The Council of Ministers of Albania has abolished the visa-free entry into the country. On the website of the embassy of the republic in Russia, this is reported with the note "very urgently."
Previously, Russians could enter Albania freely from May 1 to September 30. Now for this it will be necessary to apply for a visa, reporting the purpose of the trip.
The Balkan countries are gradually abolishing visa-free travel with Russia. In addition to Albania, North Macedonia did so on March 19, 2022. Montenegro at the beginning of 2022 reduced the period of visa-free stay of Russians in the country in the winter from 90 to 30 days. In September of the same year, the head of the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry, Ranko Krivokapic, proposed to abolish the possibility of such entry for Russian citizens in general.
There are regular rumors about the possible abolition of visa-free travel for Russians in Serbia. The new draft law on foreign nationals, which is currently under consideration in the Serbian parliament, makes the informal mechanism of "visaran" more complicated. According to him, foreigners who have the opportunity to stay in the country without a visa for a month could "restart" this period, leaving every month abroad and returning on the same day. Now, according to the new initiative, they will be able to return only the next day.
In September 2022, the European Union stopped issuing visas to Russians under a simplified procedure. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have closed entry to Russian citizens on visas obtained for tourism, sports, culture and business purposes. The Czech Republic has restricted entry for Russians on the tourist "Schengen".