Russian citizens are refraining from crossing the Storskog border in Norway despite being the nearest checkpoint since Finland closed its borders.
As of 2024, Russian passport holders cannot cross the Finnish border, a very popular checkpoint for them, since the authorities shut them down, citing security concerns for the decision, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
However, Russians have not utilised other checkpoints, including the one in Norway, as authorities reveal that the activity of border crossings in this place is relatively low.
Border Crossings Down by 43% at Storskog Border
Immigration police officer Sven Arne Davidsen said for the Barents Observer that border crossings at this checkpoint in Norway have dropped by 43 per cent in January 2024, which usually is a very busy period for Russians celebrating Orthodox holidays, who used to come to Europe for their gift-shopping,
[It] was 4303 crossings at Storskog in January.
In January 2023, the number of crossings stood at 7,604, while compared to December, the difference in crossings was 22 per cent, showing a declining trend of Russians crossing this border.
Conversely, Increased Crossings Activity Recorded at Estonia Border
Following Finland’s decision to shut its borders, Narva has become the closest border crossing for commuters, which usually includes Finnish citizens or residence permit holders in Finland. This Estonian border crossing has seen more people crossing since the decision was announced, as the Finnish news agency STT reports.
We have had 10,000 border crossings since the beginning of the year. That is a really significant increase.
This means that border crossings at Narva checkpoint are 50 times higher during this period. In addition to Finns, Narva is also handling border crossers residing in Sweden and Norway who previously travelled to Russia via Finland’s eastern border.
EU Nations Keep Their Borders Shut for Russians
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted the EU countries to impose different sanctions against Russians, including visa issuance and closing borders for these nationals.
More specifically, EU countries bordering Russia have imposed specifically more stringent restrictions, citing instrumentalised migration and public security as their main reasons for the decision.
In February, Latvia announced that it would keep in place its entry ban on Russian tourists for another year, with security concerns being the main reasons listed by the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers.
Similarly, Finland has decided to keep its borders with Russia sealed until April 14, 2024, with such measures being introduced in 2023, and ever since, they have only become more stringent. Finnish authorities have cited the ongoing increased instrumentalised migration concerns as the main factor for the decision.
