Finland has dramatically increased diplomatic pressure on Brussels to shut the door on leisure travel from Russia. In a letter circulated to all EU foreign ministers on 12 October and publicised on 13 October, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen argued that allowing Russian citizens to holiday in Europe while Moscow’s war in Ukraine drags on is “morally indefensible and strategically dangerous”. Valtonen points out that Finland already stopped issuing new tourist visas to Russians in 2022 and has kept its eastern land border closed since late 2023. Yet because Schengen visas issued by other member states remain valid throughout the passport-free area, tens of thousands of Russian visitors have continued to enter the EU each month via air links or third countries, making Finland’s unilateral restrictions “leaky”. Helsinki therefore wants the European Commission to draft legislation that would suspend the issuance of category-C (short-stay) visas for tourism purposes to Russian nationals across the entire union. The Finnish démarche also calls for tighter checks on existing long-term Schengen visas, a blacklist for members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, and sport-related visa restrictions similar to those applied to Belarus after 2020. According to the letter, the move would deny Russia “soft power benefits” and curb potential hybrid-influence flows of irregular migrants deliberately channelled to EU borders. Within 24 hours, Estonia publicly backed the Finnish initiative, with Tallinn’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna saying his country is ready to co-sign a joint proposal in the next Foreign Affairs Council. Latvia and Lithuania signalled support in principle, while Germany and France said they would “study the legal feasibility”. EU diplomats told Yle News that the Commission could present an options paper as early as November, but unanimity among the 27 remains uncertain; southern tourist economies fear retaliation against their own citizens seeking to enter Russia. For global mobility managers the proposal, if adopted, would end the possibility of Russian leisure travellers entering any EU country—even if they hold a valid existing visa. Business-travel and family-visit visas would in theory remain possible, but additional scrutiny and processing delays are expected. Companies moving personnel through the Nordic–Baltic region should prepare for tighter land-border checks and factor in longer lead times for any Russian-national employee travel planned for 2027. Until a union-wide decision is reached, Finland’s eastern frontier will stay closed and its own national tourist-visa ban will continue to apply.
Source: Yle News
