A group of European countries has called on the European Commission to introduce additional restrictions on issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens. This is stated in a letter sent to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, according to Politico, Deutsche Welle, and RMF24.
Who backed the initiative. The letter was signed by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski. They were joined by ministers from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Iceland. The latter two countries are not EU members but are part of the Schengen area.
Reasons. The authors of the appeal recall that in September 2022, the European Commission suspended the visa facilitation agreement with Russia and tightened recommendations for reviewing applications from Russians. However, the letter says many EU countries are applying these recommendations "unevenly," weakening the European Union’s common position.
The ministers note that in 2025, Russians were issued more than 477,000 Schengen visas, a significant share of them multiple-entry visas. The authors describe as "alarming" a situation in which "Russian tourists enjoy holidays on European beaches and resorts while missiles and drones continue to strike civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine."
What is being proposed. The signatories call on the European Commission to continue developing new restrictive measures on issuing visas to Russian citizens. They also demand better oversight of compliance with existing recommendations. Separately, they ask for a tougher approach when issuing visas to participants in the war against Ukraine.
At the same time, the Polish outlet RMF24 reports that the authors of the letter are calling for a complete halt to issuing Schengen visas to Russians and for blocking entry to citizens of "hostile countries" "in the event of a geopolitical threat."
Context. In November last year, the European Commission announced a ban on issuing multiple-entry Schengen visas to Russian citizens. Russians must now submit a new visa application every time they plan a trip to Europe. Exceptions were made for journalists and human rights defenders, as well as relatives of people living in the EU. In addition, multiple-entry visas can still be obtained at consulates of third countries.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia said that from January to March 2026, the number of multiple-entry Schengen visas issued to Russians fell by 90% compared with the same period a year earlier. In some cases, the decline is estimated at 99%.