Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb in Moscow on 9 March.

A visa-free system between Finland and Russia would have EU-wide implications.

Visa-free travel between Finland and Russia may well become a reality – but on certain conditions. Finland wants Russia to remove the requirement for foreign travellers to register each time they enter Russia. Finland’s other key condition is that Russia make it easier for foreigners to secure work permits. The conditions were revealed at a 9 March meeting in Moscow between Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Stubb, and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

According to current law, a foreigner entering Russia must register with the authorities within three working days. If the traveller moves from one city to another he must re-register. Any changes to the Finnish-Russian system would have implications for the whole of the European Union, but Stubb says that Finland is free to negotiate both under the auspices of the EU and off its own bat.

“The visa question is of course a specifically EU issue; going solo will work better when it comes to the work permit issue,” Stubb commented after the meeting.

“But we’re pursuing this as a common project and our EU partners have been involved so that they regard both these conditions and visa-free travel to be important goals.”

“We tried to have visa-free travel in place as early as 2009-2010, but without success,” he added.

Lavrov reacted positively to Finland’s conditions.

“We’ve heard from our partners in the past that the registration issue is a serious practical problem for travellers entering Russia. Naturally we’re taking care of the matter,” Lavrov said.

Russian tourism is already a massive business in Finland. The total value of the trade is estimated to be more than 500 million euros a year and any increase in the trade is likely to be well received by the Finnish business sector.

MIRJA SIPINEN – STT MATTHEW PARRY – HT
Lehtikuva - Natalia Kolesnikova