Estonia bans entry to russians with Schengen visas

The country's authorities intend not to allow russian citizens with Schengen visas issued by Estonia to enter the country

ERR reports, citing the speech of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu.

However, as noted, there are several exceptions.

"A sanction will be applied to Schengen visas issued by the Republic of Estonia in a week. The sanction means that the visas will remain valid.

However, visa holders will be subject to restrictions on entry to Estonia, i.e., they will be banned from entering the country," the minister said.

Who's not included in this ban?

• Employees of diplomatic missions in Estonia and members of their families.
• Persons engaged in international freight and passenger transportation.
• Persons who have the right of free movement according to EU legislation.
• Persons whose entry to Estonia is necessary for humanitarian reasons.

Also, close relatives of persons with Estonian citizenship or a permanent residence permit in Estonia will be able to enter the country.

"I'll emphasize once again. First of all, this innovation will come into effect in a week.

Second, this means that the lion's share of Schengen visas issued in Estonia continues to be valid for those who do not fall under the exceptions are not allowed to enter Estonia," Reinsalu said.

He also emphasized that this decision only applies to visas issued by Estonia and in no way bypasses visas issued by other countries of the Schengen zone.

At the same time, next week, the government intends to discuss ways to ban all russian citizens with Schengen visas from entering Estonia.

The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, commented on the decision of the Estonian government.

"The isolation and return of russia to the USSR is the goal of the civilized West. The russian strategy of rudeness and terror at the state level should remain exclusively within the borders of the russian federation and not spread to the democratic world," Yermak writes.

Earlier, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on countries to stop issuing tourist visas to citizens of the russian federation.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, which presides over the Council of the European Union, Jan Lipavský, supported a complete ban on issuing Schengen visas for citizens of russia, which was previously proposed by some EU countries.

Later, the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, supported the restriction of issuing visas to russians in Europe and said that she expected the relevant issue to be considered at the EU summits.

Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.