The European Commission has published recommendations to EU countries on the issue of issuing visas to citizens of the Russian Federation.
EU member states are encouraged to carry out a stricter assessment of Russians’ applications for tourist visas. This is especially true for documents submitted from third countries. This is stated in the recommendations of the European Commission, the European Truth report on Friday, September 30.
The EC named the following reasons: a new escalation of war unleashed by Russia, the announcement of mobilization and the associated massive outflow of Russians from the country.
Member States must now apply a strict approach to assessing the validity of travel. This also applies to Russian citizens fleeing mobilization.
Long-term and short-term visas
The consulates of the EU Member States must consider the application of Russians for a visa for a long period of time in accordance with the national rules for long-term visas.
For short stay visas, consulates must apply any humanitarian reasons in a strict manner.
Applying
Visa applications by Russians will also be considered to see if they fall under the “humanitarian” category.
The Consulates of the Member States must carefully consider the cases of Russians applying for a short-term visa from outside Russia. Such cases should be sent to the consulate at the place of residence in the Russian Federation.
Strict border control
EU member states should also instruct their consulates and border guards to exercise increased control and apply a stricter approach to reviewing visas already issued to Russian citizens.
The Visa Code provides that the mere possession of a visa does not confer an automatic right to enter the Schengen area, notes the European Commission.
The EC also called on EU member states to strengthen security checks at external borders. They also need to coordinate their actions to avoid that a Russian citizen who is denied entry at one border is admitted at another.
Note that some European countries refuse to issue visas to Russians fleeing mobilization. In particular, the Czech Republic did so, as well as Latvia.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.