Getting a Schengen visa is already hard for Russians. Germany reportedly wants to limit where they can go on one.

On October 14, EU officials discussed new visa restrictions for Russians. At a meeting in Brussels, the Council of the EU’s visa policy working group considered issuing Russian citizens a particular type of visa for “nonessential” travel, meaning tourism. These limited territorial validity (LTV) visas allow holders to visit only one or several countries, rather than the entire Schengen zone.

Germany proposed the measure, according to the news outlet Rapporteur, which cited a document its correspondent reviewed. The proposal has already drawn criticism within the EU, this time from Ireland. The document is not publicly available, so it is not yet possible to say how widely these visas might be used or what criteria would apply, if they are issued at all.

What is clear, however, is that the proposal comes amid broader tensions. In January 2026, the European Commission proposed developing visa restrictions for citizens of countries engaged in “hostile activities against the EU.” This could even involve amending the Visa Code, a cornerstone of EU legislation. In recent months, a growing number of European countries have called for tougher measures. On October 11, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo went as far as proposing a complete halt to issuing tourist visas to Russians.

Unlike standard Schengen visas, they do not allow holders to travel freely throughout the Schengen zone. Holders can visit only the country or countries explicitly listed on the visa sticker in their passport. Even transit through other Schengen countries is prohibited. For example, someone with an LTV visa valid only for Italy would be breaking the rules by visiting neighboring Switzerland.

These visas are nothing new: Russians have been receiving them for a long time. In recent years, they have become much more common. In 2025 alone, 12,000 Russian citizens received LTV visas. According to the human rights organization The Ark, these visas are most commonly issued to holders of Russia’s five-year international passports, which are nonbiometric. That is because 15 Schengen countries have now stopped recognizing nonbiometric passports.

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The official justification for the proposed restrictions is security. The European Commission previously promised to tighten visa rules for Russians at the request of a group of Schengen countries, citing threats of espionage, property damage, and sabotage.

But The Ark’s founder, lawyer Anastasia Burakova, questioned how effective the proposed restrictions would be. “This is meant to reassure people in countries that are under greater pressure. But it won’t make any difference to security at all,” she told Meduza.

The EU’s main argument does not hold up. According to The Ark, European intelligence services regularly provide evidence that contradicts it: “Moscow carries out sabotage using citizens of EU countries, citizens of countries whose passports allow visa-free entry to the Schengen zone, and Russians who moved to the EU before February 2022 and obtained residence permits long ago.” In most cases, tourist visa holders have nothing to do with sabotage.

Given the divisions within the EU, however, “visas with limited territorial validity could be acceptable to countries that oppose a complete ban on tourist travel,” Burakova said.

First, for Russian travelers, visiting a country not listed on an LTV visa would break the law and carry consequences, Burakova said: “If they catch you, they’ll fine you and deport you. You won’t be able to leave the EU without consequences either if you fly out of a different country.”

Second, while there are generally no border checks between EU countries, they can be reintroduced temporarily in certain circumstances. Germany did this ahead of the Euro 2024 soccer championship, for example. Just recently, in August 2026, Italy introduced checks on arrivals from Spain because of an influx of migrants into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. You cannot predict when, where, or why border guards might appear.

Third, you could also be “found out” whenever you need to prove your identity and your right to be in the country: during a police spot check, when checking into a hotel, when an airline checks your documents, when seeking hospital care, and so on.

It is impossible to say right now; we have no details. But border checks across the entire EU just for Russians are unlikely. Burakova is confident that LTV visas could be issued on a large scale under the current system, without major expense or lengthy preparations.

It is also unclear how quickly the new rules would take effect, if adopted, and whom they would affect. Stricter visa criteria also affect people trying to leave Russia for humanitarian reasons. They cannot count on the exemptions European authorities have promised, either. Burakova wrote that the exemptions for relatives of EU residents, dissidents, journalists, and activists under the previous ban on issuing multiple-entry visas have existed only on paper for the past 11 months. Authorities have yet to establish clear requirements, document checklists, or safe application procedures for these groups.

Yes.

For example, Schengen countries issued more than 40,000 limited territorial validity visas to Kosovo residents in 2011, The Insider reported, citing a European Commission report. This was because some EU countries did not recognize Kosovo’s independence or its passports. Visa-free travel between the EU and Kosovo has been in place since 2024, so the practice has ended.

Burakova noted, however, citing human rights advocates, that back when Kosovo residents needed visas, they were also issued standard single-entry and multiple-entry visas. So this precedent does not tell us what to expect, either.

It is hard to say.

The European Council will meet on October 15–16. The proposal will likely be discussed publicly at that meeting, along with a complete ban on tourist visas for Russians, which Finland’s prime minister has promised to raise. Meduza will keep following the story.