Everyone knows that Russia has the lagest territory in the world. But not all of people know that Russia is a very beautiful country with many places of interest. We have beautiful cities like Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Kamchatka’s Martian landscapes, Baikal lake and etc. There are a lot of myths about Russia. So if you would like to know where is the truth, then you have to visit Russia. From this article you may know who does need a visa to Russia in 2019, how to apply and how to get it.
Who does need a visa to Russia in 2019?
Citizens of the most countries in the world have to get a visa to entry Russia. Let’s try to understand who does need visa to Russia and who does not.
You can travel to Russia without a visa only in 3 cases:
1. You are a citizen of a country in South America and some countries in Near East and Asia
| Citizenship | Duration |
|---|---|
| Abkhazia | Up to 90 days of 180 days of one-time stay in a year |
| Argentina | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Armenia | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Azerbaijan | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Belarus | Unlimited stay |
| Bolivia | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | For tourists - up to 30 days (if there is a tourist invitation). Official and private trips up to 90 days, you need the original invitation |
| Brazil | Up to 90 days of 180 days of one-time stay in a year |
| Brunei Darussalam | Up to 14 days of one-time stay |
| Chile | Up to 90 days of one-time stay. The total period of stay without a visa in each period of 180 days is not more than 90 days. An original invitation is required. |
| Colombia | Up to 90 days of 180 days of one-time stay in a year |
| Costa Rica | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Cuba | Up to 90 days of one-time stay. The total period of stay without a visa, in each period of 180 days, not more than 90 days. An original invitation is required. |
| Dominica | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Dominican Republic | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Ecuador | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Fiji | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Grenada | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Guatemala | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Guyana | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Honduras | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Hongkong | Up to 14 days of one-time stay for citizens of Hongkong |
| Israel | Up to 90 days of 180 days of one-time stay in a year |
| Jamaica | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Kazakhstan | Up to 90 days of one-time stay by internal passports |
| Kyrgyzstan | Up to 90 days of one-time stay by internal passports |
| Laos | Up to 30 days of one-time stay |
| Macau | Up to 30 days of one-time stay for citizens of Macao |
| Macedonia | For tourists, the duration of stay is no more than 30 days, for non-commercial purposes no more than 90 days. The basis for the entry of citizens is the presence of the original invitation, certified by the competent authority |
| Mauritius | Up to 60 days of one-time stay |
| Moldova | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Mongolia | Up to 30 days of one-time stay |
| Montenegro | Up to 30 days of one-time stay. An original invitation is required. |
| Nauru | Up to 14 days of one-time stay |
| Nicaragua | Up to 90 days of one-time stay. The total period of stay without a visa, in each period of 180 days, not more than 90 days. An original invitation is required. |
| Panama | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Palau | Up to 30 days of one-time stay |
| Paraguay | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Peru | Up to 90 days of one-time stay. The total period of stay without a visa, in each period of 180 days, not more than 90 days. An original invitation is required. |
| Salvador | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Samoa | Up to 60 days of one-time stay |
| Seychelles | Up to 30 days of one-time stay |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Serbia | Up to 30 days of one-time stay for owners of biometric passports issued after April 8, 2008. |
| South Korea | Up to 60 days of one-time stay. The total period of stay in the Russian Federation should not exceed 90 days within 180 days. |
| South Africa | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| South Ossetia | Unlimited stay |
| Tajikistan | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Thailand | Up to 30 days of one-time stay. An original invitation is required. |
| Turkey | Up to 30 days of one-time stay |
| Uzbekistan | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Ukraine | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Uruguay | Up to 90 days of 180 days of one-time stay in a year |
| UAE | Up to 90 days of one-time stay |
| Venezuela | Up to 90 days of 180 days of one-time stay in a year |
- The ship arrives in port for more than 72 hours and you sleep at night time on its board.
- Saint Petersburg (or other Russian port) is the only point of stay on the entire route of the ship.
- You are a passenger who leaves the ship only as part of an organized tour.
If you didn’t find yourself in above cases, so you have to apply for a visa to Russia.
Types of visa to Russia
There are 8 types of visa to Russia. But if you would like to travel, then only 3 types would be suitable for you.
Tourist
This is the most common visa to Russia. It is issued for tourism purpose for period from 1 to 30 days without extension. You can get Single or Double entry visa.
Electronic
This is a new (experimental) type of visa. It helps to get a visa to Russia in a short time for citizens of countries that do not have visa-free regime with Russia for single entry for period from 1 to 8 days. This type of visa is issued for tourism, business and humanitarian purposes.
At the time electronic visa is free. Later it will cost approximately 3 000 Rubles. You also can get it without an invitation letter and booking.
E-visa to Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region
From October, 1st, 2019 foreigners from 53 countries can apply for E-visa to St. Petersburg and Leningrad region:
Austria, Andorra, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Vatican, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Qatar, Cyprus, China (including Taiwan), The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Philippines, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Japan.
Crossing points in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region:
Airports:
- Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo)
By ferry/cruiseship:
- Vysotsk
- Big port of Saint Petersburg (Marine station section)
- Passenger port Saint Petersburg
By railways:
PLEASE NOTE: entry and exit on an e-visa is currently unavailable.
By car:
- Ivangorod
- Torfyanovka
- Brusnitchnoe
- Svetogorsk
On foot:
- Ivangorod
E-visa to Far Eastern Federal District
Nowadays citizen of below countries (18 countries) can enter to Far Eastern Federal District by electronic visa:
Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, India, Iran, Qatar, China (including Taiwan), The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Mexico, The United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, Japan
Crossing points in Far Easten Federal District
Airports:
- Anadyr (Ugolny)
- Blagoveschensk
- Vladivostok (Knevichy)
- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Yelizovo)
- Ulan-Ude (Mukhino)
- Khabarovsk (New)
- Chita (Kadala)
- Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Khomutovo)
By ferry/cruiseship:
- Vladivostok
- Zarubino
- Korsakov
- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
- Posiet
By railways:
- Makhalino
- Pogranichny
- Khasan
By car:
- Poltavka
- Turiy Rog
E-visa to Kaliningrad Region
By electronic visa citizens of below countries (53 countries) can enter to Kaliningrad Region:
Austria, Andorra, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Vatican, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Qatar, Cyprus, China (including Taiwan), The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Philippines, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Japan.
Crossing points in Kaliningrad Region
Airport:
- Kaliningrad (Khrabrovo)
By railways:
- Mamonovo
- Sovetsk
By ferry/cruiseship:
- Kaliningrad
- Kaliningrad (Baltiysk)
- Kaliningrad (Svetly)
By car:
- Bagrationovsk
- Gusev
- Mamonovo (Gzhekhotki)
- Mamonovo (Gronovo)
- Morskoye
- Pogranichnyy
- Sovetsk
- Chernyshevskoye
In 2021 Russian government plans to give opportunity to apply for an electronic visa into any region of Russia.
Private (guest)
If you have relatives or friend(s) who are citizens of Russia, then you can apply for private (guest) visa. Duration of private visa is from 1 to 3 months. You can get Single or Double entry visa.
Transit
You do not need transit visa, if you are not going to go to the city at the airports during transfers. But if you arrive at one airport in Moscow and have to travel to another airport in Moscow in order to fly further, you should arrange a transit visa.
Duration of stay is up to 3 days in case of airplane and up to 10 days in case of travelling by car.
How to get visa to Russia?
You can think that to get Russian visa is too difficult, but in fact it is a simple process.
How to apply for tourist visa
You have to collect below documents to get tourist visa to Russia:
- Passport (for more than 6 months with at least 2 pages for your visa and entry/exit stamps)
- Photocopy of your passport identity page
- Application form
You can fill in an application form on Consular department Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. If you do not have technical possibility to fill in an application online, then you can do it by hand.
In your application form you should specify the first and the last day of your visit to Russia. The best deals for your accomodation you can find in Booking.com, Hostelworld or Airbnb.
- 2 photo (35×45) in JPEG format
- Health insurance
Health insurance are not required for citizens of some countries, but we offer you to buy it for your stay in Russia. According our experience, we can advise you Cherehapa. You can buy insurance online through website whenever and where you want.
- Russian tourist invitation letter or visa support documents (hotel voucher and confirmation of tourist acceptance)
An invitation letter (confirmation of tourist acceptance) is the most important document for getting a visa to Russia. Please note that it is not the same as a hotel voucher. An invitation letter depends on type of visa that you would like to get.
You can get an invitation letter by 2 ways:
- Big hotels that has accreditation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation can provide you an invitation letter for visa for free. But on practice even big hotels can ask you to pay for the invitation letter (from 900 to 3000 Rubles). You also should pay in full for your accomodation before getting a visa. It is a risk from your side.
2. The best way is to arrange an invitation letter by your own. We can recommend you iVisa. In that case you will not pay in full for your hotel before getting a visa and have opportunity to travel to different places in Russia.
- Applicable fee
| Citizens of European Union | Citizens of the USA and Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| 4-10 working days | 35 Euro | 140 Euro |
| up to 3 days | 70 Euro | 250 Euro |
How to apply for electronica visa
We can say that applying process for E-visa to Russia is the simpliest one.
Necessary documents for electronic visa to Russia:
- Passport (for more than 6 months with at least 2 pages for your visa and entry/exit stamps)
- Fill in an application for E-visa
- Photo (35×45) in JPEG format
- Health insurance
When should you start to apply for a visa to Russia?
We think that it’s better to start gathering all necessary documents 1 months before your planned visit to Russia. If you have already had all documents on your hands, so 2 weeks will be enough for getting a visa.
What should you do after entrance to Russia?
After entrance to Russia you should fill in immigration card and register for migration. Border guard officer on passport control will fill in your immigration card, receptionist in hotel will register your for migration.
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