Finland and Norway moved on Thursday, November 12, to shut their borders to Russian and Belarusian professional athletes, turning the visa desk into the newest front in Europe's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Finland's government announced a resolution tightening visas for Russian athletes, and hours later Norway said it would deny entry to Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials travelling to compete on its territory.

Source: AFP via Bangkok Post, Nov 12, 2026

Under the Finnish resolution, Russians applying for short-term work visas — including for professional sports — face much tighter rules: Russian citizens will be allowed to work under a Schengen visa only in tasks that are essential to Finland's national interests, the foreign ministry said. Athletes competing under a neutral flag will be blocked as well. The new rules take effect on November 16 in a country that shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.

Source: AFP via Bangkok Post, Nov 12, 2026

"As long as Russia's war of aggression continues, Russian athletes have no business in Finland," Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in a statement, adding that their entry "would be a threat to Finland's international relations". The aim of the change, she told reporters, is to prevent entries that Russia could use to spread messages supporting its war, and she accused Moscow of using "sports as a tool for propaganda".

Source: AFP via Bangkok Post, Nov 12, 2026

Norway's government said Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials will be denied entry under the Aliens Act if they travel to Norway for sports competitions. "Norway already has a restrictive visa policy for Russian and Belarusian citizens, but is now tightening the requirements for those allowed to travel here," Justice Minister Astri Aas-Hansen said in a press release. Norway's justice ministry will instruct the immigration directorate and the national police directorate to refuse entry, and the restrictions will also cover support staff, according to Meduza's report of the decision.

Source: NTB via Sweden Herald, Nov 12, 2026

The Norwegian move has immediate numbers behind it. The newspaper VG reported that more than 300 Russian and Belarusian athletes have been granted neutral status by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), along with more than 150 officials from the two countries. Norway hosts a series of FIS World Cup events this winter, including cross-country skiing in Trondheim in December — and athletes cleared by FIS could now be stopped at the border instead.

Source: NTB via Sweden Herald, Nov 12, 2026

Why now — the federations had begun reopening the door

Both governments pointed to the same trigger: international sports federations have been relaxing their exclusions. FIS had cleared Russians and Belarusians to return as neutrals, and on October 30 the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) opened the door for the Russian ice hockey team to return to the World Championships next year — a ruling the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which has banned Russia since the February 2022 invasion, had opposed. Norway said the federations' relaxations meant more athletes and support staff from the two countries might arrive to compete.

Source: AFP via Bangkok Post, Nov 12, 2026

The skating federation is caught in the middle. Finland hosts the Figure Skating World Championships in Tampere in March 2027, and the International Skating Union (ISU) said it was "studying" the implications of Helsinki's decision and seeking further clarifications from the Finnish organisers; the ISU also said it believes athletes should not be punished for the actions of their governments. Closer at hand, Helsinki hosts a figure skating Grand Prix event on November 20 to 22 which Russian skaters had planned to attend. In hockey, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Czech Republic have already said they would refuse to play Russia at the World Championships in Germany, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week Russia will not be allowed at the World Junior Championships in Alberta, and the Finnish city of Turku has said it will give up hosting the 2027-28 junior tournament if Russia takes part.

Source: AFP via Bangkok Post, Nov 12, 2026

Ukraine welcomed the Finnish step. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha praised it in a post on X and urged other European nations to "close the remaining loopholes, and strengthen coordinated pressure on Russia". Sweden is moving the same way: its government wants to stop Russian athletes competing at the World Ski Championships in Falun this winter and has written to the European Commission urging it to speed up new visa rules so Sweden can deny visas to more Russian and Belarusian citizens. "As long as Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine, we cannot pretend that nothing has happened and welcome Russian athletes back to international competitions," Migration Minister Johan Forssell wrote to the TT news agency on Thursday. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, for his part, last week praised the IOC and CAS for decisions he said upheld the Olympic Charter, and criticised the countries opposing Russia's return.

Source: NTB via Sweden Herald, Nov 12, 2026