Coalition of 11 European countries calls for harsher Schengen visa rules for Russian tourists

Nearly a dozen European countries have signed a joint letter to EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Kaja Kallas calling for harsher rules in issuing Schengen visas to Russian tourists, RFE/RL reported on Thursday.

The initiative, introduced by Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell ahead of a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg, was supported by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Poland, as well as non-EU Schengen parties Norway and Iceland.

Seen by RFE/RL, the letter states that it has been “deeply troubling to witness increasing numbers of Russian tourists enjoying leisure travel on European beaches and in European resorts while missiles and drones continue to strike civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.”

Despite the EU tightening its rules for applications from Russians in 2022 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the signatories argue that there is an “uneven implementation of these guidelines” across Schengen states, leading to fragmentation which undermines the EU’s leverage.

Over 470,000 Schengen tourist visas were issued to Russian citizens in 2025, with nearly three-quarters granted by tourism hotspots France, Italy, and Spain. The figure is the highest since guidelines were first tightened in 2022, and amounts to an increase of 8.4% compared to 2024.

Speaking to Swedish reporters in Luxembourg on Thursday, Forssell said that the situation was “insane”, and argued that the EU needed a mechanism to “say no to Russians simply because they are Russian.”

There was no immediate response to the initiative from the Kremlin, although a spokesperson for the Russian Travel Industry Union told Interfax that the likelihood of a complete ban on Russian tourism to Europe was “practically zero”.

Since November last year, the EU has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas to Russian nationals, meaning that Russians must apply for a visa each time they plan to visit the Schengen area. As a result, the number of multi-entry visas granted to Russians in January–March fell by over 90%, with most applicants instead receiving double-entry visas.

Some European ministers, as well as figures in the exiled Russian opposition, have criticised the EU’s successive tightening of visa rules for Russians, arguing that travel to Europe is an opportunity for Russians to escape the country’s tightly controlled media environment.

In an open letter to the European Commission in September, prominent Russian opposition politician Yulia Navalnaya argued that it would be “counterproductive [for the EU] to assist Russian authorities in isolating Russian society.”