A common myth is that Russian citizens can no longer get a Schengen visa at all. That is not true — the EU still issues short-stay visas to Russian nationals, including for tourism in many member states. What has changed is that the process became markedly harder, slower and more expensive after the EU suspended its visa-facilitation agreement with Russia in 2022, and a few frontline states have since added their own restrictions. The honest answer for 2026 is: still possible, but treat it as difficult and check the specific consulate first.
What the 2022 suspension actually changed
On 9 September 2022 the EU Council agreed to fully suspend the EU–Russia Visa Facilitation Agreement, in force from 12 September 2022. From that date the ordinary EU Visa Code applies to Russian applicants, which means:
- The short-stay visa fee rose from €35 to €80.
- More supporting documents are required, and processing times are longer.
- Multiple-entry visas are issued far more restrictively — and from November 2025 an EU-wide rule effectively limits Russian nationals to single-entry Schengen visas, save for narrow exceptions.
- Each member state keeps wide discretion to scrutinise and refuse applications.
Crucially, the EU stated it would remain open to certain categories travelling for essential purposes — family members of EU citizens, journalists, dissidents and civil-society representatives. So this is a tightening, not a blanket ban. On our Russia → Schengen short-stay page we show this as a dated, sourced advisory above the visa details rather than erasing them.
Where individual member states went further
The Schengen area is not uniform here. Several states bordering Russia adopted stricter national measures:
- Finland closed every crossing point on its eastern land border with Russia in late November 2023, and has repeatedly extended the closure — currently in force until at least 31 December 2026. Overland entry from Russia is not possible; see our Russia → Finland page.
- Poland has operated a near-total tourist-visa ban for Russian nationals since 2022, stopped accepting Russian diplomatic and service passports from 1 January 2026 and ordinary non-biometric Russian passports from 1 April 2026, and issues only single-entry humanitarian visas under narrow exceptions — see our Russia → Poland page.
- The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) restrict entry of Russian nationals holding Schengen visas, with limited exceptions.
Because a Schengen visa is issued by one member state but generally lets you travel across the whole area, which consulate you apply to — and which states you actually plan to enter — matters more than it used to. These measures are volatile and have been escalating, so we date each one and re-check it.
Where the Russian passport still travels easily
Outside the EU sanctions context, the Russian passport remains reasonably mobile. Georgia, for instance, grants Russian citizens visa-free entry for up to a full year — one of the most generous arrangements anywhere — as shown on our Russia → Georgia visa-free page. Many destinations across Latin America, the Western Balkans, the Gulf, Central Asia and Southeast Asia remain visa-free, visa-on-arrival or e-visa for Russian nationals. The Russian passport overview lists the current position for every destination we cover.
How we keep this honest
Sanctions and border measures change quickly, so every restriction on our site carries the official source and the date we last verified it, and an effective date for when the measure began. We show a dated advisory alongside the visa information rather than declaring travel impossible when it is merely harder — and we never publish a confident answer we cannot source. For more on how we handle volatile, relationship-level rules, see our Editorial & Data Standards.