Meanwhile, people on the Russian side of the border say they are frustrated about the awkward processes of getting Norwegian visas.
It was Mayor of the Sør-Varanger municipality, Linda Randal, who in April this year wrote a letter to the ministry requesting facilitated visa arrangements for the people living in the border areas. About 40,000 Russians live in the Pechenga Rayon, the border municipality to Norway and Finland, and cross-border travelling still remain sparse.
Ms. Randal proposed that the General Consulate in Murmansk once a week send consulate staff to the border town of Nikel in order to serve the local population. Today, the local Russians have to personally go the 200 km to Murmansk to get visas.
However, the Foreign Ministry turned down the proposal, arguing that there is no need, nor enough funding, for the arrangement, newspaper Sør-Varanger Avis reports.
The town mayor says she is surprised about the rejection. –If we are to develop this area together we are totally dependent on smooth cross-border travelling […] We are working for the easiest possible cross-border procedures, she says to SVA.no.
As BarentsObserver previously reported, Mayor of the Russian border town of Zapolyarny, Vladimir Ogienko, believes most Russians living in the area would like to explore Norway and Scandinavia, but that the tedious process of visa applications put an end to most peoples’ plans. Ogienko requests Norwegian authorities to make it easier for Russians to travel to Norway.
