Cost of EU visas for Russians to double amid calls for ban

THE cost of visas for Russians travelling to the European Union is to double amid pressure for an outright travel ban.

Foreign ministers are expected to back suspension of the 2007 Ee-russia visa implementation agreement at a meeting that begins in Prague tomorrow, the Financial Times reported.

The move would make applying for a tourist visa more time consuming, complicated and expensive for Russians, but would not amount to an outright ban.

Under the proposal being tabled by Prague, the cost of visas for Russians and Belarusians would be more than doubled to €80 (£67).

The move follows weeks of debate between the 27 member states over Ukrainian calls for a blanket ban on Russian travel to Western countries.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has said a travel ban would pierce the illusion harboured by many middleclass Russians that the war is nothing to do with them. They should “live in their own world until they change their philosophy”, he told The Washington Post.

He has support from EU members including the Baltic States, Poland and the Czech Republic, who stopped issuing tourist visas after the invasion and are calling for a Schengen-wide ban.

Finland said earlier this month that it would cut the number of tourist visas it issues to Russians by 90 per cent, from about 1,000 a day currently to 100.

The countries proposing the ban say they would retain humanitarian visas to allow Russians to seek asylum abroad.

Others, including Germany, have cautioned that a blanket ban would be counterproductive and could affect innocent people who oppose the war.

Europe has restricted air travel from Russia and imposed travel bans on dozens of Russian officials, businessmen and politicians since the war began.

The White House has ruled out a travel ban, as it would close the main escape route for “dissidents and people vulnerable to human rights abuses”.