German embassy denies Schengen visa to Moscow resident, arguing he might be subject to military service in Russia

The Russian investigative reporter Andrey Zakharov has tweeted a fragment of an official letter, in which a German embassy denies a Russian national a Schengen tourist visa, on the grounds that his age may possibly make him subject to military mobilization in Russia, which might “significantly reduce his willingness to return to his home country before the visa’s expiry date.”

Zakharov adds that the applicant whose visa had been denied lives in Moscow and used to travel to Germany regularly to visit his sister, who lives there.

On April 11, Russia’s State Duma passed a package of amendments to the conscription law, eliminating the loopholes that helped reduce social tension around mandatory service in the past. The new law, among other things, will ban Russians from traveling abroad starting seven days from the moment a draft notice is posted in their name to a public register.

As of this moment, the new legislation is waiting to be signed into law by the Russian president.