Helsingin Sanomat: Russia has started canceling Finnish visas at the border
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This week, dozens of EU citizens were unable to enter Russia and returned to Finland, as their visas were canceled by Russian border guards, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper writes. On business visas, the Finns traveled to the Leningrad Region to gas stations and Russian stores.
According to the newspaper, cases of visa annulment occurred at the border stations of Vaalimaa and Nuijamaa. A resident of the Finnish region of Kymenlaakso told the publication that on the morning of May 12, he went on “his usual trip” for refueling and shopping in the direction of Vyborg, but could not cross the border. According to him, earlier in the week he had no problems with border guards. This time the man was asked to fill out a form, which included the name of the person who issued the visa.
“The last point turned out to be fatal. The man stated that the visa issuer was the Finnish visa brokerage company from which he bought the visa. This was a mistake, because he should have indicated the issuer as a Russian person presenting a visa invitation,” the article says.
After that, a new stamp with the words “cancelled” was put on the Finn’s visa. According to the newspaper, at the Nuijamaa border station on May 12, another Finnish citizen had to sign a document banning entry into the Russian Federation, while his visa was not cancelled. Another EU resident received a similar document, but now also faces up to four years in prison for violating an entry ban.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Russia did not issue long-term multiple-entry visas to EU citizens, except for business ones, and the issuance of cultural or journalistic visas was “practically frozen.” It is noted that Europeans go to the gas station on a business visa, since tourist visas can only be obtained for single trips.
“However, Finns who visited Russia as tourists and tankers on business visas often did not even know what the host company was,” the article says.
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