Finnish officials see need to tighten entry restrictions for Russian citizens

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen have announced the need to reassess the current requirements for Russian citizens to obtain visas and residence permits.

The reason for the change in permit policy was the arrest of Russian citizen Vojislav Torden, formerly known as Yan Petrovsky, according to Gazeta.ru.

According to the Russian embassy in Finland, Torden was detained by the Finnish border guard on July 20, 2023, due to suspicions of violating Finnish migration laws. Earlier, Torden’s surname was Petrovsky. This surname appears on the US and EU sanctions lists. The man is suspected of committing terrorist crimes that occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions from June 2014 till August 2015. He could be one of the leaders of the Rusich sabotage and assault reconnaissance group.

“Everything must be done for people, who can cause a threat to the country’s national security, not to cross the border,” Rantanen said.

In turn, Orpo noted that the issue is being worked out to tighten entry restrictions for Russians.