DPA learns of Germany's plan to tighten Schengen visa issuance to Russians

As part of the new EU sanctions package, the German government intends to seek restrictions on the issuance of visas to Russian citizens for travel to Schengen countries, the DPA agency reports.

According to DPA, the proposals prepared by the German authorities contain a demand for the European Commission to fully implement the 2022 recommendations, according to which visas for tourist trips by Russians should be significantly reduced.

In September 2022, the EU suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia: the visa fee increased from €35 to €80 (in 2024 it increased to €90), and the visa application processing period increased from ten to 15 days. DPA notes that the new visa procedure was supposed to significantly reduce tourist trips by Russian citizens, but this never happened.

According to EU statistics cited by the agency, last year consulates in RUSSIA issued around 542,000 visas for short-term stays in EU countries or other Schengen states such as Switzerland . Although this is significantly less than in pre-pandemic 2019, it is around a fifth more than in 2023, DPA writes.

According to the latest data, the total number of Schengen visas issued by Germany to Russian citizens in 2024 amounted to about 27.3 thousand. In addition, about 11.3 thousand national visas for long-term stays were issued, necessary, for example, for study or work trips, DPA specifies. The German Foreign Ministry, commenting on the agency's information, noted that after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine , Berlin tightened the criteria for issuing visas to Russian citizens, this applies to both national and Schengen visas.

The agency notes that the current situation "is disappointing, especially in the eastern EU countries," where wealthy Russians have long been criticized for traveling. Particular attention is paid to the southern EU countries, where Russians most often vacation . Thus, in 2024, Italian consulates in Russia issued more than 152 thousand Schengen visas, which is about 12% more than in 2023. French consulates in Russia recently issued about 124 thousand visas, Spanish - about 111 thousand, and Greek - almost 60 thousand.

The Italian agency ANSA also wrote that the European Commission is considering the possibility of additionally restricting the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens in the 19th package of sanctions. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that the next package of sanctions could also include a ban on the free movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen zone.

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