BRUSSELS, September 3. /TASS/. The European Commission has confirmed that the number of visas issued to Russians in 2025 increased to 618,000 from 560,000 a year earlier, European Commission Spokesman Markus Lammert said.
"We are now at about 618,000 last year," he said, responding to questions from Ukrainian journalists about the number of Schengen visas issued to Russians.
He did not provide a clear answer when asked what was behind the significant increase, since, according to the European Commission, in 2024 Russians received 560,000 short·term visas to EU countries.
Lammert merely said that this issue "is within the competence of EU countries," and the European Commission is making "maximum effort" to limit the number of visas issued to Russians.
"Issuance of visas is in member states’ competence. Each individual visa application has to be assessed on a case by case basis by the national authorities," he said.
