The Estonian government has decided to limit the ability of Russians to apply for a temporary residence permit or visa to study in Estonia.
Portal ERR quotes Urmas Reinsalu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, who believes that the war unleashed by Russia not only grossly violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but also negatively affects the security of Estonia and EU:
“It is necessary to continue the continuous pressure on Russia through sanctions. If sanctions help to end Russian aggression, then this will positively affect our security.”
The government is also amending the imposed sanctions, according to which citizens of Belarus and Russia will be able to register short-term work in Estonia only if they have a visa issued by Estonia. The amendment clarifies that citizens of Russia and Belarus who have obtained the legal right to stay in another EU country will not be able to register short-term work in Estonia and apply for a long-term work visa. Reinsalu explains:
“This amendment will put an end to the situation when, in order to circumvent existing sanctions, they ask for a short-stay Schengen visa in another EU country, for example, for the purpose of tourism.”
Earlier, our publication reported that Estonia would try at the level of the European Union to suspend extradition to Russians Schengen visas. According to Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, who took up this post on July 18, 2022, Estonia should also assess whether it is necessary to revoke already issued visas on certain grounds. In March, when Estonia announced a temporary halt to issuing tourist visas to Russians, the Foreign Ministry assured rus.err.ee that Russian citizens who already had Estonian-issued Schengen visas in their hands would still be able to enter the Republic of Estonia.
Urmas Reinsalu recalls that the issue of visas for Russian citizens was already discussed in the EU in March, but in Russia at that time there were restrictions caused by the coronavirus, and travel was not as massive as it is now. The Estonian Foreign Minister assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to prepare proposals for the EU in the coming weeks.
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