Estonia officially bans Russians with Estonian-issued Schengen visas from entering nation

Speaking on the ban for Russians with Estonian-issued Schengen visas, Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu, at the government’s weekly press conference, stated:

“This sanction means that the visas will remain valid, but the visa holders will be sanctioned when entering Estonia, they will not be allowed to enter Estonia.”

“We agreed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior will prepare their possible proposals for next week regarding the question of how it would be possible to close the Estonian border to those citizens of the Russian Federation who have a Schengen visa that has not been issued in Estonia.” 

The rule will reportedly not affect permanent residents and will come into full effect on August 18.

Russian citizens with visas issued by other EU countries will not be affected by the sanctions. In addition permanent residents of Estonia will be unaffected.

Russian embassy employees and their family members working in Estonia; Employees directly involved in the transportation of goods and passengers; Those who have the right to freedom of movement under EU law and people visiting close relatives are all to be considered exceptions to the rule.

Estonia is now trying to push for all EU countries to join the ban, as reported by ERR.

The news follows the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, demanding that Europe stop issuing tourist visas for Russians, as reported on Tuesday August 9.

Taking to Twitter the Prime Minister of Estonia shared her opinion on EU tourist visas for Russians stating:

“Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting #Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from RU is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbours to Russia carry the burden (FI, EE, LV – sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now.”