From August 1, the Finnish authorities will stop accepting visa applications in St. Petersburg from tourists and will close VSF visa centers due to “limited resources.” Until August 31, visa applications will also not be accepted at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and other VSF offices in Russia. Now it will become even more difficult for Russians to get into this country.
“The VSF office in St. Petersburg will not receive applications for visas and residence permits in Finland from August 1, 2023,” RIA Novosti quoted the release as saying. It was clarified that from September 1, visa issues related to Finland will be considered only at the embassy in Moscow. In fact, this will be the only place that will oversee immigration and visa issues for Suomi. However, requests made before August 1 will continue to be processed as usual.
Recall that the Finnish authorities openly hold “unfriendly” events:
- Earlier, more than 700 Russians signed a petition demanding that they be allowed to enter Finland not for tourism purposes, but to check the condition of their property, bought before the imposition of tough sanctions. Russian Finnish homeowners expressed dissatisfaction and appealed to President Sauli Niinista to facilitate entry into the country and allow them to take care of their property. But against the backdrop of the actions of the Finnish authorities fencing off from Russia, it is quite possible that the Russians will lose their property – following the example of how the mayor's office of Finnish Turku took away a cottage from the Russian Consulate General on the island of Kakskerra. Read about how compatriots are trying to break through to their property at this link.
- Prior to this, Finland banned the entry of Russians on a Schengen short-term visa for the purpose of tourism, the press service of the Finnish Foreign Ministry reported. “By the decision of the Finnish government of September 30, 2022, the entry of Russian citizens for the purpose of tourism was limited, including tourist transit through Finland to other countries of the Eurozone,” RIA Novosti was told in the press service of the department. In addition, it was reported that transit to the EU countries for the purpose of tourism through Finland is also closed to our travelers. We are talking about holders of any Schengen short-term tourist visas, regardless of the statute of limitations for obtaining them or the period of their validity.
- In June, Suomi expelled nine employees of the Russian embassy in Helsinki in response to “anti-Russian policy.” The Russian Federation responded by declaring these diplomats persona non grata and notifying them of the closure of the consulate in the northern capital.
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