EU countries increase Schengen visa issuance to russians by 10% despite war and sanctions - Euractiv

In 2025, the European Union countries increased the number of Schengen visas issued to russian citizens by more than 10% despite the current sanctions and the ongoing war against Ukraine. Euractiv reports, citing confidential data from the European Commission and reports from European diplomats.

According to confidential data from the European Commission and reports from European diplomats, cited by Euractiv, the total number of approved permits exceeded 620,000. In total, russians submitted more than 670,000 applications during the year, which is almost 8% more than in the previous period. Most of the documents received were intended for tourist trips, which accounted for 77% of all visas issued, while other popular purposes were visiting relatives and business trips.

The main leaders in the number of permits issued were France, Italy and Spain, which accounted for almost three quarters of all applications. The most significant growth was demonstrated by Paris, which increased the issuance of visas to russian citizens by more than 23%. Such dynamics of countries remote from the eastern border of the EU contrasts with the position of the Baltic states and Northern Europe, which consistently advocate a complete restriction of tourist flows from russia.

The situation highlights the internal disagreements in the European Union between declarations of political isolation of the Kremlin and the desire of individual countries to preserve income from russian tourism.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the European Commission previously restricted the issuance of multiple-entry visas for russians, but did not ban them.