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Lithuania bars entry to Russian citizens with active Schengen visas

19 September 2022 07:58 (UTC +04:00)

Russian citizens with active Schengen visas will not be able to enter Lithuania starting on 00:00 Monday, APA reports citing TASS.

On Monday, the September 13 Sejm decision enters into effect, which prolongs the state of emergency until December 15 and bars entry for Russian citizens, including those with active Schengen visas.

This decree was also supported by Poland and the rest of the Baltic States. Meanwhile, Vilnius made exceptions for certain categories of Russians, including diplomats, representatives of the opposition, employees of shipment companies moving cargo to other EU states, and family members of people who have EU residence permit or citizenship.

According to Lithuanian authorities, over 83,000 Russian citizens crossed the Lithuanian border, including those travelling to the Kaliningrad Region of Russia. Since January 1 this year, over 395,000 Russian citizens arrived in the republic, with over 180,000 people travelling through. A total of 861 were not allowed into Lithuania due to violations of the Schengen Code.