Number of Russians Applying for Schengen Visas Soars Amid Banning Threats

Local media revealed that the number of applications submitted by Russians increased by 40 per cent in recent weeks, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

The increase was especially felt on Sunday after the Estonian authorities announced that they would stop issuing visas to Russians and ban them from entering the country.

As soon as such news was announced, Russians hurriedly decided to apply for a Schengen visa in order to avoid future problems related to travel outside the country.

It has been explained that Russians are either applying on their own or through different agencies. They are mainly interested in reaching popular summer destinations such as Greece, Italy, and Spain.

In addition, some others are already making plans for autumn vacations. Schengen visas have already been issued for families with children planning to visit Europe in autumn.

Apart from Estonia, which has already decided to impose restrictions against citizens of Russia, other countries have also supported such an idea.

A proposal to ban Schengen visas for Russians was submitted for discussion to the European Union last week. The news was announced by a cabinet spokesperson of Germany. The spokesperson said that the proposal will now be discussed within the EU.

Commenting on the proposal’s content, the spokesperson of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the document includes a ban on issuing visas for Russians as well as students and relatives of EU citizens.

Nonetheless, such a proposal was not supported by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Scholz expressed his doubt about the possibility of stopping the issuance of visas for Russians and banning them from entering the EU.

Scholz said that stopping the issuance of visas for citizens of Russia is a hard-to-imagine idea. Additionally, he emphasised that this is Putin’s war, and innocent citizens should not suffer his actions.

Instead of banning Russians, Scholz said that the EU countries should focus on imposing sanctions that target Putin and those responsible for the war in Ukraine.

According to him, extending the restrictions to include innocent citizens would reduce the effectiveness of sanctions.

While the EU is yet to come out with an official statement on the matter, some countries have already introduced some measures on their own.

Latvia is asking all Russians crossing the border to sign a document condemning the war in Ukraine. The authorities explained that such a decision had been taken to identify persons who may pose a threat to Latvia’s national security and who support the war in Ukraine.