Entry restrictions for Russian citizens with tourist visas for the Schengen area come into force in the Baltic states and Poland, starting from Monday, 19 September. At the Narva border crossing point, the situation appears to be calm, and the number of crossings is much lower compared to summer, as reported by public broadcaster ERR.
According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, since the start of the war in Ukraine, Estonia has become the second most frequent point of entry to the EU for Russian citizens.
Since the suspension of air traffic between Russia and the European Union at the end of February, almost 300 000 Russian citizens have crossed the Narva bridge from Russia into Estonia. From Narva, many go on to Italy, France and other destinations in the Schengen area, while some have also spent their vacation time in Estonia.
However, the majority of Russian citizens entering Estonia via the Narva border crossing are locals with Estonian residence permits, who are visiting relatives or are on business trips.
According to Marek Liiva, director of the border checkpoint in Narva, the number of border crossings so far in September has been rather low.
«The number of border crossings is already down compared to the summer period,» said Liiva.
At present, just under 4 000 people cross the border from Russia into Narva every day, a number three times smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic and the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prior to the new restrictions, between ten and twenty people had been sent back to Russia from the Narva border per day. However, whether that number increases remains to be seen.
Russian tourists arriving in Narva used to be eager to discuss their travel plans (with journalists at the border). However, now they are more reluctant to do so and generally they appear to be concerned about the restrictions to come.
Aleksandr from St Petersburg said he was very disappointed that he could no longer travel into the EU via Estonia. «We are going to Italy for a vacation. Just for tourism. We don’t know where we will take a vacation after it’s not clear yet. Travel will become more complicated,» he said.
Alongside Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have also closed their borders to Russian tourists.
However, the exceptions will apply to Russian diplomats, dissidents, employees of transport companies, family members of EU citizens, and Russians with residence permits or long–stay national visas from Schengen countries.
Despite the ban, some Russian citizens om Monday, 19 September, tried to enter Lithuania through the Kybartai checkpoint, but others tried to enter via the Lithuanian–Belarusian border.
Nevertheless, Russian citizens will be able to transit through Lithuania by train to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Meanwhile, the restrictions imposed by the Cabinet of Ministers (MK) of the Republic of Latvia on the entry of Russian citizens – Schengen short–term visa holders – into Latvia for non–essential purposes, such as tourism and recreation, came into force.