Poland and 10 other countries are calling for a halt to the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians
Poland has backed an initiative to immediately suspend Schengen visas for Russian citizens. A letter to that effect was signed by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Interior Minister Marcin Kerwinski.
The letter was also signed by representatives of Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and two non-EU countries—Norway and Iceland.
The signatories are calling on the European Commission to bar Russian citizens from traveling to Schengen countries for vacation.
“The growing number of Russian tourists vacationing on European beaches and at resorts, while missiles and drones continue to strike the civilian population and infrastructure in Ukraine, is a cause for deep concern,” the radio station quotes from the letter.
The letter also notes that the aggressor state, the Russian Federation, has illegally taken thousands of Ukrainian children out of the country.
Ministers from the signatory countries expressed outrage over the rising number of visas issued to Russians. In the letter, they cite the so-called Schengen Barometer—an analytical tool used to monitor the overall state of the Schengen Area. According to its data, in 2025 alone, 477,878 Schengen tourist visas were issued to Russian citizens, with a significant portion of them being multiple-entry visas.
The letter concludes with specific legislative demands directed at the European Commission. Among them is an amendment to the Visa Code. The signatories demand the “introduction of new restrictive and mandatory visa measures” so that the EU can “respond more effectively to hostile actions by third countries.”
The signatories referenced Estonia’s initiative to identify former and current Russian combatants and prevent their entry into the Schengen Area.
This was reported by the radio station RMF FM on Wednesday, June 3.
The EU has reduced the issuance of multiple-entry visas toRussian citizens by 20%.
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.
