Finland will drastically reduce the number of visas issued to Russian citizens from September this year, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Tuesday, August 16, on national broadcaster Yleisradio Oy (Yle).

According to Haavisto, the new measures will not require changes to Finnish legislation. The processing time of tourist visas will be limited, for example, to certain days or hours a day, which will significantly reduce their number, explained the minister.

The head of the consular department of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jussi Tanner, explained that around 1,000 visa applications of all types are now received from Russians a day. As of September, this number will decrease to 500 applications, with only 100 of them for tourist visas. Priority will be given to family members and those who come to Finland to work and study, Tanner said.

Finland also supports the suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, said Peka Haavisto. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is studying the possibility of introducing special humanitarian visas for Russians, which could facilitate the relocation of journalists and civil activists to Finland, writes Yle.

The proposal not to issue visas to Russians will be discussed at the EU summit in late August

Discussion over the need for a complete ban on issuing European visas to Russians has resumed after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for such a measure in early August as sanctions for the Russian invasion of his country.

“Whatever Russian you’re speaking, send them back to Russia. Then they’ll understand. They’ll say, ‘This war has nothing to do with us. The entire population can’t be held responsible, can they?’ Maybe this population has chosen this government, and they don’t fight with it, they don’t argue with it, they don’t yell at it,” Zelensky said.

The governments of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also spoke out for tough restrictions. The issue of limiting the issuance of Schengen visas will be discussed at the Council of the EU at the end of August.

EU rules do not allow for a total visa ban

When asked by the European Commission whether the EU could decide not to issue tourist visas to Russians anymore, they said that current EU rules do not allow it to stop issuing visas altogether. “There are always groups of people who need visas. We are talking about humanitarian cases, family members, journalists and dissidents,” the European Commission said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said the day before that he does not support a total ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens, reminding Russians that they are forced to flee the country due to political persecution. “All the decisions we make must not complicate the process of gaining freedom and leaving the country to escape dictatorship in Russia. This is not a war of the Russian people, this is Putin’s war,” Scholz said.