The Commission promises new steps on visas for Russians: what changes now and who should apply

In brief

• On 19 October 2026 Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert told a briefing in Brussels that the EU had already made multiple-entry visas harder for Russians to obtain and that "the next steps are coming ahead". He named no specific measures or dates.
• On 18 October 2026 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged the EU to bar entry to Russian combatants and their family members and to restrict non-essential visas across all European states.
• Only one rule is in force: the Commission decision of 6 November 2025. Applicants in Russia get a multiple-entry visa only if they are close relatives of EU citizens or of Russians residing in the EU, or transport workers.
• According to Commission statistics, consulates in Russia issued 618,806 visas in 2025, against 448,890 in 2023. The flow is growing, so pressure on visas will increase.
• Those with a trip planned in the next six months should apply as usual. Those who need Europe for life and work need a document that does not depend on a visa: residence or a second passport.

What exactly was said on 18 and 19 October

I start with the wording, because it determines how worried you should be. On 19 October, at the Commission's daily briefing in Brussels, journalists asked about visas for Russians. Spokesperson Markus Lammert replied that the EU had already taken measures making multiple-entry visas harder to obtain and that the next steps were coming. He added that the Commission was working to implement the decision of EU ministers on an entry ban for Russian combatants in the war against Ukraine, and recalled that restricting visas for Russians has been an EU priority since February 2022.

Note what the answer does not contain. No date. No draft document. No word "ban" applied to tourists. There is a general direction that the Commission has held for four years. In early October, according to press reports, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner urged national authorities to issue fewer visas to Russians. It is the same signal, only addressed not to Russians but to the consulates of EU countries.

On 18 October Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha published an appeal to European capitals. His main point: Russian combatants and their family members should not enter the EU, and non-essential visas should be restricted to the maximum extent in all European states. He called it a matter of national security for every European country. This is the position of a state that is not in the EU and does not vote on visa rules. But it is heard in Brussels, and next to it are the voices of Finland, Estonia and Lithuania, which ask to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians.

What this means for you. Neither on 18 nor on 19 October was a single decision taken that changes your visa or your application. Intentions were voiced. Visa decisions are made through the EU Visa Code, and that path takes months.

Brussels looks at the figures, and the figures are rising

I take the Commission's official statistics by consulate and count all visas issued by Schengen consulates in Russia. The result explains a lot about the tone of the briefings. Before the war, in 2019, there were 4,054,685 visas, 82.6% of them multiple-entry. In 2023 the number fell to 448,890. Then growth resumed: 541,839 in 2024 and 618,806 in 2025. Plus 38% in two years.

Growth comes mostly through three countries. In 2025 Italian consulates issued 161,121 visas, French 156,547 and Spanish 123,359. Together that is 71% of all visas issued in Russia. Next come Greece with 59,020, Hungary with 26,292 and Bulgaria with 26,006. Germany issued 20,036. Refusals are not frequent: roughly six cases in a hundred, whereas in 2022-2023 every tenth application was refused.

Now look at these figures through the eyes of a minister in Helsinki or Tallinn. His country hardly issues tourist visas to Russians, while people with an Italian or French visa move freely across Schengen. Hence the demand for common binding rules: the countries that have closed want the others to close too. Hence the statement of 19 October as well. The Commission is showing that it hears this demand.

There is one more detail I would not skip. The share of multiple-entry visas fell to 28.4%, even though the multiple-entry decision has applied only since November 2025. So 2025 passed almost entirely under the old rules. The first full year under the new rules is 2026. The Commission will publish its statistics in spring or summer 2027, and I am almost certain there will be even fewer multiple-entry visas.

What this means for you. The more Russians obtain visas, the stronger the pressure on Brussels. The growth of 2024-2025 works against those who count on a tourist visa as a permanent tool.

A visa is issued by a consulate, not by Brussels

This is the main thing I explain to everyone who calls after news like this. A Schengen visa is issued by the consulate of a specific country: Italy, France, Spain, Greece. The Commission sets the common framework through the Visa Code and can, as in November 2025, tighten specific rules for one country of application. But the decision on your application is taken by a consul, under the rules in force, not under words from a briefing.

Look at what over the past year has become a rule and what has stayed words. The table contains only what is confirmed by documents or official statements.

There is one rule in the table: the decision of 6 November 2025. It covers applications that Russians living in Russia lodge with consulates in Russia. A one-year multiple-entry visa goes to spouses, children and parents of EU citizens and of Russians legally residing in the EU, provided they have obtained and lawfully used three visas in two years. Seafarers, truck and bus drivers and train crews get a nine-month multiple-entry visa after two visas in two years. Everyone else as a rule gets a visa for a single trip. I covered the consequences of this decision in detail in the piece on Schengen for Russians before 2027, and visas with limited territorial validity in the review of LTV visas.

What this means for you. Until there is a new EU act, consulates work under the existing rules. A statement at a briefing cannot cancel your visa or change the document requirements.

What I expect in the coming months

I do not guess dates, but I see the direction. First: according to press reports, the Commission is preparing a package of amendments to the Visa Code for January 2027. Once tabled, it must be agreed by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. Even with quick agreement, the new rules are unlikely to apply before the second half of 2027.

Second: the entry ban for combatants. It is the most advanced of the measures under discussion, and the Commission spokesperson mentioned it on 19 October. It does not concern an ordinary tourist, businessman or student, but it means more detailed forms and checks for all applicants.

Third: national decisions. While the common law is being written, individual countries can tighten issuance on their own. This has happened before: Finland, Poland and the Baltic states almost stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians without any EU decision. So I watch not only Brussels but also the consulates of Italy, France and Spain. If the tone changes there, more than 70% of applicants will feel it at once.

I do not expect a full EU-wide visa ban for Russians within the next year. The countries that receive the main flow of tourists oppose it. But narrower rules, more single-entry visas, stricter checks and more refusals are what I consider a realistic scenario for 2027.

Who should apply now

If you have a specific trip in the coming months, I advise not to wait and to apply in the usual way. The Visa Code allows an application no earlier than six months and no later than 15 days before the trip. A consulate usually decides within 15 calendar days; in individual cases the period is extended up to 45 days. The consular fee is EUR 90.

A separate word for those who do not live in Russia. The November 2025 decision formally covers applications lodged in Russia. If you legally reside, for example, in Serbia, Turkey or the UAE, you apply to the consulate in your country of residence. But there too consulates, following the Commission's 2022 guidelines, scrutinise Russians more strictly, and ministers of several EU countries, according to press reports, have already asked to extend the multiple-entry restrictions to all Russians regardless of their country of residence.

When I would not rush

After every piece of news like this the market wakes up: programmes start being sold under the slogan "make it before they close". At such moments I talk people out of things more often than I push them. Here is who the statement of 19 October changes almost nothing for.

• Those who travel to Europe once a year, to one country, on holiday. A single-entry visa to Italy or Spain is being issued today, and the growth in visas in 2024-2025 shows that these consulates are working. I do not advise buying residence for one trip a year.
• Those whose spouse or child is an EU citizen. Family members of an EU citizen travelling with them have separate protection under the free movement directive, and the November decision expressly leaves it untouched.
• Those who already hold residence in a Schengen country. A residence permit is not a visa, and everything discussed in Brussels concerns visas.
• Those choosing a programme in a hurry. Haste is the best time for mistakes. Russians are still offered Hungarian residence through fund units whose sale to Russian citizens is barred by EU sanctions. First check whether a programme is open to a Russian citizen, then pay.

What this means for you. News from a briefing is not a reason to spend money on residence you do not need. The reason is when Europe is not a holiday for you but work, family or home.

Which routes do not depend on a tourist visa

If Europe means life, business or children at school for you, a tourist visa will always be the most fragile link. It is issued for one trip, and every new application is a risk of refusal. I see two reliable routes, and neither depends on what is decided about visas.

The first is residence in a Schengen country. A residence permit holder moves across the whole area for up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa or a consulate. For a Russian citizen with one passport the choice of countries is narrow: some EU countries do not accept first-time applications from Russians, as the example of the Greek golden visa shows. So I start by checking whether a country accepts Russian citizens, and only then compare the terms. For those with passive income, several countries offer residence permits for financially independent people: no investment, but proven income and living in the country.

The second is a second passport of a country with visa-free access to Schengen. With it you travel to Europe as a citizen of that country, without a visa, and for some Russians it also becomes the first step to European residence. The choice has narrowed: I wrote about what is happening to Caribbean passports in the review of Caribbean visa-free access. We are separately following the Argentine citizenship programme, whose passport gives visa-free access to Schengen.

My conclusion

The Commission's statement of 19 October is not a new rule but a confirmation of course. In four years that course has never shifted towards easing. At the same time visas are still issued by consulates, and nothing has changed for a single holiday trip. I would split the decision in two. A trip in the next six months: apply for a visa as usual. Life, work and family in Europe for years ahead: build them on a document that does not depend on a visa, and start while you still have time to gather documents calmly.

How this piece was prepared

This piece is based on Commission decision C(2025) 7552 of 6 November 2025 on the rules for issuing multiple-entry visas to Russian nationals, published on the Commission website on 7 November 2025; on the EU Visa Code (Regulation 810/2009 as amended); on the Commission's short-stay visa statistics by consulate for 2019-2025, with the 2025 file published in 2026 and the totals for consulates in Russia calculated by BRIDGES; on the Commission spokesperson's answer at the briefing of 19 October 2026 and on the statement of Ukraine's foreign minister of 18 October 2026 as reported in the press. Information on the amendment package for January 2027 and on Commissioner Brunner's position is given according to press reports; there is no official text. Data checked on 20 October 2026. This is not a legal opinion on your visa.