Visas | Justice Minister Henriksson anticipates the government’s discussions on visas for Russians to be easy: “Families and relatives must continue to be able to live a normal life”

Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson (r) anticipates that the government will have no difficulty reaching an agreement on visas for Russian tourists on Tuesday. At its Tuesday evening meeting, the government is scheduled to decide how to proceed with visas in the future.

“The government has been pretty much on the same lines regarding these issues,” says Henriksson.

Read more: The government will outline visas for Russian tourists tomorrow, this is what the visa issue is all about

According to Henriksson, changes must be made to the current line of tourist visas.

“The situation is difficult in the sense that we have an eastern neighbor who is fighting a war in Ukraine, while at the same time Russian citizens can travel around as if nothing had happened,” Henriksson reflects.

According to HS’s information, the government’s basic proposal in Tuesday’s discussions is a line prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to which Finland could, when processing visa applications, prioritize visas intended for family members, for example, over tourist visas. Visa matters are the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Henriksson, such an arrangement would seem reasonable.

“Families and relatives must continue to be able to live a normal life,” Henriksson emphasizes.

Prime minister Sanna Marin (sd) is earlier In an interview with Yle presented that Finland should find out whether the law needs to be changed so that in exceptional situations Finland could decide on its own national sanctions.

So far, the EU has not made any decisions on adding tourist trips to its banned list.

“Is Finnish legislation up-to-date in that we can also introduce our own national sanctions in such a very exceptional situation?” Marin asked Yle.

Justice Minister Henriksson says that Prime Minister Marin has not discussed the issue with him, and it has not been brought up as a topic of discussion within the government anyway.

“I have not participated in any discussions where this was discussed at all. I would first like to know what the issue is,” says Henriksson.

“Until now, it has been important for Finland that Finland is in a common line with sanctions, and I think that is a good principle.”