Government not considering further visa restrictions on Russians

The Department of Justice is not considering further visa restrictions on Russian visitors into Ireland, but says it will monitor European Union plans to suspend a long-standing visa agreement with Moscow this week.

EU foreign ministers plan to support the suspension of the EU-Russia visa-facilitation agreement in response to the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine when they meet in Prague on Tuesday.

The move comes after some eastern states threatened to unilaterally close their borders to Russian tourists using visas that permit travel within the EU’s border-free travel zone.

Some member states reportedly demanded co-ordinated action to end the granting of travel documents under a 2007 agreement that allows Russians with visas to travel anywhere in the Schengen free-movement area.

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“It is inappropriate for Russian tourists to stroll in our cities, on our marinas,” a senior EU official involved in the discussions said. “We have to send a signal to the Russian population that this war is not okay; it is not acceptable.”

The State is not party to the 2007 visa-facilitation agreement or the Schengen agreement that underpins the free movement of people and abolishes border controls across the EU.

“No additional visa requirements or restrictions are being considered for Russian citizens at a national level at the present time beyond the restrictions on sanctioned individuals already imposed,” said a Department of Justice spokesman. “The department continues to monitor developments at EU level.”

Ireland has adopted a series of sweeping EU sanctions imposed on Russian companies and nationals since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, including EU travel bans on hundreds of senior political and business figures and other Russian nationals.

Russian nationals require a visa to travel to Ireland and must hold a valid Irish entry visa before trying to enter the State. Figures provided by the department show a surge in applications for visas from Russian nationals since the invasion of Ukraine.

The department received 799 visa applications between February 24th and August 23rd, compared to 306 for the same period in 2021 and 237 in 2020.

This year’s figure is also considerably higher than the applications received in the corresponding period in 2019 before EU-wide travel was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 423 applications were received in the six-month period in 2019.

EU rules allow Russian tourists to apply for visas from the country they plan to visit but they can enter the Schengen area at any point and travel within it for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.

Parts of the 2007 EU-Russia visa agreement with Moscow relating to the free movement of government and business officials were suspended soon after Ukraine was attacked. Czech Republic and Poland stopped issuing visas to Russian tourists shortly after the invasion. Finland said it would dramatically reduce the number of Russia tourist visas it issues from September 1st to stop Russians using the Finnish land border as an entry point to travel to European holiday destinations.