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Russia prepares to ease visa rules for foreigners
Russia on Monday (Sep 19) announced that it is working to facilitate the process of delivering visas to foreign nationals.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Russian consulates are updating the relevant digital means, including a special website for issuing unified electronic visas to foreign nationals.
The statement said, electronic visas are expected to be issued by the end of 2022.
It added that e-visas will be available for the citizens of 52 countries who should enter Russia at one of 92 border checkpoints equipped for processing this type of travel document.
The EU last month has agreed to suspend a visa travel deal with Moscow to curb the number of Russian nationals entering the bloc for holidays and shopping, stopping short of a full tourist visa ban demanded by some central and eastern European countries.
The EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said there had been a “substantial increase of border crossings” from Russia into the EU since mid-July, which he described as “a security risk for these neighbouring states”.
Poland, Baltic countries to ban entry of Russians with short-term visas as of Monday
Estonia, Latvia, and Finland had originally proposed an EU-wide blanket ban on tourist visas for Russians.
The EU had already suspended the visa facilitation agreement for government officials, diplomats, and businesspeople soon after the Russian attack on Ukraine in February.
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