Estonia implements visa ban for Russian citizens

The decision to implement the ban was announced last week. In addition to banning Russians with Estonia-issued Schengen visas, the government has confirmed that it will also stop issuing new visas to Russian citizens. Certain exemptions do however apply – Russian citizens who hold an Estonian residence permit, Russian diplomats and their family members, those involved in international freight and passenger transport, as well as Russian students, can still enter Estonia.

The move was made in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinslau said: “The possibility for Russian citizens to visit Estonia en masse or through Estonia to Europe is not in line with the purpose of the sanctions we have imposed. When imposing sanctions, Estonia wanted that the aggressor country would not have the opportunity to continue normal international life at the level of its citizens.”

The United Nations (UN) has expressed concerns about the visa ban, with a spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General stating earlier this week that while each country has the right to implement its own policy on visas, the organization was institutionally opposed to discrimination.

The European Union (EU) has been under pressure from member states bordering Russia, such as Estonia, Finland and Latvia, to end the approval of visas to Russian citizens on a bloc-wide level. The logic of a blanket ban has been questioned due to the belief that certain categories of traveller should be protected, such as political dissidents, journalists and relatives of EU citizens. Additionally, any such decision is expected to be met with resistance from member states with traditionally closer ties to Russia, such as Hungary.