The number of multiple-entry Schengen visas issued to Russian citizens in the first months of 2026 decreased by 90% compared to the same period of 2025 – such data is given by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, reports the channel “Present Time”.
First of all, this is due to the decision of the European Commission in November last year to limit the issuance of Schengen multiple-entry visas to Russian citizens. Such visas were previously issued for long periods (up to several years) and gave the right to enter the Schengen area an unlimited number of times (subject to the limit of stay in it).
Now with tourist purposes to get such a visa is virtually impossible, but a number of countries most popular with Russian tourists, in particular, Italy, France, Spain and Greece, began to issue some applicants double-entry visas with a long corridor for entry.
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At the same time, the number of applications of Russian citizens for Schengen visas has increased compared to 2025: according to PAC Group, the number of visa requests to Spain and France has doubled, by 30-40% – to Italy, by 10% – to Greece and Hungary. The processing time for visa applications has increased significantly compared to the period up to 2022: visas for Italy or France take more than a month to process. The fastest – up to two weeks – it is possible to issue a visa for Greece.
At the same time already at least 11 European countries everywhere with non-biometric (five-year) passports are prohibited. Such a decision was taken by the authorities of Finland, Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, France, Czech Republic, Estonia and Poland.
After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU countries cancelled the simplified procedure for obtaining Schengen visas, which was in effect for Russia. A number of countries, in particular the Baltic States, Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark, stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens completely.