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What is a Russian Visa?  
Requirements for Foreign Citizens to Enter Russia
Choose your Visa Type
           Russian Tourist Visa
           Russian Business Visa 
                      Russian Private or Homestay Visa
           Russian Transit Visa
Getting a Visa
Registering Your Visa
What happens if you screw up
When your visa expires
Work Permits

What is a Russian Visa?

A visa to the Russian Federation is a document, permitting stay in Russia for a specific period of time. A visa lists entry/exit dates, your vital information, passport details, and has two photos stapled to it. Please note, that your Russian visa is an exit permit just like it�s an entry permit: if you lose it or stay over your designated departure date, leaving the country could be more troublesome than entering it.

Requirements For Foreign Citizens To Enter Russia

Tourist Travel to Russia
1. Passport must be valid 3 months beyond intended stay
2. Tickets and Documents for return or onward travel
3. Russian Visa is Required
4. Vaccination - None Required

Business Travel to Russia
1. Passport must be Valid 3 months Beyond Intended Stay
2. Tickets and Documents for return or onward travel
3. Russian Visa is Required
4. Vaccinations - None Required

Employment or Study Travel to Russia
Contact the nearest Russian Embassy or Consulate

Choose your Visa Type

Russian Tourist Visa
This visa type is issued to tourists who have booked accommodation in Russia for non-business reason. Tourist visas are issued for a maximum of 30 days (check with your local Russian Embassy or Consulate). A tourist visa is best when you know exactly where and how long you will be staying without diverting from your planned itinerary. For a tourist visa to Russia, you must have confirmed accommodations or transit information for every night of your stay in the country.

Russian Business Visa
This type of Russian visa is issued for travelers, who visit Russia on official or private business. Business visas are best for visitors who do not know their exact itineraries, want to stay in Russia longer than 30 days or need to enter Russia frequently.
Business visas to the Russian Federation may be issued with up to two entries and for up to 90 days. There are also multiple-entry business visas, valid for 3, 6 or 12 months with unlimited entries/exits.

Business visas for travel to cities/regions below can be obtained only on official invitations processed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or through its Regional Representative offices. Invitations on business letterheads from the following cities/regions are not accepted as business visa support: Moscow, Khabarovsk, Pskov, Petrozavodsk, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Penza, Samara, Krasnodar, Ekaterinburg, N.Novgorod, Sochi, Maykop, Izhevsk, Yoshkar-Ola.

Russian Private or Homestay Visa
If the purpose of your trip to Russia is to visit friends or relatives you can apply for a homestay or visitors visa. This type of visa allows you to stay in the Russian Federation for up to 90 days. Friends or relatives who will host you during your Russian visit will need to obtain a visa invitation for you from a local OVIR (office of visas and registrations). This official invitation will need to be mailed to you. Russian Consulates worldwide accept only original OVIR invitations. Obtaining an OVIR invitation can be a very lengthy and troublesome procedure, and we suggest applying for either tourist or business visa instead.

Russian Transit Visa

If you're on your way to one of the countries that were a part of the USSR and need to make a connecting flight in Moscow, you can obtain a three-day transit visa. This will enable you to get out into the city instead of remaining in the transit hotel. Again, a visa agency or hosting organization can arrange this for you in advance, and will have someone meet you when you step off the plane. It is technically possible to obtain a transit visa when arriving at major airports, such as Sheremetievo.

Getting a Visa

First, plan ahead. It usually takes anywhere from four to six weeks to get a Russian visa, although it is technically possible to get one in as little as one day.

To get a visa, you need first to get an invitation from a Russian organization. This can be a Russian firm, government organization, educational institution, or a representative office of a foreign firm. Some international hotels can also arrange a visa invitation. The invitation is issued through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Moscow, which in turn sends a telex to the specified Russian consulate abroad instructing that a visa be issued.

Visa service organizations are in the business of issuing these invitations for a fee (which includes the fee paid to the MFA for processing the invitation). Keep in mind that the Russian consulate abroad also charges a fee, which is in addition to the fee you pay to the visa service company.

The types of visas include tourist, business, diplomatic, and special visas for foreigners married to Russian citizens. Tourist visas are usually issued for one month, while the others are issued for anywhere from three months to one year. The short-term visas are almost always single entry-exit visas, while the longer-term visas usually allow you to make three trips into and out of Russia. Multiple-entry visas allow you to enter and leave the country as many times as you wish.

Once you're notified that your telex has arrived at the consulate, bring your passport, a completed visa application form (available from the consulate), and the required fee (it varies from consulate to consulate). If you're applying for a multiple entry visa, you are officially required to present the results of an HIV test conducted during the preceding three months. Most Medical Centers in Moscow offer this service, or you can go directly to a medical laboratory. The truth is that not all consulates bother to ask for one, but in case you are asked, it's better to be safe than sorry.

The fees you pay for the issuance of the invitation and for the visa itself vary, depending on how quickly you want to receive the document.

Registering Your Visa

Registering your visa and a notarized letter from your landlord (click here for a sample letter).

Once you've arrived in Russia, you are legally required to register within three working days (72 hours) with OVIR, the agency that registers foreigners in Russia. This is done a number of ways depending on where you will live while staying in Russia and whether your visa is multiple entry or not.

If your visa is multiple entry, you must register at the Central OVIR. Bring the original letter of invitation from your sponsoring organization, your visa, passport, and a notarized letter from your landlord. If you lived in a hotel during the first few days of your stay and then moved to a private residence, do not make the mistake of thinking you are registered. You still need to have your multiple entry visa registered at OVIR at your permanent address in Russia.

And if that's not enough, you might need yet another letter if you've gotten your visa invitation from a foreign rep office. This will need to be a letter from the Russian organization that accredits the rep office.

Most visa service companies will handle the OVIR registration process, saving you the wait in line.

For single and double entry visas, you can register simply by having your sponsoring organization stamp your visa. You will need a Central OVIR registration as well, however, if you intend to marry in Russia or buy a car.

If you are living only in a hotel during your stay, the hotel will register you. But count your stamps. Your visa will be stamped once when you check in, and a second time when you check out. Some people think that the first stamp is sufficient. It is not.

What happens if you screw up

You can be fined if you don't quite get your registration right and in some very rare cases can even be deported. And if you are found out at Sheremetievo Airport, it can cost you several hundred dollars in fines not to mention the hassle of having to miss your flight and spend a couple of more days in Moscow to get an exit visa from Central OVIR.

When your visa expires

Visas can be renewed for a week or two when they are expiring - long enough to allow you to finish what you're doing and leave the country.

If your visa can not be renewed you need to apply for a new one. This usually necessitates a trip out of the country, although some agencies do offer visas that don't require you to leave. As a rule the more established visa firms do not offer such services.

Given the lead time to obtaining a new visa, allow at least one month between the time you apply for a new visa and the expiration of your current one.

Work Permits

Since December, 1993 foreigners who work in Moscow have been legally required to have work permits (Presidential Decree #2146). More recently, the Mayor of Moscow has also issued an order (#183-RM dated March 5, 1999) requiring foreign nationals employed by accredited foreign representative offices to also obtain a Moscow permit.

As often happens in Russia, this rule is being enforced on a spot basis. Many visa and business services firms can assist you in obtaining a work permit, or a company can go directly to the immigration services.