Latvia will no longer issue visas to Russian citizens, the Latvian embassy in Moscow announced on Friday, citing Russia’s war against Ukraine, DPA reports.

From now on, visa applications will be accepted only from Russian citizens who want to attend the funeral of a close relative in Latvia, the embassy announced on Twitter, Agerpres notes.

The Baltic member state of the EU and NATO has already limited the issuance of visas to citizens of its much larger neighbor, granting them only for humanitarian reasons.

For example, Latvia still issued residence permits to a large number of Russian journalists who could no longer work in their country due to media restrictions imposed by the Russian authorities.

However, Latvian security authorities have recently warned of possible risks if more and more Russian media outlets operate in Latvia.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia calls on the EU to stop issuing visas to Russians

In late July, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevičs called on the EU to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism and to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians, Sky News reports.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevičs on Saturday condemned the “brutal killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian armed forces” in Olenivka in eastern Donetsk region and the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine.

Also, the head of Latvian diplomacy on Sunday repeated the proposal to stop issuing tourist visas to the European Union for citizens of Russia.

And Finland wants to limit Russian tourist visas

As AFP reports, Finland’s foreign minister on Thursday presented a plan to limit tourist visas for the growing number of Russians traveling to the Scandinavian country to transit to other European countries.

Flights from Russia to the EU were suspended after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24. Thus, Finland, which has a long border with Russia, has become an important transit country for Russian travelers.

But to date, this Scandinavian country remains the only EU member and neighbor of Russia that does not impose tourist visa restrictions on Russian citizens.

Finland’s Schengen regime and laws do not allow a complete ban on visas based on nationality, but Helsinki can reduce the number of visas issued by category, including tourist visas, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.

So on Thursday, the ministry presented a proposal to the government that would allow Finland to “give priority” to groups such as family members and students while reducing tourist visas.

If the government gives the green light, a decision could be made by the end of the month.

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