Finland wants to significantly restrict entry into the country for Russians. Russian citizens will no longer be able to enter the country “for tourist reasons”, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told journalists on Friday. Russian citizens would only be able to enter the country if there was “another reason” for entry.
Finland had already tightened entry requirements for Russians on September 1st. However, people with a visa for the entire Schengen area were allowed further into the country. Stricter rules will soon apply to them as well. The Schengen area includes 22 EU countries as well as Switzerland and three other countries.
Like Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
With the tightening of entry regulations, Finland is positioning itself alongside the other four EU states that directly border Russia: similarly strict rules already applied in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in Poland.
After the government’s decision, the rule could come into force “very quickly”, said Haavisto. However, he did not give an exact date.
After the partial mobilization of the armed forces announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the number of Russian citizens entering Finland doubled. More than 6,000 people entered the country on Thursday, compared to 3,000 the previous week.
