On August 16, 2022, the Finnish government announced a 90% reduction in the issuance of visas to Russians due to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Source: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland said that from September, Finland will accept only 10% of visa applications from Russian tourists. This means that Finland will only accept about 100 visa applications per day, compared to approximately 1,000 successful applications earlier.
“Finland now accepts about 1,000 visa applications from Russians every day, but plans to accept about 100 applications daily as of next month.”
Exceptions may be made for some groups, such as journalists, dissidents or activists, through a potential national humanitarian visa. Haavisto said his ministry would consult with the interior ministry about this scheme.
According to the Ministry, some in Finland have questioned why wealthy Russians should be allowed to freely vacation in Europe while their country wages a brutal war of aggression in Ukraine.
Haavisto also said that Finland would propose, together with the three Baltic states, a joint EU solution on visas for Russians when the bloc’s foreign ministers meet at the end of August
The Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland have already stopped issuing some visas to Russians.
See also: The Czech Republic will officially ask EU countries to ban Schengen visas for Russians
