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Germany Plans Further Tightening of Visa Rules for Russians
🇫🇮 Finland /Conflict & Security

Germany Plans Further Tightening of Visa Rules for Russians

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Germany plans to tighten visa rules for Russian citizens and says only applicants who do not pose a threat should enter the country.
  • Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Giese linked the planned restrictions to Russia’s war and said Germany would discuss visa practices with other EU countries.
  • The plans follow Germany’s accusation that Russia was behind an alleged drone attack attempt targeting a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport, a charge Moscow denies.

Germany is preparing to tighten visa rules for Russian citizens, with the Foreign Ministry saying Russian tourist travel “cannot continue normally because there is no normal anymore while Russia is waging an aggressive war.”

cannot continue normally because there is no normal anymore while Russia is waging an aggressive war

— Martin GieseThe German Foreign Ministry spokesman explained why Russian tourist travel should face further restrictions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Giese told Deutsche Welle that Germany wants only Russians who do not pose a threat to be allowed into the country. He did not explain how officials would determine who qualifies for a visa, saying the lack of detail would help “minimize the risks.”

Germany also plans to discuss visa practices with other European Union countries. Giese said, “The number of visas issued to Russian tourists is too high in the EU.” EU countries issued more than 620,000 visas to Russians last year, Euractiv reported, while the number of Schengen visas granted to Russian citizens rose 10.2% from 2024. Most were tourist visas.

The number of visas issued to Russian tourists is too high in the EU.

— Martin GieseGiese called for discussions with other EU countries about their visa practices.

The planned changes follow Germany’s decision to blame Russia for an attempted drone strike at Leipzig airport in August. The suspected attack targeted a Ukrainian cargo aircraft. Berlin also said it would close Russia’s consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural center in Berlin. Moscow has denied involvement and accused Germany of staging the incident.

minimize the risks

— Martin GieseHe said Germany was withholding details about the planned rules to reduce the chance of people bypassing them.

Giese said he did not want to give anyone an opportunity to bypass the restrictions, explaining, “I would not want to give anyone an opportunity to circumvent these restrictions.”

I would not want to give anyone an opportunity to circumvent these restrictions.

— Martin GieseGiese explained why Germany would not disclose the details of its planned visa restrictions.
About this summary

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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