Poland is considering the possibility, following the example of Estonia and Latvia, to restrict the access of Russian citizens to visas.
“Poland is working on a concept that will allow Russians not to issue visas,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Waczyk said today.
The deputy minister indicated that his country supports the idea of the EU introducing additional sanctions against Russia because of the war in Ukraine, including the introduction of a ban on issuing visas to Russians at the EU level.
“However, influential EU countries, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands, oppose this,” he stressed.
Germany and the European Commission are against the introduction of a ban on issuing visas to Russians at the European level.
Estonia decided last week that as of August 18, Russian citizens will no longer be allowed to enter Estonia on Schengen visas issued by the Estonian authorities. The rule will not apply to Russians who have Estonian citizenship or have a permanent residence permit in Estonia. Exceptions are also provided for Russians who wish to visit their relatives in Estonia, and for those Russians who have visas issued by other EU countries.
Latvia also restricted access to visas for Russians. The Embassy of Latvia in Moscow currently only accepts visa applications from Russian citizens wishing to attend the funeral of a close relative in Latvia.