The Estonian authorities have taken another step to strengthen restrictions on the Russian Federation and its citizens – a new decree has been adopted to deprive Russian students of the opportunity to study in Estonia. Information about the sanctions became known from a statement published on July 28 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.
According to the document, citizens of Russia can no longer obtain visas or residence permits to study in Estonia. At the same time, Russian and Belarusian tourists who come to earn money in the Baltic countries can no longer get a job there using visas issued by other EU countries.
“The government of Estonia has approved a sanction that restricts Russian citizens from applying for temporary residence permits or visas to study in Estonia. In addition, the sanction established by the regulation provides that citizens of Russia and Belarus can register short-term employment only if they have a valid visa issued by Estonia,” said the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Commenting on this decision, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu once again called the Russian war in Ukraine unjustified, adding that it not only grossly violates the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine, but also threatens security of Estonia and the European Union.
“Continuation of sanctions against Russia is important to ensure unrelenting pressure on the country. If sanctions help stop the Russian Federation, it will have a positive effect on our security,” he said.
Ban on work in Estonia
Regarding the restrictions on business tourists for employment in the Northern European country, the department explained that the new decision applies to all Russians and Belarusians who have a legal residence permit issued by another EU member state. At the same time, citizens of Russia and Belarus will not be able to apply for a long-term visa to the representative offices of Estonia in Russia and Belarus for short-term employment in Estonia. “With the help of this amendment, we will exclude scenarios in which a short-term Schengen visa is used, for example, for tourism from another member state, to circumvent the current sanctions,” the minister added.
It will be recalled that earlier this week the Estonian authorities banned members of the Russian pop group “Hands up” from entering the country on the pretext that the group supports Russia’s war in Ukraine: “Tourist and entertainment trips for Russian citizens are not justified, especially in the context of reception Russian artists who go to Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine to hold concerts.” After this decision, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, reacted and called the Estonian government a dictatorship.
The issue of banning Russian tourists from applying for visas to the EU and the Schengen area has been discussed between the EU authorities and member states since the end of February. It has also been used several times as part of sanctions against Russia. Yes, neighboring Finland is also determined to close all “loopholes” for Russian tourists and wants to stop issuing visas to citizens of the Russian Federation (details here).