BRUSSELS (Voice of Russia): The European Commission is preparing a plan to further tighten the rules for issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens from January 2027.
According to the American newspaper Politico, the European Commission wants to propose stricter visa rules for the hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who travel to EU countries each year for tourism.
Citing sources, the newspaper claimed that one aim of the plan is also to prevent around 650,000 former military personnel who took part in Russia’s special military operation from entering the European Union.
According to the report, Sweden, Poland and Estonia support the new restrictions. These countries argue that Russian tourists could allegedly pose a hybrid threat to the European defense industry that produces weapons for Ukraine.
The nature of the possible restrictions and details of their implementation have not yet been made public.
EU visa policy does not fall directly under the jurisdiction of the European Commission, because the primary authority for issuing visas rests with the member states. The European Commission can only present recommendations for changes to visa rules.
Making the new rules mandatory for all European countries would require unanimous approval at the level of the interior ministers of the member states in the Council of the European Union.
According to Eurostat, despite the sanctions, the number of Schengen visas issued to Russian citizens in 2025 reached 620,000 — a 10.2 percent increase over 2024.
Of these, 478,000 were tourist visas, while the rest were issued for family visits and other travel purposes.
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