Finland will block Russians with Schengen tourist visas from entering the country at midnight (2100 GMT) on Friday, after a surge in arrivals after Moscow’s mobilisation order.
“The decision aims to completely prevent the current situation of Russian tourism to Finland and the related transit through Finland,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference.
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Haavisto cited damage to “Finland’s international relations” as a justification for the decision and said Russia’s mobilisation had a “significant impact” on the Finnish assessment.
The “illegal referendums in Ukraine” and the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea “have added to concerns”, Haavisto said.
The current restrictive measures do not include exceptions on human rights grounds, and Russians can still enter Finland to meet family, work or study.
“The decision must also not prevent travel for humanitarian reasons,” Haavisto added.
According to Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen, the new border control measures may cause an increase in asylum applications and illegal border crossings.
The rule on who has a right to asylum “is based on the fact that Finland is not involved in armed conflicts”, Mikkonen said.
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He said someone being called up for mobilisation itself was not grounds for asylum — unless it can be shown, for example, that the individual might be forced to commit war crimes or is subject to disproportionate punishment.
“But those decisions are always taken individually by the authorities,” she said
Even before Russia’s mobilisation order Finland had restricted the number of visas issued to Russians, as tourism from its eastern neighbour had caused discontent due to the war in Ukraine.
But Haavisto noted that the restrictions in place were not “sufficient” in the current situation.