Visa-less Russian Karate Team Sent Home From Croatia
- by croatiaweek
- in Latest
Croatia police detained 9 members of a Russian karate team at Dubrovnik airport on Croatia’s southern Dalmatian coast on Tuesday after they arrived in the country without a visa, reports Ruski vjesnik.
The group, who arrived in Croatia on board a Globus charter flight, were sent back to Moscow as the squad did not have the required visas. Croatia has adopted the European Union visa regime under which all citizens of non-EU countries require a visa when travelling to the EU, meaning non-EU Russians will now need a visa to enter Croatia. The new law come into effect in Croatia on 1 April.
The airline company will be fined for not warning its passengers that visa documents would be required to enter Croatia. The Russian karate federation issued a statement to say that the team, and U18 club side who arrived to take part in a tournament in nearby Montenegro, flew back to Moscow yesterday.
