The partial mobilization announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21 has not led to a noticeable increase in visa applications at the Austrian embassy in Moscow. A spokeswoman for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained this on Monday evening at the request of APA. A large number of Russian citizens have left their home countries in recent days – the exile newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europa wrote to more than 261,000 men this weekend.
“The number of applications at the embassy in the requested period (since September 21, please note) was in the lower two-digit range.” In August, 603 visas were issued at the Austrian embassy, between September 1 and 23, a total of 460 visas were issued, she specified.
Visa does not guarantee departure from Russia
Of course, in recent days, even an Austrian visa was no guarantee that you could easily travel from Russia to Austria: with a standard Schengen visa type C, which allows a maximum stay of 90 days within 180 days in the Schengen zone and so was Austria a direct exit to the Schengen zone by land only possible via a single border crossing in the far north to Norway and for the time being to Finland. Since September 19, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland only allow Russian citizens to enter the country from Russia with permanent Schengen visas, which face relatively high bureaucratic hurdles.
Given rumors that Russia could already generally ban male citizens from leaving the country without individual approval from the drafting authorities in the coming days, some airline tickets from Russia to visa-free countries have recently cost up to $10,000. At the land borders with southern neighbors such as Georgia, there were kilometers of traffic jams and days of waiting to leave the country. According to media reports, Russian border guards have also prevented a growing number of men from crossing the border.
Men flee mobilization
Russians who flee before mobilization and then fly directly to Austria from outside the European Union have the chance to apply for asylum here. A spokesman for the Austrian Ministry of the Interior confirmed to the APA on Monday that fleeing conscription could constitute grounds for asylum within the meaning of the Geneva Refugee Convention.
The asylum application to be submitted in Germany will then be considered on a case-by-case basis, he explained. “This procedure can prevent abuse of a protection status for intelligence purposes,” the spokesperson emphasized. He reported that 160 Russian citizens, half women and half men, had been given protection in Austria since the beginning of the year.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
