Slovakia’s visa application centres in Russia will not accept short-stay Schengen visa requests for any travel purpose except sports during July and August 2026. The operator VFS Global confirmed that all existing appointments for other categories will be cancelled and service fees refunded within 7 to 15 days. National long-stay visas for study, family reunification and employment continue to be processed, though the Slovak embassy warns that processing times have been extended to 30 days or more.

According to the Slovak foreign ministry, the measure is not a formal suspension of visa issuance but a reallocation of appointment slots driven by the embassy’s capacity and current priorities over the summer months. Russian tourism industry representatives assess the practical impact as limited. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) notes that Slovakia issued only 1,149 visas to Russian nationals in 2025, a figure dwarfed by Italy’s 161,000, France’s 156,000 and Greece’s 59,000. Slovakia has historically not been a high-demand destination for Russian travellers, and ATOR describes the market reaction as muted.

Viewed from Brussels, the Slovak move fits a broader tightening of Schengen visa access for Russian citizens since the EU suspended its visa facilitation agreement in 2022 and later moved to deny multi-entry visas. Several member states—including the Baltic nations, Poland and the Czech Republic—have ceased issuing tourist visas to Russians entirely. Others, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, continue to process applications but with significantly longer waiting periods, in some cases up to 60 days. A group of European countries recently urged the EU to adopt further binding restrictive measures on Russian holidaymakers, a proposal that has drawn criticism from Russian opposition figures who warn that blanket bans risk reinforcing the Kremlin’s narrative of European hostility.

In a contrasting development, Hungary reopened its visa application centres in Kazan, Samara and Ufa on 1 July, after a temporary suspension ordered by its consulate. Hungarian consulates are described by Russian tour operators as among the more accommodating for Schengen visa applicants. Slovakia’s visa centres are expected to resume accepting applications for all travel purposes after August, though no precise date has been set. The episode highlights the fragmented approach within the EU, where individual capitals calibrate visa policies based on bilateral considerations, consular resources and domestic political pressures, even as the bloc faces calls for a more unified stance on Russian travel.