Sweden urges EU to tighten rules on tourist visas for Russians
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European and Ukrainian flags flying in central Kyiv, Ukraine. The number of tourist visas issued to Russians has risen despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Sweden and 10 countries urged the EU to tighten Russian tourist visa rules. Visas rose from 440,558 in 2024 to 477,878 in 2025, despite the Ukraine war, Reuters cited.
- They argued uneven rules undermine security and sanctions against Russia. Sweden's migration minister called it "insane" for Russians to holiday while Ukrainians die.
- Russian officials countered, accusing European countries of "anti-Russian hysteria" and being "openly racist" against Russians.
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LUXEMBOURG - Sweden’s migration minister urged the European Commission on June 4 to tighten rules on tourist visas for Russians, saying it was “insane” that many Russians are enjoying European holidays while Ukrainians are dying on the battlefield.
Sweden and 10 other countries sent a letter on June 3 to European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner saying the number of tourist visas issued to Russians had risen despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.
They urged the Commission, the EU executive body, to urgently tighten and harmonise restrictions, and said uneven rules risked undermining security and sanctions policy on Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Russian officials say European countries are gripped by anti-Russian hysteria and accuse them of being openly racist against Russians.
Russians who have what is known as a Schengen visa can travel freely in the so-called Schengen area, a group of 25 EU member states and four other countries.
According to data cited in the June 3 letter, which was seen by Reuters, 477,878 Schengen visas were issued to Russian citizens for tourism in 2025, up from 440,558 in 2024.
“I think it’s insane, frankly speaking, that we are seeing hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists coming to Europe, enjoying sunshine,” Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell told Reuters, while attending an EU justice and home affairs meeting in Luxembourg.
“They are having weekend shopping trips, drinking rose wine, while at the same time Ukrainians are dying on the battlefield.”
Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians, but there have been many civilian casualties as Russian airstrikes pound Ukraine and Ukrainian drone strikes reach increasingly deep into Russia.
The letter to Kallas and Brunner was signed by ministers from Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland. REUTERS
