The Russian representative, Anatoly Antonov, has announced that 30 employees of embassies will have to leave the United States on January 1, following visa restrictions introduced to these categories in the past year.
The United States, in addition to many other countries in the world and especially with the European Union, has imposed several restrictions on Russia since the military invasion of Ukraine occurred, on February 24, VisaGuide.World reports.
Previously, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced that visa restrictions would become effective for 910 individuals, including Belarusian military officials and members of the Russian Federation military, in response to violating Ukraine’s independence.
“We will continue the United States’ powerful, coordinated efforts to hold Russia to account, cut Russia’s military off from global commerce, and severely limit its ability to sustain its aggression and project power,” Blinken said, as CNN reports.
On the other hand, the Baltic states, which have had strong ties to Russia due to their geographical position, were among the first ones in Europe to impose bans even on Russian tourists.
More specifically, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as Poland, were the first EU countries to forbid Russian nationals that were visiting for tourism purposes. While some countries joined this initiative and imposed similar restrictions on Russians, other EU countries were against it and criticized the initiators over the decision.
Among those that applauded the decision were the Czech Republic and Finland, with the latter sharing a 1,340-kilometre-long border with Russia. These countries also closed their borders to Russian tourists, with the Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lipovsky arguing this ban was necessary as Ukrainians are being bombarded in their home country, and this fact couldn’t be ignored.
Furthermore, Belgium also suspended the issuance of visas for tourism purposes to Russian citizens, while Denmark ceased to accept applications for short- and long-term visas from Russia. The Netherlands also stopped issuing short-term visas to Russian citizens.
On the other hand, countries like Germany, Malta, and Slovenia, haven’t closed their borders to Russian tourists, but they are issuing visas under very tightened conditions, with Germany seeking proof of EU bank account for those that apply for a visa in this country.
“Only up-to-date statements issued in the applicant’s name from a verifiable bank operating in EU member states can be considered. The document must contain information about the current amount of funds in the account(s). The applicant must provide relevant statements from the bank account for the last three months,” the announcement of the Germany VisaMetric reads.
As per Malta, the country is accepting only applications filed from Russian citizens who are family members of EU citizens, while Slovenia issues visas only to Russian citizens that can provide a valid air ticket for a direct flight to this destination.
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