The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Eva-Maria Liimets announced today that the Estonian government has made a decision to suspend the issuance of tourist visas to all citizens of the Russian Federation (Russia).

“The issuance of tourist visas has been temporarily suspended,” Estonia’s Foreign Minister said at a press conference in Tallinn.

According to Liimets, this decision was made not only in response of the Estonian authorities to Russian aggression against Ukraine, but also due to the fact that at present it is impossible to collection of applicable state fees for the provision of tourist visas due to Russia having been disconnected from the global financial system and its currency being in the state of freefall.

The minister added that the citizens of Russia whose family members live in Estonia can still apply for visas. In addition, it is still possible to obtain a visa for humanitarian reasons, including to visit sick relatives.

Earlier, the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, in a speech at the republican parliament, spoke in favor of the introduction of a blanket ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens by the European Union.

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According to Liimets, this decision was made not only in response of the Estonian authorities to Russian aggression against Ukraine, but also due to the fact that at present it is impossible to collection of applicable state fees for the provision of tourist visas due to Russia having been disconnected from the global financial system and its currency being in the state of freefall.
Earlier, the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, in a speech at the republican parliament, spoke in favor of the introduction of a blanket ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens by the European Union.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Eva-Maria Liimets announced today that the Estonian government has made a decision to suspend the issuance of tourist visas to all citizens of the Russian Federation (Russia).