians will only be able to obtain single-entry visas, and multiple-entry visas will become virtually unavailable.

This is reported by Politico, citing several European officials.

Exceptions are only provided for humanitarian cases or for persons with dual citizenship, including EU countries. The decision is made against the background of already existing restrictions: after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many EU countries have complicated the procedure for obtaining visas and increased their cost. Some Baltic states have completely suspended or sharply limited the entry of Russians into their territory.

It is worth noting that the issuance of visas is regulated at the level of each member state, and the European Commission cannot completely ban tourist trips for Russian citizens, but it can complicate the procedure.

According to the European Commission, in 2024, more than half a million Russians received Schengen visas. This is more than in 2023, but significantly less than in the pre-war period – in 2019 their number exceeded 4 million. Hungary, France, Italy and Spain are the most active in issuing documents.

The new rules are expected to be part of a comprehensive package of restrictions aimed at reducing the flow of Russians to the EU, and are scheduled to be officially adopted and implemented this week.

In addition, the EU plans to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats: they must now notify the Schengen zone countries in advance of their movements. As explained in Brussels, this is due to the need to counteract the growth of the Kremlin’s hostile intelligence activities.

As a reminder, the European Union has decided to tighten rules on the movement of Russian diplomats within the Schengen area . This was in response to a series of acts of sabotage, which, according to intelligence, were carried out by Russian special services officers acting under the cover of diplomatic status.

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