The European Union has made it harder for Russian citizens to enter the bloc’s visa-free travel zone by ending their access to multiple-entry Schengen visas, in a move announced on 7 November 2025.
The European Commission said Russians will now have to apply for a new visa every time they want to travel to Europe, allowing what it called closer scrutiny of applications. The change does not amount to a total ban, but it is a clear tightening of the rules after years of reduced access following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
EU officials linked the policy shift to several concerns: Russia’s continued war in Ukraine, rising acts of sabotage blamed on Moscow, and the potential misuse of visas. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc now faced “unprecedented drone disruptions and sabotage” on its territory and argued that travel inside the EU is a privilege rather than a right.
The Commission said exceptions would remain for people whose reliability is considered beyond doubt, including dissidents, independent journalists and human rights defenders. Close family members of Russians living in the EU and family members of EU citizens living in Russia may also be exempted. That carve-out is important because it shows the EU is trying to tighten entry while still preserving some channels for people it views as especially vulnerable or politically important.
The policy is also part of a longer tightening that began after the invasion of Ukraine. The EU suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia in 2022 and later deprioritised visas for Russian nationals, making applications more time-consuming. AP said the number of visas issued to Russians fell from more than 4 million in 2019 to around 500,000 in 2023, showing how sharply access has already declined.
Russian officials reacted angrily. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mocked the decision, underscoring how easily the move can be framed in Moscow as anti-Russian discrimination. That response is politically relevant because visa policy has become another arena in the broader confrontation between Russia and Europe over war, security and mobility.
The new step will make travel more onerous for ordinary Russian travellers, students, business visitors and tourists, but it still leaves a narrow path for selected groups. Its practical effect is to turn each trip into a new screening process, which the Commission says is needed to reduce risk. For Europeans, the move reflects a belief that visa policy can be used as a security instrument in a time of war and sabotage concerns.
The measure also puts pressure on countries outside the EU, including Serbia, after the Commission warned that some routes to European travel could be exploited through accelerated citizenship schemes. In that sense, the visa change is not just a border rule; it is part of the wider effort to keep Russian influence, infiltration and potential intelligence activity at arm’s length.
