Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
Your mother's experience is terrible, there is no other word for it! Europeans should not have to be humiliated when they want to travel in Europe. What was she going to do in Sweden by the way?
As far as I know it's a common requirement for all Schengen countries for Russian citizens. They wouldn't give you a visa if you haven't a certain amount of money on your account or haven't certain property or haven't a stable and well-payed job. It was an ordinary tourist trip, my mom went on ferry from St.Petersburg to Stockholm and spent several weeks in Sweden and Norway. She likes to travel and spend every vacation in some trip. My wife always complains about the fact that she does not want to act like a typical Russian 'babushka' spending her vacations at dacha with grandchildren.