Estonia closes entry to its territory to Russian citizens with Estonian Schengen visas. The ban will take effect on August 18, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Thursday, August 11. “In one week, a sanction will be applied to Schengen visas issued by the Republic of Estonia. The sanction means that the visas will remain valid. However, visa holders will be sanctioned upon entering Estonia, ie they will be prohibited from entering Estonia” , he explained.

An exception will be made for close relatives of Estonian citizens and holders of a residence permit in Estonia, Russian diplomats and their family members, employees of transport companies, as well as those who enter the country for humanitarian reasons. The ban does not affect people entitled to free movement under EU law.

Tighter tightening of entry ban

It will still be possible to enter Estonia with visas issued by other Schengen countries. The government in Tallinn will later discuss how to ban Russians with any Schengen visas from entering the country. “The possibility for Russian citizens to massively visit Estonia or Europe through Estonia does not correspond to the spirit of the sanctions we impose. Russia should not be able to continue normal international life at the level of its citizens,” Reinsalu stressed.

According to the minister, Estonia will also stop issuing visas for work, study and business. Students graduated from Estonian universities will have their Estonian residency permit extended for one year. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Estonia, along with some other EU countries, stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens. The country’s authorities are in favor of a total ban on issuing visas to Russians at EU level.

The initiative has the support of Latvia, which on August 4 stopped issuing visas to Russians, making only one exception – a trip to the funeral of a close relative. In the spring, Latvian authorities stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians, but continued to issue national long-term visas for employment and short-term visas for humanitarian reasons.