Russia advises against travel to UK because of 'unfriendly' visa stance
May 14, 2022, 9:32 am

Russia advises against travel to UK because of 'unfriendly' visa stance

City of London in England/Pixabay

The Euronews reported, citing Reuters, Russia said on Friday (May 13) it was recommending that its citizens not travel to Britain, complaining that authorities there were making it “virtually impossible” for Russians to obtain visas.

The Russian Foreign Ministry alleged Russian applications were being delayed because Britain was giving higher priority to Ukrainian refugees. It said Russians were also unable to pay on the British website via Mastercard and Visa, which have both suspended their operations in Russia.

It said: “Taking into account the extremely unfriendly course of the UK towards our country, in order to avoid financial losses and other possible problems, we recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible, from travelling to the UK and trying to obtain British visas. Until the situation normalises, we will act in the same way with respect to the British.”

A view of the Kremlin in downtown Moscow. (File photo: AFP)

The ministry said that the British actions were “a politically motivated infringement of the rights of Russian citizens."

A spokesperson for the British interior ministry, the Home Office, said: “There are currently no restrictions or limitations for Russian nationals to work in the UK on long-term work visas.”

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“We are prioritising Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, so applications for study, work and family visas have taken longer to process.”

Tensions between Moscow and London have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with Britain announcing fresh sanctions on Putin’s financial network on Friday over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday (May 12) he did not see how there could be a normalisation of relations with Putin following the invasion.

Source: euronews

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
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