The UK did not rule out the introduction of visa restrictions for Russians

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace allowed the tightening of the visa regime for Russian citizens. At the same time, he is not sure of the need for a complete ban on issuing visas to Russians.

“I certainly think that we can tighten the conditions on our visas. I’m not sure a total ban is the right way to go,” he told BBC radio (quote according to TASS). He added that this issue should be studied by British Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Wallace also noted that he does not like to see how “the wives of oligarchs and high-ranking officials have fun” in European countries when the military conflict continues in Ukraine.

In early August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Western countries should ban Russians from entering Europe. According to him, this will be “the most serious sanction” against Russia.

After that, calls to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians began to sound in some EU countries. Thus, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic have already suspended the issuance of visas. Estonia decided to close the borders for Russian citizens with visas that were issued by the republic. Exceptions are diplomats, persons with the right to free movement within the EU and those who have relatives in the country.

In addition, Finland decided to significantly reduce the number of visas issued to Russians. On August 16, the country’s government announced a reduction in the number of visa applications accepted to 500 per day. And from the beginning of September, an average of 100 applications per day for tourist visa applicants will be opened – about 10 times less than the current number.

At the same time, several EU countries spoke out against a complete ban on issuing visas to Russians. At first, the initiative was criticized by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Later, the authorities of Cyprus and Greece opposed. Also, the idea is not supported by the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell. Today, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary does not intend to tighten the visa regime for Russian citizens.

On August 30-31, a meeting of the heads of the EU foreign ministries is to be held. It is also planned to discuss changes in the Schengen visa code to limit the issuance of visas to all Russians, except for some specific categories.

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