Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto \u2014 AFP photo<\/p>\n
Finland will limit Russian tourist visas to 10 per cent of current volumes as of September 1 due to rising discontent over Russian tourism amid the war in Ukraine, the government said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u2018Tourist visas will not stop completely, but their number will be significantly reduced,\u2019 Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Tourist visas from neighbouring Russia will be limited by restricting the allotted opening hours for tourism visa applications, as an outright ban based on nationality is not possible, Haavisto said.<\/p>\n
\u2018This means that other types of visas \u2014 visits to relatives, family contacts, work, study \u2014 will be given preference and more time,\u2019 the minister explained.<\/p>\n
Currently, Finland processes around 1,000 Russian visa applications a day, Haavisto told public broadcaster Yle separately.<\/p>\n
Finland will also look into establishing a specific humanitarian visa category, which the country currently lacks.<\/p>\n
\u2018This could make the situation in certain circumstances much easier for journalists or NGO workers\u2019, Haavisto said.<\/p>\n
The foreign minister also announced that Finland was in favour of discontinuing the EU\u2019s visa facilitation agreement with Russia, which would increase the price of tourist visas from 35 euros to 80.<\/p>\n
Finland intends to raise the issue at the next meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in the Czech Republic on August 30.<\/p>\n
The Nordic country has applied for NATO membership after political and popular support for the alliance soared following Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, but it remains Russia\u2019s only EU neighbour without restrictions on tourist visas for Russian citizens.<\/p>\n
After Russia lifted its Covid travel restrictions on July 15, the number of Russian tourists heading to Finland has steadily increased, spurring discontent.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s not right that Russian citizens can enter Europe, the Schengen area, be tourists … while Russia is killing people in Ukraine. It\u2019s wrong\u2019, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Monday.<\/p>\n
While the numbers are still well below pre-Covid levels, there were more than 2,30,000 border crossings in July \u2014 up from the 1,25,000 seen in June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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