Finland will ban the entry and transit of Russians on the Schengen of any country

Finland, following the Baltic countries and Poland, will ban the transit of Russians with Schengen visas, including those obtained in other countries. The ban will be adopted within a few days, now it is formulated in a draft version, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.

“Based on the decision, the authorities will be able to completely stop the movement of tourists [from Russia]. <...> Visas can also be canceled on an individual basis at the Finnish border,” Haavisto stressed.

According to him, it will be possible for Russians to come to Finland only for family reasons, to study, work, or if they own real estate (if it is jointly owned). He also pointed out that refusal to perform military service is not sufficient grounds for applying for asylum in Finland.

Since September 19, in response to the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, bordering Russia, have also banned entry for Russians even with valid Schengen visas.

Finland remained the last country through which Russian tourists could enter the EU along the land border: on February 27, the European Union closed its airspace to Russian aircraft.

In addition, the European Union has suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia since September 12. Obtaining visas has become longer, more difficult and more expensive. The visa fee has increased from €35 to €80 and the standard time limit for making a decision on Schengen visa applications has increased from ten to 15 days, and in some cases can be extended up to 45 days.

After the partial mobilization in the country announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Finnish customs recorded a sharp increase in the number of Russians entering: over the past two days, at least 15,832 Russians have passed through three checkpoints on the border with Finland (7070 on September 21 and 8762 on the 22nd).

The number of Russians who crossed the border per day increased by an average of 1.5 times compared to previous days (5436 people on September 14, 5728 on September 15, 5435 on September 19, 5701 on September 20). At the same time, the growth was mainly due to those who traveled to Finland: their number more than doubled, while the number of Russians who crossed the border from Finland remained approximately at the same level these days.

In mid-September, the Finnish authorities took the initiative to include tourist visas for Russian citizens in the scope of sanctions, and also suggested that EU members enter into the Schengen Information System (SIS) information about Russians who were not admitted by any country to the Schengen area so that they could not re-enter the Schengen Information System (SIS). try to get there through another state.