The country famous for its cold climate, vodka, and beautiful girls, Russia is by far the largest country in the world. Though the visa is required for most of the countries, countries of South America, some countries of the Middle East and some countries of Asia do not require it.
A visa is basically a pass to other countries. It basically specifies that one is allowed by its country to travel to other countries. In a nutshell, it’s the permission of the government of a country given to a person to travel.
There are basically 7 types of visas issued by the Russian Federation:
- Tourist: This is the most common type of visa issued. It’s issued for a maximum of 30 days. It is for tourism purposes.
- Business: this is a professional type of visa. It’s for commercial purposes.
- Work: this is the type of visa that allows a person to work in the Russian Federation.
- Student: this is given to the foreign students that want to study in Russia.
- Humanitarian: these are the special visas issued to people for various events like cultural exchange, science events, sports events, socio-political, religious or humanitarian missions.
- Private Visa: issued to the Russian Nationals’ guests who stay in the Russian territory.
- Transit: this visa is important for those people who want to reach any other country by passing through Russia. This is not necessary for foreigners who have a layover provided that they don’t leave the international airport. This is also not necessary if you are just flying over the Russian territory.
Regulations on obtaining a Russian visa obtaining the procedure in EU countries:
It generally takes 3-10 business days for visa processing and in addition, Russian visas in European consulates have a five day waiting period. This means that a person can’t travel to Russia for 5 days after the approval of their visa. But if you have urgent travel plans you may contact the Russian ambassador to ensure the timely arrival of your visa.
Documents required for a Russian tourist visa:
• Passenger’s original passport with a valid expiry date of at least 6 months after the date of departure. Ensure to have at least 2 blank visa dedicated pages.
• Two copies of the visa application form; completed and signed.
• ONE passport-sized photo of the traveler signed on the back.
• If traveling by Cruise or by tour group: Letter from the tour group or from the Cruise company confirming the trip.
• If traveling individually: Confirmation of the hotel bookings from an authorized Russian travel agency or directly from the Russian hotel showing the reference number and confirmation number of the visa.
Documents required for business single, double and multiple-entry:
• Passenger’s original passport with a valid expiry date of at least 6 months after the date of departure. Ensure to have at least 2 blank visa dedicated pages.
• Two copies of the visa application form; completed and signed.
• ONE passport signed photo signed on the back.
• If stay extends 3 months, HIV test of the traveler is required.
• Official invitation from an organization approved to conduct business in the country.
The invitation letter must contain the official business seal and legal address of the company along with the signature and name of the approved agency authorized to invite foreigners in the country.
Documents required for private or Home-stay visa:
• Two copies of the visa application form; completed and signed.
• ONE passport-sized photo signed on the back.
• Passenger’s original passport with a valid expiry date of at least 6 months after the date of departure. Ensure to have at least 2 blank visa dedicated pages.
• Visa entitlement certificate (IZVESHENIYE) from the local FMS in Russia.
You can obtain the visa in two different ways:
- The offline way: visit your local travel agent and get the procedure done.
- The online way: you can also book the visa via online mode via the internet. There are many websites that can help you in obtaining the visa.
Access to countries according to days of stay allowed.
Unlimited stay
Belarus, South Ossetia, 90 days stay, Abkhazia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia
14 days (non-commercial stay)
Brunei, Hong Kong, Nauru
30 days (non-commercial purpose stay)
Bosnia, Montenegro, Palau, Botswana, Laos, Serbia, Macao, Seychelles, Thailand, Mongolia
60 days( non-commercial stay)
Mauritius, South Korea, Samoa
Non-commercial stays
Argentina, Bolivia, Israel, Jamaica, Brazil, Maldives, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Suriname, Fiji, Dominica, Ecuador, Venezuela, UAE, Uruguay, Guyana, Honduras, Vanuatu, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines
Some important terms and conditions
- One important term regarding the visa is that the people of the countries who have unlimited visa-free entry to Russia can stay up to 90 days within any 180 days. Which if overlooked, can ban the person from re-entering the country. If you stay longer than 180 days, a three-year ban from entering the country will be imposed. If the stay exceeds 270 days, a ten-year ban will be imposed.
- The citizens of other countries are forbidden to pass through the Belarus-Russia land border because of some issues with the international border crossing points. They are therefore advised to reach Russia via some other countries like Senkivka or Terehova.
The cost of obtaining the visa
The cost of obtaining a Russian visa is according to the type of visa applied for.
Single, double or multi-entry types of visas cost you around 193USD with a processing period of 15 business days. It is valid for 3 months.
A single or double entry visa for some exact days cost around 283USD with a processing period of 4 business days.
For business purposes, a single or double entry for a given no. of days starts from 193USD with a processing period of 15 business days. But if the need is urgent, it can be achieved in 4 business days by the payment of 283USD.
The above costs don’t include the taxes which would be levied on the visa. For standard processing of 10+ business days service fee applicable is 49USD. For accelerated processing of 4-9 business days, the service fee charged is 109USD and for emergency processing of 1-3 business days, the service fee charged is 199USD.
Getting a Russian visa is not that difficult, but it’s a bit lengthy procedure. Thus it is advised that one plans its trip beforehand and may fulfill all the requirements successfully. Also one must take the procedure very seriously due to the strict government policy.
