Sweden asks the EU for the power to refuse Russian athletes visas by nationality before the Falun World Championships
The Swedish government has asked the European Commission for new EU rules that would let member states refuse visas to Russians on the basis of their citizenship alone. The letter, announced on Friday, is aimed at Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials travelling to international sports events, and it comes four months before the World Championships in Falun open on 24 February.
In the letter, Sweden asks the Commission to present EU-wide legislation “urgently” that would allow member states to refuse visas because of an applicant’s nationality, the government said. Until such a law exists, Sweden wants common EU guidelines for handling visa applications more restrictively under the current rules. It also says there can be no normalisation of Russian and Belarusian participation in international sport while the war against Ukraine continues.
“While Ukrainians are preparing for another winter of war and Russian attacks, Russian and Belarusian athletes are preparing for international competitions in Europe. That is offensive. The war is not over just because there is a championship,” migration minister Johan Forssell said. Jakob Forssmed, the minister responsible for sport, said opening up to Russian participation “risks normalising the war”.
Why it goes through Brussels
Russians need a Schengen visa to enter Sweden, and a visa issued by one Schengen country is generally valid across the whole area. That is why Stockholm can’t simply close its own door. Forssell told Expressen that Sweden also wants to stop Russians from getting a visa in another EU country and then travelling on to Sweden. “We don’t want loopholes to appear,” he said.
Under today’s rules, Sweden’s Migration Agency can already refuse an application in some cases, for example if the applicant is considered a security threat or is seen to spread propaganda supporting the war. But each application has to be judged on its own. A rule based on nationality would replace that individual check with a blanket refusal.
“The Swedish ski federation doesn’t want Russian athletes on the start line, so what we are doing now is trying to push to increase the possibility of refusing visas,” Forssmed told Expressen. To SVT Sport he said: “Even if sport makes these decisions, countries still have control over who actually gets to come into the country.”
The timetable
New EU rules are expected to be proposed in the first quarter of 2027, Expressen reported. A Commission proposal is only the first step: changes to the EU’s visa rules have to be agreed by the European Parliament and the member states before they apply. For Falun, which runs from 24 February to 7 March, that leaves the current rules and the case-by-case check, possibly with tighter guidelines if the EU agrees on them in time. Forssell said the government is also working with the other Nordic countries on what can be tightened at Nordic level, for example through biometric passports.
The letter follows a push by the Swedish Ski Association and the Swedish Sports Confederation, which asked the government in October to refuse Russian skiers visas for Falun. FIS’s rules for neutral athletes leave visa decisions to the host country. Finland has taken the opposite line for the World Cup opener: its federation will not try to stop neutral Russians from racing in Ruka, and visas there are decided case by case.
The FIS list of approved neutral athletes dated 30 October has 71 cross-country skiers, 56 Russians and 15 Belarusians. Only individual races are open to them in Falun; relays and team sprints stay closed. Aleksandr Bolshunov and Veronika Stepanova are not on the list. Our analysis of the latest list.
Correction, 1 November 2026: An earlier version gave 22 February as the opening date of the World Championships in Falun. According to the official programme they open on 24 February.