The European Commission has tightened Schengen visa rules for Russian citizens, limiting most new applicants to single-entry permits, citing security risks linked to the war in Ukraine.
The European Commission says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped security risks tied to visa screening, prompting stricter entry rules for Russian nationals.
From now on, most Russian passport holders living in Russia will receive single-entry Schengen visas only.
“The new rules severely restrict the issuance of multiple-entry visas… certain limited exceptions remain,” said Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert on Friday.
Exemptions include:
Close family members of EU or Russia-based legal residents – eligible for multiple entries up to 1 year
Transport workers – eligible up to 9 months
Case-by-case approvals for applicants such as dissidents, independent journalists, human-rights defenders, and civil society representatives
The new policy is not retroactive and applies only to new applications.
Context
Visa restrictions were first tightened after Moscow’s war in Ukraine in 2022, when the EU suspended its Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russiamaking applications costlier and more complex.
Lammert confirmed the Commission is assessing additional measures with member states, but stressed that a total ban on multi-entry visas has not been formally adopted so far, despite recent media reports.
According to EU data, Schengen visas issued to Russians dropped from over 4 million in 2019 to 500,000 in 2023 following the initial restrictions.
Separately, under the EU’s 19th sanctions package, Russian diplomats must now notify member states before traveling within the Schengen zone, part of efforts to curb “hostile intelligence activity.”
A new visa strategy is expected next month, encouraging EU states to use visa policy as a security tool against countries considered high-risk.
Two major protest marches are set to take place in the capital this evening, marking one year since the political controversy surrounding Georgia’s ...
Pope Leo condemned violence in the name of religion on Friday at a landmark event with Christian leaders from across the Middle East, urging them to o...
Russian President Vladimir Putin received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, on Friday. The two leaders held detailed talks on Russian o...
Kyrgyzstan is preparing to hold snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, 30 November 2025, after the Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) dissolved itself in Se...
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country ...
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
As the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC) gains renewed momentum, Central Asia and the European Union (EU) are working to turn long-standing connectivity ambitions into concrete trade routes, investment deals and infrastructure upgrades.
The European Parliament has approved a non-binding resolution calling for a minimum age of 16 for social media access across the EU, citing rising concerns about children’s mental health and online safety.
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit China from 3 to 5 December 2025, during which he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of Sofia on Wednesday to protest against the government’s draft budget for 2026, the first to be prepared in euros ahead of the country’s planned eurozone entry on 1 January 2026.
French health experts are warning that the highly pathogenic H5 strain of bird flu, already devastating wild and farm animals, could evolve into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission — potentially sparking a pandemic worse than COVID-19.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation amid a corruption scandal.
Pope Leo condemned violence in the name of religion on Friday at a landmark event with Christian leaders from across the Middle East, urging them to overcome centuries of heated divisions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, on Friday. The two leaders held detailed talks on Russian oil and gas supplies.
The Kremlin is set to evaluate a new diplomatic proposal aimed at halting the hostilities in Ukraine, with high-level discussions involving a Washington envoy scheduled for the coming days in Moscow.
The European Union’s high-stakes strategy to leverage hundreds of billions in frozen Russian capital to prop up Ukraine’s defence has hit a critical roadblock, with Belgium warning that the move could torpedo fragile diplomatic openings aimed at ending the conflict.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment