Russia and Belarus are no longer eligible for Ireland's short-stay visa waiver program

The Short Stay Visa Waiver Scheme, which allows citizens of third countries who entered the United Kingdom using specific UK short-stay visas to visit Ireland without obtaining an Irish visa, has been modified by the Irish government to no longer include Russia and Belarus.

According to the new regulations, travelers from Russia and Belarus will no longer be able to visit Ireland without having a current Irish visa, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.

According to Ireland's Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee, "I have now signed a Statutory Instrument to remove Russia and Belarus from the list of countries who may avail of the Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme in light of the continued Russian aggression against Ukraine."

In breaking the news, Minister McEntee stated that Russia's decision to invade Ukraine and recognize many territories under its control as separate states constitutes a serious violation of international law.

Minister McEntee also said that Ireland intends to harmonize its policy on the waiver of visas given in the UK even though it is not required to follow the Schengen approach because it is not a Schengen Member State.

Minister McEntee also said that Irish authorities would not recognize Russian passports issued in occupied foreign territories for the purpose of granting visas and traversing external borders, in line with the stance adopted by the Schengen-associated nations.

"The government is clear that this [the Russian practise of handing out ordinary Russian passports to residents of non-government controlled areas in Ukraine and Georgia] is a grave infringement of international law and the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of both countries," Minister McEntee said.

Similar to Ireland, several other countries have made it more difficult for Russian nationals to enter, while still other nations have shut their borders entirely to them.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, and the Czech Republic are among the countries that no longer permit access to Russian nationals.

The most recent nation to forbid Russian travelers from entering is Czechia. The Czech Republic's government said that as of October 25 Russians will not be allowed to enter the country for leisure, recreation, or cultural activities.

The government of the Czech Republic decided to impose the embargo on the basis of a suggestion made by the minister of foreign affairs.

By fLEXI tEAM