Flag on the building of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow. File photoHELSINKI, Jul 28Estonia will stop issuing visas and residence permits to Russian and Belarusian citizens for study, the press service of the government of the country said.
"The government decided to change the procedure for issuing visas. The first change is that the issuance of urgent visas and residence permits for the purpose of education to citizens of Russia and Belarus is suspended. Also, short-term employment of citizens of Russia and Belarus in Estonia can only be issued if they have a valid Estonian visa", the statement says.
The government explains that previously Russians and Belarusians who had obtained, for example, a tourist visa in another Schengen country, could come to Estonia and apply for a short-term employment permit. Now this practice is being abolished. «This amendment will put an end to the situation when, in order to circumvent existing sanctions, they apply for a short-term Schengen visa in another EU country, for example, for the purpose of tourism, and then come to Estonia and apply for employment,» the press service quotes the words Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu.
The EC announced the impossibility of completely stopping the issuance of visas to Russians At the same time, a source in the EU permanent mission in Moscow told RIA Novosti that no decision was made to abolish the issuance of visas to Russians at the EU level. Earlier, information appeared in the media that the Russian Foreign Ministry did not rule out a scenario in which Russian citizens would stop issuing Schengen visas. Meanwhile, in response to the question of whether there is a risk of stopping the issuance of visas to ordinary Russian citizens, the ministry said that Moscow should be ready for any development of events. At the same time, Rossotrudnichestvo RIA Novosti emphasized that possible restrictions upon their introduction would be a «regrettable» step, as they would nullify contacts for restoring relations between Russia and the EU.
Poland supported the idea to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians