Estonia allowed tourists from the Russian Federation and the CIS without visas to go from cruise ships to the Estonian shore for 12 hours

The Government of Estonia at a meeting on Thursday agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of the Interior to allow visa -free entry into the country for tourists from countries that are not members of the European Union.

"The resolution applies to tourists from countries for which there is a visa requirement who want to go to Estonia ashore during cruise trips. Thus, the decision concerns tourists from Russia and other CIS countries," the press service of the Estonian government explained.

“They can go ashore for up to 12 hours on the basis of lists approved by the ship's captain and pre -presented border service. This permission will be given that the cruise vessel is at Estonia at least 72 hours, and foreigners will have passage documents recognized by the Estonian state,” the press service said.

The permit will be valid from May 1 to October 31, 2005, Interfax reports. According to the government press service, cruise ferries visit Estonia usually in the interval from May 1 to October 31, which coincides with the general peak of navigable movement.

According to Tallinn Port JSC, in the summer of this year 336 cruise ships are expected, on which about 300 thousand tourists will arrive, and 60 percent of tourists are citizens of the EU, 30 % of the US citizens, and 10 % are citizens of other countries.

According to preliminary estimates, about 5% of tourists will need visas. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia, there is practically no migration hazard on cruise ships, so the refusal of visas does not pose a threat to the internal security of the state.