Bilateral visa agreement announced for Russia and Denmark

In order to facilitate the issues of visa for both countries Denmark and Russia have signed a bilateral agreement for their respective citizens.

The result will see the removal of visa requirements for citizens from both nations who will instead be able to travel with their passport only. The move will make travel easier and remove much of the paperwork and red-tape that surrounds obtaining a visa. Long term multiple entry visas will also be made available.

The economies of both countries have been growing recently and are expected to continue to do so under moves such as the agreement which makes international trade and travel simpler. Russian energy resources are seen by the EU as vital and agreements with their neighbours are important to the future of Europe. Russia also recently announced a common border with Norway.

Another factor in the agreement is the aging population of both countries, which may be alleviated through the importing of foreign labor. The Danish government, using the Danish Green Card system similar to the US, has always made immigration relatively easy whereas Russia has traditionally made it difficult for foreigners to work there legally.

The Danish Green Card program allows foreigners to come to the country for the purpose of looking for work, although they must apply for a work permit once a job is found. Denmark also allows residence and work permits for foreign nationals for a period of up to 3 years with extensions possible under the Positive List scheme. The Positive List advocates sourcing off-shore labor to fill gaps in the local workforce, nominally in areas such as education and health.