As of August 18, Estonia has banned Russian citizens holding a Schengen visa issued by the country for tourism, business, sports, or culture from crossing the border.
The passport checks will be enforced at border crossings with Russia, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR News reported on Thursday.
Following the war against Ukraine, "the citizens of Russia cannot have the self-evident freedom to enjoy the opportunities that the very European values and freedoms offered by the European Union provide," Estonia’s Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets said in a statement on Thursday.
"On average, about 2,500 Russian citizens enter Estonia per day, of which about 1,250 come on a short-stay visa. Half of them are issued by Estonia, the rest are issued by other Schengen countries," he said.
"Therefore, this measure has some limited impact. But to achieve a real sanctions effect, it would be necessary to introduce visa restrictions in all EU countries," Läänemets added.
Russian nationals already in Estonia and those holding a Schengen visa issued by another country will be able to stay.
Tallinn and Helsinki have previously called on Brussels to ban Russian nationals from visiting the European Union, while Latvia and Lithuania have also stopped issuing tourist visas for Russian citizens.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has also called on the EU to adopt a bloc-wide ban.
Read more: Lithuanian minister calls for EU-wide decision on visa ban for Russian tourists
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