The European Commission claims Moscow's war of agression against neighbouring Ukraine has altered the risks linked to Russian visa applicants.
The European Commission has tightened the rules on the issuance of multiple-entry Schengen visas for Russian passport holders residing in Russia and will now issue only single-entry visitor visas.
"The new rules severely restrict the issuance of multiple-entry visa to Russian applicants. That being said, certain limited exceptions remain," Markus Lammert, European Commission spokesperson said at a press conference on Friday.
These exceptions apply for close family members of Russian citizens residing in the EU and family members of EU citizens, who can have multiple-entry visas valid for up to one year.
Additionally, transport workers can obtain multiple-entry visas for up to nine months.
The Commission spokesperson added that in exceptional cases, European countries can also issue multiple-entry visas "to persons whose reliability and integrity is without doubt," including dissidents, independent journalists, human rights defenders and representatives of civil sociey organisations.
The new rules are not retroactive and will only apply for new applications.
Previous restrictions
Europe had already tightened visa rules for Russian travellers following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The EU fully suspended the Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russia which made short-stay visa applications more expensive and more difficult for Russians.
It also stated that Russian travel documents issued in Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine would not be accepted to enter the Schengen area.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia went further and restricted the entry of Russian citizens to their territory.
In 2024, more than 600,000 applications for short-stay visas were issued by the EU and Schengen associated countries to Russians, with a refusal rate of 7.5%, compared to about 520,000 in 2023, according to data from the European Commission.