Moscow Slams EU Over New Visa Ban Targeting Russians

By Staff, Agencies

Moscow has condemned a new European Union visa ban on Russian citizens, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accusing the bloc of preferring “migrants on benefits” to “solvent tourists.”

The European Commission announced Friday that most Russian nationals will no longer be eligible for multiple-entry Schengen visas, allowing only single-entry visas instead. Russians will now have to apply for a new visa for each trip to the EU.

“Apparently, the European Commission reasoned as follows: why does Western Europe need solvent tourists when it has illegal migrants and Ukrainian draft dodgers living on benefits?” Zakharova told RIA Novosti.

The EU said the measure, part of a broader package to curb Russian arrivals, was adopted due to the “weaponization of migration, acts of sabotage, and potential misuse of visas.”

Limited exceptions apply for family members of EU nationals and transport workers, such as truck drivers and seafarers, who may receive nine-month visas.

The Russian Union of the Travel Industry (RСТ) said that multiple-entry visas had already become rare before the ban, now issued mainly to business travelers.

Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Brussels has made travel for Russians increasingly difficult, suspending visa facilitation and tightening scrutiny.

Although the European Commission cannot impose a total ban, it urged member states to restrict Russian entry, a move supported by Poland and the Baltic states, but opposed by France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Hungary.