Overview
- Starting Friday, Russian citizens will generally receive only single-entry visas to the EU, replacing multiple-entry permits to enable repeated vetting.
- The European Commission says the rules will be applied uniformly after unanimous approval by all member states.
- Exceptions cover justified cases such as independent journalists and human rights defenders, with rare multi-entry visas still possible where reliability is deemed beyond doubt.
- Ioulia Navalnaya criticizes the move as counterproductive, warning it helps the Kremlin portray Western hostility toward ordinary Russians.
- EU figures show visas for Russians fell from over four million before February 2022 to about 500,000 in 2023, while diplomats report a renewed rise this year, including 459,883 multi-entry visas in the first eight months of 2025, up 12% from 2024.