Following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine (24 February 2022), any ongoing or planned engagement on home affairs with Russia has been suspended.
The Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements entered into force on 1 June 2007. On 11 April 2011, the Council adopted a mandate for the renegotiation of the Visa Facilitation Agreement. However, following the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the Commission immediately proposed a partial suspension of the Visa Facilitation Agreement.
On 25 February 2022, the Council adopted the Commission proposal, targeting Russian government officials, Russian diplomats and business persons. On 9 September 2022, the Council adopted a decision to suspend the Visa Facilitation with Russia in full.
On 30 September 2022, following the announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia and sham ‘referenda’, the Commission adopted the updated guidelines to Member States on visa procedures as well as on border controls for Russian citizens at the EU's external borders. The guidelines call for reinforced security scrutiny when issuing visas to Russians and heightened border controls, while fully respecting EU asylum law.
The EU-Russia Readmission Agreement has been in force since June 2007. However, its application is currently very limited.