Estonia reluctantly issues Schengen visas

Estonia stands out in the European Union with its strict policy regarding Schengen visas, with the highest percentage of visa refusals occurring at Estonian consulates in Turkey, Egypt, and India. There are also issues for Russians and Belarusians. 

This is reported by ERR.ee. 

"A large number of Russian citizens who applied for visas were denied because they are subject to sanctions. For example, one can apply for a visa if they have relatives in the descending and ascending line who permanently reside in Estonia, but during the application process, it is sometimes discovered that these individuals live not in Estonia but in third countries," explained Anna Tisler-Laurentsev, spokesperson for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

She also noted that on April 8, 2022, the government imposed sanctions on visa applicants from Russia and Belarus, and additional restrictions came into effect on August 18. 

According to the Schengen Visa Information System, Estonia rejected 21.6% of visa applications at the Consulate General in Moscow last year. Sweden's rate was 30.8%, and Austria's consulates in Murmansk were at 27.8%. In the Czech Republic's consulate in Moscow, the refusal rate was 25%, Malta was at 24.5%, Norway at 24%, Germany at 23.1% in Moscow and 20% in St. Petersburg, and Slovenia at 22.5%. Meanwhile, at the consular sections of Estonia in Pskov and St. Petersburg, the visa refusal rate during the period when they were still open was 6.6% and 7.3%, respectively. 

The Consulate General in St. Petersburg and the consular section in Pskov closed on May 6 last year, so they only operated for four months, two of which coincided with the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine. 

At the Embassy of Estonia in Belarus, the visa refusal rate was only 5.4%, lower than most other countries, and only Latvia's consulate in Vitebsk had a refusal rate of 6.7% of all applications. 

The strictest approach is observed at the Estonian representations in Egypt, Turkey, and India. Last year, the Estonian Embassy in Cairo rejected 62.4% of all Schengen visa applications, the highest rate among European countries. Malta rejected 43.1% of applications, Slovakia 42.2%, and Sweden 29.4%. In India, Estonia denied visas to 56% of applicants (Malta - 45.0%, Slovenia - 44.5%, Portugal - 36.2%), and in Turkey, the refusal rate was 52.1% (Finland - 40.6%, Belgium - 37.7%, Latvia - 33.2%). A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that this is due to the unreliability of visa applicants. 

"As for refusals in Turkey, Egypt, and India, the problem lies in the reliability of the documents submitted during the visa application in these countries, and there are reasons to doubt that the purpose is Estonia and not another Schengen country," said Tisler-Laurentsev. 

She explained that according to EU visa rules, a visa can be refused if there are doubts about the authenticity of the documents or the veracity of their content or if the stated reasons for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay do not deserve trust. 

The Schengen Area includes most EU countries, except Ireland, Romania, Cyprus, and Bulgaria, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, which are not EU members.

As reported by The Gaze, Estonia previously banned entry into the country for 58 individuals, including Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and nine persecutors and kidnappers of human rights activist Vladimir Kara-Murza.