Finland Tightens Visas for Russian Athletes: From November 16 Short-Term Work Visas Cover Only Activities Essential to the National Interest, Sport Excluded, Neutrals Included
Finland's government adopted a resolution on November 12 tightening the entry rules for Russian citizens working in Finland on short-term Schengen visas: from November 16, such visas will generally be granted only for activities considered essential to the country's national interests, and professional sport does not qualify. Reuters reported that the restrictions also cover Russian athletes competing under neutral status, meaning that even competitors cleared by international federations may be unable to obtain a visa to enter Finland.
“As long as Russia's war of aggression continues, Russian athletes have no business in Finland. Their entry would endanger Finland's international relations,” Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in a statement. Finland shares a roughly 1,340-kilometre border with Russia and has maintained strict entry restrictions on Russian citizens since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The first events affected are on the winter calendar. Ruka, in northern Finland, hosts the cross-country skiing World Cup opener from November 27 to 29, with men's and women's 10km classic races, classic sprints and 20km freestyle mass starts. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete individually under neutral conditions, without national symbols and with a signed neutrality declaration, but its rules state that host-country visa and entry policies remain a matter for the host country. Finland is also due to host the World Figure Skating Championships in Tampere in March 2027, and the International Skating Union (ISU) said it was studying the implications of the Finnish decision.
Norway announced similar measures hours after Finland, barring Russian and Belarusian professional athletes and their support staff, as GSM reported earlier; the story is linked below. Poland's foreign ministry has also told Reuters it would refuse visas to Russian ski jumpers for World Cup events in Poland in December and January.
Source: Government of Finland
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：芬兰卢卡（Ruka）的国际跳台滑雪场，卢卡将于11月27日至29日举办越野滑雪世界杯揭幕战（资料图）。Heather Sunderland 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The international ski jumping hill at Ruka, Finland, which hosts the cross-country skiing World Cup opener on November 27-29 (file photo). Photo by Heather Sunderland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
