Visa to Russia

E-visa to Russia up to 16 days


Travel to Russia requires a visa covering the duration of your stay in the country. Visas are issued by Russian Consulates in your home country, based on an invitation (a visa support letter) from a Russian party. If you are not the citizen of the country where you apply for visa you may be refused, but the practice is different in different countries. Some Russian Consulates accept remote applying so you can apply for a visa from any place.

To obtain a Russian visa, you should submit the following papers to a Consular Section:

  1. Completed visa application form (one per person)
  2. Valid national passport (its validity should exceed the planned date of departure from Russia by 6 months)
  3. Three standard passport-size photographs
  4. Invitation from an authorized Russian organization

The visa fee is paid to the Consular service issuing visas in the respective country. Its cost varies.

You will have to register your visa upon arrival in Russia and every new place within 7 working days. Most hotels can and must register your visa for free. You do not need to have any stamps in you passport or the migration card after the registration. If you travel by bicycle and stay sometimes in hotels that is OK. But if you stay longer than your visa stipulates, you can be fined when you leave Russia and may have problems for future visa applications. Visa extension is a very hard procedure. Try to get the adequate visa type in advance.

Important to know: Tourist visa can be issued up to 30 days or up to 90 days (single or double entry). (Tourist visa can be up to 180 days but you can stay only 90 days.) US citizens can get a tourist visa up to 3 years. Citizens of these countries can get an E-visa to Russia up to 16 days.

Visa fees for both the invitation and the visa itself are dependant on how much time you allow for processing. Fast processing time increases the cost considerably, so it is best to plan ahead.

RCTC can provide you with an official invitation for getting Russian tourist visa.

For more information see the consular department information portal.