The EU has reduced the issuance of multiple-entry visas to Russian citizens by 20%
In 2025, Schengen Area countries significantly reduced the number of multiple-entry visas issued to Russian citizens. The decline amounted to more than 20% compared to the previous year.
In 2025, Russian citizens received 175,900 multiple-entry Schengen visas. This is 20.4% fewer than the previous year. For comparison, in 2024, 221,100 multiple-entry visas were issued.
The countries that issued the most multiple-entry visas to Russian citizens were:
- Italy — 80,700;
- Greece — 24,500;
- France — 21,900
The decrease in the number of multiple-entry visas occurred against the backdrop of the suspension of the simplified visa regime agreement between Russia and the EU and the tightening of rules for issuing multiple-entry Schengen visas to Russian citizens.
The European Commission has introduced additional restrictions under which multiple-entry visas are issued much less frequently; in most cases, only single-entry visas for specific travel dates are available.
This is evidenced by data from the European Commission.
In 2024, Schengen Area countries issued nearly 542,000 tourist visas to Russians, of which nearly 224,000 (41%) were multiple-entry visas.
The EU is tightening visa rules for Russian citizens.
