Visa policy of Russia

The visa policy of Russia deals with the requirements which a foreign national wishing to enter the Russian Federation must meet to obtain a visa, which is a permit to travel to, enter, and remain in the country. Visa exemptions are based on bilateral or multilateral agreements. Russia has agreements with scores of countries whose citizens are either exempt from visas or can apply for a visa online (e-visa). Citizens of countries without such an agreement with Russia must obtain a visa in advance from a Russian diplomatic mission or visa centre.
Foreign citizens, while in the territory of Russia, must comply with the legislation of Russia, including requirements of customs, border and immigration regimes, rules of travel finance, registration, internal movement within the territory of Russia and extensions of stay. Nothing limits the right of competent authorities of Russia to deny entry or to shorten the period of stay in the territory of Russia for foreign citizens.
Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia has imposed the following temporary travel restrictions:
On January 27, Russia resumed flights with Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar.
From 15 August 2020, restrictions are lifted for citizens of Switzerland.
From 1 August 2020, restrictions on entry to Russia were lifted for citizens of Abkhazia, Tanzania, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The issuance of entry visas and invitations has also been resumed.
The issuance of Russian electronic visas for the Far East District, Kaliningrad Oblast, and St Petersburg and Leningrad has been suspended since 18 March 2020 and has not been resumed yet.
For foreign citizens who are in Russia on the basis of a visa or visa-free regime, the duration of temporary stay is suspended From 15 March to 15 June 2020.
From 18 March until a special order of the government, all foreign citizens (except citizens of CIS member nations, Abkhazia, South Ossetia from 20 March 2020) are not allowed to enter the Russian Federation. This does not apply to some category of travels.
From 13 March 2020, temporarily suspended the entry of citizens of Italy travelling for educational, work, private, tourist and transit purposes
From 1 March 2020, entry of foreign citizens from the territory of South Korea through air checkpoints (except Sheremetyevo airport) has been canceled.
From 28 February 2020, temporarily suspended the entry of citizens of Iran travelling for educational, work, private, tourist and transit purposes.
From 20 February 2020, temporarily suspended the entry of citizens of China, Hong Kong, Macao, travelling for work, private, educational and tourist purposes.
Border-crossing points.
Foreign citizens may enter into the territory of Russia through the border-crossing points open to international passenger traffic. As of 11 June 2020, Russia has 386 checkpoints across the state border of Russia.
Land border with Belarus.
Citizens of third countries aren't allowed to cross the Belarus–Russia land border due to a lack of international border crossing points, because passports must be stamped.
Visitors are advised to enter mainland Russia via other countries such as –Burachki and Senkivka–Novye Yurkovichi. 
Entry will be allowed through the road checkpoints on the border between Russia and Belarus in 2021:
Land border with Kazakhstan.
Residents of the border areas of Kazakhstan who visit the territory of the border areas of Russia up to 3 days can enter Russia through checkpoints, which are specially installed for residents of border areas.
Visa exemption.
Ordinary passports.
Travellers who are nationals of the following 63 nations are not required to obtain a visa prior to visit Russia as long as the length of their trip is within the visa waiver limit listed below.
From 2014, citizens of these countries—except for citizens of Belarus and South Ossetia, who have the right to unlimited visa-free entry to Russia—must not stay longer than 90 days within any 180-day period. Resetting the allowed period by leaving and re-entering the country is no longer allowed. Overstaying up to 180 days is punishable by a three-year entry ban, 180–270 days by a five-year entry ban, and over 270 days by a ten-year entry ban.
Indefinite period (2)
90 days (42)
60 days (5)
30 days (11)
14 days (3)
ID – May enter with a national ID card<br>
ID(KZ) – May enter with a national ID card if arriving from Kazakhstan<br>
1 – 90 days within any 365-day period<br>
2 – 90 days within any one-year period<br>
3 – 60 days within any 180-day period<br>
4 – 30 days within any 60-day period<br>
Tour groups.
Citizens of may visit Russia without a visa for up to 15 days if traveling as part of a tour group (from 5 to 50 persons) that is accompanied by a representative of a tour operator registered in both countries.
Common visa.
On 19 June 2020, Russia and Belarus have signed an agreement on mutual recognition of visas. After ratification visa-free entry will be available for holders of a valid visa or residence permit of Belarus.
Fan ID.
In 2018 the Russian government introduced a visa-free entry for holders of a FanID, for spectators of sports, cultural, and other events.
Holders of tickets for matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup championship could enter Russia without a visa from 4 June to 15 July 2018 by using a personalized card (also known as a fan passport or fan-ID) and their valid passport. Spectators admitted with a Fan ID had to leave Russia no later than 26 July 2018. According to the Border Service of Russia over 633,000 foreign nationals arrived in Russia using a FanID rather than a visa. Of these, 68,000 were citizens of China, 52,000 from the United States, 44,000 from Mexico, 31,000 from the UK, and 30,000 from Germany.
Russia later extended its visa-free travel regime for foreign soccer fans until the end of 2018. <br>
Holders of tickets for matches of the UEFA Euro 2020 championship in Saint Petersburg will be able to enter Russia without a visa during the matches in 2021.
Visa-free visits for up to 72 hours for cruise ship and ferry passengers.
Since May 2009 international tourists entering by regular ferry via several ports have been able to stay in Russia visa-free for up to 72 hours, provided that they spend the night on-board or in accommodation specifically approved by the travel agency.
In addition tourists entering by tourist cruise ships can leave the ship visa-free on tours organized by any authorized local tour company, when entering Russia through the ports of Anadyr, Kaliningrad, Korsakov, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Sevastopol, Sochi, Saint Petersburg (Big port Saint Petersburg and Passenger Port of St. Petersburg), Vladivostok, Vyborg, Zarubino.
Entry to the port of St. Petersburg by regular ferry can be done only from the ports of Tallinn (Estonia) or Helsinki (Finland). It is also possible to travel visa-free for 72 hours from the port of Stockholm with the stop in Helsinki.
Visa-free zones.
Local border traffic
From 6 June 2013 residents of the border areas of Latvia who have a permit for local border traffic can visit the border areas of Russia without a visa. From 16 December 2018 amendments to the current agreement entered into force. The procedure for obtaining a permit was simplified, total period of stay (within 180 days) was canceled, and the stamping of travel documents at the border crossing was canceled.
From 29 May 2012 residents of the border areas of Norway who have a permit for local border traffic can visit the border areas of Russia without a visa. From 4 March 2017 the Protocol on amendments to the current agreement entered into force – residents of area of Neiden received the right to receive a permit for local border traffic.
From 27 July 2012 residents of the border areas of Poland who have a permit for local border traffic can visit Kaliningrad Oblast without a visa. The agreement has been suspended for an indefinite period by Poland from 4 July 2016.
Crew members.
Visa is not required for crew members of airlines, sea crew, river crew, rail crew that have a bilateral agreement with the Russian government exempting crew members from visa requirements.
Citizens of following countries may visit Russia without a visa if they are travelling as part of the airline crew:
Afghanistan,
Algeria,
Austria,
Belgium,
Bulgaria,
Canada,
China, 
Croatia,
Cyprus,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Egypt,
Ethiopia,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece
Iceland,
India,
Iraq,
Italy,
Japan,
Jordan,
Latvia,
Lebanon,
Libya,
Lithuania,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Netherlands,
North Korea,
North Macedonia,
Norway,
Oman,
Poland,
Portugal,
Qatar,
Romania,
Singapore,
Spain,
Sri Lanka,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
Turkmenistan,
United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom,
Vietnam.
Agreement was signed with Italy and it yet to be ratified.
Russian Government has instructed the Foreign Ministry to sign an agreement with Georgia, and Tunisia.
Citizens of following countries may visit Russia without a visa if they are travelling as part of the sea crew: Bulgaria,
China,1 
Croatia,
Cyprus,
DR Congo,
Egypt,
France,
Iran,
Iraq,
Lithuania,1 
North Korea,
Poland,
Tunisia,
Turkey,
Turkmenistan,1 
Vietnam.
1 - including riverboats crew
Citizens of following countries may visit Russia without a visa if they are travelling as part of the railway crew:
China, North Korea,
Turkmenistan.
Visa-free transit.
Passengers travelling through international airports do not need a visa for a transit of less than 24 hours in most circumstances, provided a confirmed onward ticket is held and the traveller remains in the international transit area (without clearing regular passport control).
A transit visa is needed when transiting Russia to/from Belarus
The following international Russian airports do not have international transit areas, meaning a transit visa is required to connect there:
In accordance with a treaty between Russia and Finland, though there are passport controls at borders, a visa is not required for just passing through the Russian part of the Saimaa canal without leaving the vessel.
The road from Värska to Ulitina in Estonia, traditionally the only road to the Ulitina area, goes through Russian territory for one kilometre (0.6 mi) of its length, an area called Saatse Boot. This road has no border control, but there is no connection to any other road in Russia. It is not permitted to stop or walk along the road. This area is a part of Russia but is also a de facto part of the Schengen area.
Diplomatic and service category passports.
Under reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or various categories of service passports (official, service, special, consular) issued by the following countries, territories and jurisdictions are allowed to enter and remain in Russia for up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted) without a visa:
D* – diplomatic passport only (diplomatic and service passports for Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia)<br>
D — diplomatic passports<br>
S — service passports<br>
O — official passports<br>
Sp — special passports<br>
C — consular passports
1 – unlimited<br>
2 – 3 months<br>
3 – 90 days within any 365-day period<br>
4 – 90 days within any one-year period<br>
5 – 90 days within any 180-day period<br>
6 – 60 days<br>
7 – 30 days<br>
8 – 14 days<br>
9 – only for employees of Zimbabwe official institutions in Russia
Among nationals of countries whose citizens are normally visa-exempt, only holders of diplomatic or service category passports of Israel, service passports of Qatar and service passports of the UAE require a visa.
APEC Business Travel Card.
The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is a travel document issued to business travellers who are citizens of APEC participating economies. Valid for five years, the card eliminates the need for its holder to possess a visa when visiting other APEC participating economies.
From 1 June 2013, holders of passports issued by the following countries who possess an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) containing the "RUS" code on the reverse that it is valid for travel to Russia can enter visa-free for business trips for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
ABTCs are issued to nationals of:
Electronic visa.
From 8 August 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia started to implement the eVisa Program. Citizens of the 18 countries could apply eVisa to visit to regions in the Far Eastern Federal District. From 1 July 2019, citizens of the 54 countries could applied for single-entry business, humanitarian and tourist visas to visit the Kaliningrad region. From 8 June 2019, citizens of Taiwan were added to the list for Far East. From 1 October 2019, electronic visas have become valid for Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast. On 24 January 2020, the new list for the Far Eastern e-visa was approved. Thus, the list of countries has become uniform for all regions where an electronic visa is applied.
On 1 January 2021, unified electronic visas were introduced in Russia. On 6 October 2020, in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2571/2020, the list of States was approved. These are all the countries whose citizens were allowed to enter Russia with an electronic visa as part of the pilot project. 
The e-visa is a single entry visa, which is valid for a period of 60 days from the date of issue, and which allows a period of stay in the Russian Federation of up to 16 days from the date of entry. Foreign citizens have the right to freedom of movement within the entire territory of Russia. The 16-day e-visas are issued for private or business visit, tourism, as well as for participating in scientific, cultural, socio-political, economic, sporting events. The application can be submitted no earlier than 40 days and no later than 4 days before the expected date of entry. Applications for a e-visa will be processed in no more than 4 calendar days from the date of submission of the application. The consular fee is $40 (children under 6 years of age get a visa free of charge).
e-Visa allows arrival and departure only through the following border crossing points:
Airports (16)
Seaports (6)
Railways (2)
Roads (14)
Mixed (1)
Pedestrians (1)
Nationalities eligible for e-Visas are as follows:
Closed cities.
Several closed cities in Russia require special authorization.
Areas requiring special permits.
In accordance with the Government Decree of 1992, 19 areas of the Russian Federation are closed to foreigners without special permits. This restriction does not apply to Russian citizens.
A full list of such areas:
Crimea.
As of 2014 the disputed territory of Crimea is under Russian control and Russia enforces its visa policy there. However, Ukraine requires that foreigners should comply with Ukrainian visa regime including obtaining a Ukrainian visa if one is necessary. Otherwise, Ukraine may impose sanctions for "support of the temporary occupation of the Ukrainian territory".
Future changes.
The Russian Government has instructed the Foreign Ministry to sign an agreement on visa waiver with the following countries:
Visa waiver agreements have already been signed with the following countries but are not yet ratified or applied:
Agreements.
The Russian Federation has visa waiver agreements with 143 jurisdictions.<br> In the table, red indicates agreements signed but not ratified or temporarily not applied.
Russia has concluded agreements that facilitate procedures for issuing visas to both Russian citizens and citizens of the partner jurisdiction on a reciprocal basis. Such agreements are in force with the following countries or political associations:
Russia has agreements on cancellation of consular fees with the following countries: Algeria (1965), Angola (15 Apr 1985), Iran (15 Feb 1966), Japan (1 Apr 1965), Mauritania (1967), New Zealand (1 Apr 1962).
Agreements were denounced with Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, and Pakistan
Visa.
The Russian visa is a machine-readable document, which is placed in the holder's passport. All fields are indicated in both Russian and English, but are filled out only in Russian. The holder's name appears in both the Roman and Cyrillic alphabets.
The name that appears in the machine-readable zone at the bottom of the visa represents the holder's Cyrillic name mapped into the Roman alphabet. This allows Russian computer systems to read the Cyrillic name, despite the machine readers only being able to read Roman alphabet letters. As a result, the spelling of a name in the machine-readable zone does not necessarily reflect its spelling in the visa's name field. For example, the name "Christoph" would appear in the field as "Kpиcтoф/Christoph", but the MRZ would contain the name "Kristof".
Contrary to guidelines for machine-readable documents, the issuing country's ISO code (RUS) is not shown at positions 3-5 (i.e. V<RUS). Instead, the first line is formatted as: VSURNAME«GIVEN<NAMES.
While not necessarily printed on the visa (depending on the embassy), a photo is required in the visa application. The visa application form may be filled online and submitted to the diplomatic mission.
Types of visa.
Depending on the purpose of entry into the Russian Federation and the purposes of stay, visas are categorized as:
A diplomatic visa shall be issued to a foreign citizen holding a diplomatic passport.<br>
A diplomatic visa is issued:
A service visa is issued to the foreign citizen having service (consular, official, special) passport.<br>
A service visa is issued:
Depending on the purpose of entry of the foreign citizen into the Russian Federation and the purpose of his stay in the Russian Federation ordinary visas are subdivided on private, business, tourist, educational, working, humanitarian and entry visas to the Russian Federation for temporary residence or citizenship ceremony:
A Transit visa is issued for a period of up to ten days to the foreign citizen for transit through the territory of Russia.
A visa of temporarily living person is issued for four months to the foreign citizen to whom entry into Russia is allowed for temporary residence, within a quota of delivery of permissions to temporary residence.
Applying for visa.
All types of Russian entry visas are received through Russian embassies and consulates. Provided all the documents are ready, the process usually takes no more than 3-10 workdays for Russian travel visa.
Russian Tourist Visa requirements:
The Russian Consulate requires the visa application form to be printed on A4 paper with right and bottom margins of 5mm. A failure to meet these requirements invalidates the form.
Exit.
Russia requires that an alien who needs a visa on entry be in possession of a valid visa upon exit. To satisfy this formal requirement, exit visas sometimes need to be issued. Russia requires an exit visa if a visitor stays well past the expiration date of their visa. They must then extend their visa or apply for an exit visa and are not allowed to leave the country until they show a valid visa or have a permissible excuse for overstaying their visa (e.g., a note from a doctor or a hospital explaining an illness, missed flight, lost or stolen visa). In some cases, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can issue a Return-Home certificate that is valid for ten days from the embassy of the visitor's native country, thus eliminating the need for an exit visa.
A foreign citizen granted a temporary residence permit in Russia needs a temporary resident visa to take a trip abroad (valid for both exit and return). It is also colloquially called an "exit visa".
Costs for visa.
Almost all Russian embassies and consulates, require visa applications to be submitted to semi-private visa processing centers instead of directly to the consular section of the embassy. Costs differ.
Fingerprinting.
From January 2015 visa applicants from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia will be obliged to provide fingerprint scans. After a trial period it will be decided whether to expand this to other countries as well.
Russia plans to require, from 1 July 2019, fingerprinting and photographing of all foreign citizens entering the Russian Federation without a visa and staying for more than 30 days.
Statistics.
According to the Border Service of the Federal Security Service and the Federal State Statistics Service, most visitors arriving to Russia were from the following countries of nationality:
Most visas were issued in the following countries:
History.
General Rules.
The law "On the legal status of foreign citizens in the USSR" was used by the Russian Federation. Action extended from 1 January 1993.
Chapter III of the law "entry into the USSR and exit from the USSR Foreign citizens" was replaced adopted the Federal Law No.114-FZ 1996 "On the Order of Exit from the Russian Federation".
The law was repealed with the adoption of the Federal Law 115-FZ on 25 Jul 2002 On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation.
The laws establishes that as a general rule all foreign citizens and stateless persons need visas for entry and exit from the territory of Russia and the period of temporary stay (90 days within any 180 days). It also establishes a number of exceptions addressing certain groups of travelers.
The basis of the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons are secured primarily by the Constitution of the Russian Federation 1993 - Art. 62 and Art. 63.
