Lauri Läänemets, Minister of Interior, said that the sanction is necessary because with its aggression against Ukraine, Russia is also attacking European values and freedoms. "Therefore, Russian citizens cannot have the self-evident freedom to enjoy the opportunities offered by the same European values and freedoms that the European Union offers – be it vacation, education or business activities," explained Läänemets.
Läänemets added that of the visas issued to Russian citizens, about 53,000 have been issued for tourism and business purposes. "On average, about 2,500 Russian citizens enter Estonia per day, of which nearly 1,250 come with short-term visas, half of which are issued by Estonia, and the rest are issued by other Schengen countries. Therefore, this measure has some limited effect, but in order to achieve a real sanction effect, visa restrictions should be applied by all EU member states," Läänemets specified.
Läänemets emphasized that from today Russian citizens who come to Estonia to visit an Estonian citizen living in Estonia or a close relative living here with a long-term residence permit, Russian diplomats working in Estonia and their family members, employees involved in international cargo and passenger transport, people who can move based on European Union law and people to whom Estonia considers issuing a visa justified on humane grounds can apply for an Estonian visa.
"I know that in light of the sanction that will come into force today entrepreneurs have had questions about top specialists working in Estonia. Therefore, I repeat that the changes do not concern those Russian citizens to whom visas have been issued previously and who have a valid registration for short-term work in Estonia and an Estonian visa. They can work here until the end of the validity of the respective permits. About 1,659 citizens of the Russian Federation have such valid residence permits issued for work today," explained the minister.
