Visa policy of Russia

Russian transit visa with entry and exit stamps in a Swedish passport

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 visa, or can purchase a visa online. Citizens of countries without such an agreement with Russia must obtain a visa in advance from a Russian diplomatic mission or visa centre.

Visa exemption

Visa policy of Russia

  Russia

  Crimea Under Russian visa policy

Ordinary passports

Travelers who are nationals of the following 46 nations are not required to obtain a visa prior to visit Russia as long as their trip lasts no more than the visa waiver limit listed below.

From 2014, citizens of the countries, except Belarus, who have the right to a 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, on 180–270 days by a five-year entry ban, over 270 days by ten-year entry ban.

Unlimited period Belarus South Ossetia 90 days Abkhazia Armenia Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Tajikistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Estonia (holders of an alien passport) Latvia (holders of a non-citizen passport) Non-commercial purposes Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador El Salvador Fiji Guatemala Guyana Honduras Israel Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Saint Kitts and Nevis (from 21 November 2017) South Africa Uruguay Vanuatu Venezuela 60 days for non-commercial purposes Mauritius Samoa South Korea 30 days for non-commercial purposes Bosnia and Herzegovina Cuba Macao Macedonia Mongolia Montenegro Serbia Seychelles Thailand 14 days for non-commercial purposes Hong Kong Nauru

Notes

1. ^ Internal passport/national identification card accepted.
2. ^ On 18 February 2017 the President of Russia has signed the decree "About Recognition of the Documents Issued to the Citizens of Ukraine and Persons Without Citizenship Living in Territories of Certain Districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions of Ukraine". Holders of passports of Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic can carry out entry into the Russian Federation and departure from the Russian Federation without execution of visas. The decree is applied temporarily, for the period before political settlement of a situation in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine on the basis of the Minsk Agreement.
3. ^ If holding a letter of guarantee/invitation and a tourist voucher.

Date of visa changes

Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Kazakhstani, Kyrgyzstani, Moldovan, Tajik, Ukrainian and Uzbekistani citizens have never needed a visa to gain access to Russia 29 July 1994: Cuba 24 March 2007: Thailand 20 September 2008: Israel 31 October 2008: Macedonia 21 November 2008: Montenegro 6 March 2009: Venezuela 10 June 2009: Serbia 29 June 2009: Argentina 1 July 2009: Hong Kong 7 June 2010: Brazil 3 July 2010: Nicaragua 18 January 2011: Chile 11 Mar 2011: Colombia 25 April 2011: South Ossetia 26 April 2011: Abkhazia 21 June 2011: Peru 27 December 2011: Uruguay 29 February 2012: Guatemala 30 September 2012: Macao 24 November 2012: Ecuador 1 May 2013: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 January 2014: South Korea 29 July 2014: Fiji 20 October 2014: Paraguay 14 November 2014: Mongolia (resumed under different terms) 8 February 2015: Panama 14 May 2015: Nauru 11 July 2015: Honduras 27 November 2015: Guyana 14 December 2015: Seychelles 10 April 2016: Mauritius 27 August 2016: El Salvador 3 October 2016: Bolivia 21 October 2016: Vanuatu 30 March 2017: South Africa 9 July 2017: Samoa 21 November 2017: Saint Kitts and Nevis Cancelled: Estonia and Latvia: 12 May 1993 Vietnam: 20 February 1994 Lithuania: 19 April 1994 Mongolia: 5 May 1995 (was resumed in 2014) North Korea: 22 May 1997 Turkmenistan: 17 July 1999 Slovenia: 1 December 1999 Georgia: 3 December 2000 Czech Republic: 29 May 2000 Slovakia: 1 January 2001 Hungary: 14 June 2001 Bulgaria: 7 May 2002 Poland: 1 October 2003 Cyprus: 1 January 2004 Romania: 1 March 2004 Croatia: 31 March 2013 Turkey: 1 Jan 2016

2018 FIFA World Cup

2018 FIFA World Cup holders of tickets for matches of the championship will be able to enter Russia without a visa with personalized card of viewer (also known as the passport of a fan or fan-ID) and national passport from 4 June to 25 July 2018.

Tour groups

Citizens of China 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.

Land border with Belarus

Citizens of third countries cannot move via Belarus–Russia land border due to a lack of international border crossing points. Visitors are advised by the Polish Embassy in Belarus to enter mainland Russia via Terehova–Burachki and Senkivka–Novye Yurkovichi.

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, St.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

• Japan — Group travel to central and southern Kuril Islands for pre-approved lists of the Foreign Ministry. Visits are carried out on the basis of identity cards and inserts.
  No visas for citizens of Japan who visit the burial place of relatives located in the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island. By pre- authorized list in the regional Russian-Japanese consultations.
• United States — Residents of Alaska who are members of the indigenous population do not require a visa to visit Chukotka Autonomous Okrug if they have relatives (blood relatives, members of the same tribe, native people who have similar language and cultural heritage) in Chukotka. Individuals must be invited by a relative in Chukotka and must leave Chukotka within 90 days. Entry points are in Anadyr, Provideniya, Lavrentiya and Uelen.

Local border traffic

• Latvia — 90 days within any 180 day period for holders of border traffic permit

The territory covered by the agreement.
Latvia	Alūksne Municipality	Alsviķi parish, Alūksne town, Anna parish, Jaunalūksne parish, Jaunanna parish, Jaunlaicene parish, Liepna parish, Maliena parish, Mālupe parish, Mārkalne parish, Pededze parish, Veclaicene parish, Ziemeri parish
	Baltinava Municipality
	Balvi Municipality	Balvi parish, Balvi town, Bērzkalne parish, Bērzpils parish, Briežuciems parish, Krišjāņi parish, Kubuli parish, Lazduleja parish, Tilža parish, Vectilža parish, Vīksna parish.
	Cibla Municipality	Blonti parish, Cibla parish, Līdumnieki parish, Pušmucova parish, Zvirgzdene parish.
	Dagda Municipality	Bērziņi parish, Ezernieki parish, Ķepova parish, Svariņi parish, Šķaune parish
	Kārsava Municipality	Goliševa parish, Kārsava town, Malnava parish, Mērdzene parish, Mežvidi parish, Salnava parish.
	Ludza Municipality	Briģi parish, Cirma parish, Isnauda parish, Istra parish, Ludza town, Nirza parish, Ņukši parish, Pilda parish, Pureņi parish, Rundēni parish.
	Rēzekne Municipality	Bērzgale parish, Dricāni parish, Gaigalava parish, Ilzeskalns parish, Lendži parish, Nautrēni parish, Strūžāni parish.
	Rugāji Municipality	Lazdukalns parish, Rugāji parish.
	Viļaka Municipality	Kuprava parish, Medņeva parish, Susāji parish, Šķilbēni parish, Vecumi parish, Viļaka town, Žīguri parish.
	Zilupe Municipality	Lauderi parish, Pasiene parish, Zaļesje Parish, Zilupe town.
Russia	Pskov Oblast	Krasnogorodsky District: Krasnogorodsk, Pogranichnaya Volost, Krasnogorodskaya Volost, Partizanskaya Volost. Opochetsky District: Varyginskaya Volost, Makushinskaya Volost, Prigorodnaya Volost. Ostrovsky District: Ostrov, Berezhanskaya Volost, Gorayskaya Volost. Palkinsky District: Palkino, Kachanovskaya Volost, Rodonskaya Volost, Palkinskaya Volost, Novousitovskaya Volost, Vasilyevskaya Volost, Cherskaya Volost. Pechorsky District: Pechory, Lavrovskaya Volost, Kruppskaya Volost, Novoizborskaya Volost, Izborskaya Volost, Panikovskaya Volost. Pytalovsky District: Pytalovo, Gavrovskaya Volost, Linovskaya Volost, Nosovskaya Volost, Skalinskaya Volost, Vyshgorodskaya Volost, Tulinskaya Volost, Utroinskaya Volost. Sebezhsky District: Sebezh, Sosnovy Bor, Sebezhskaya Volost, Mostischenskaya Volost.

• Norway — 15 days for holders of border traffic permit

The territory covered by the agreement.
Norway	Finnmark county: municipality of Sør-Varanger, within a zone of 30 km from the border + area of Neiden.
Russia	Pechengsky District: Korzunovo municipality, Zapolyarny municipality and the territory of Pechenga municipality and Nickel municipality within a zone of 30 km from the border.

• Poland — 30 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within 180 day period for holders of border traffic permit

The agreement was suspended indefinitely 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, France, Greece Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, North Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal Romania Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom Vietnam.

Agreements signed with Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Oman and is 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 North Korea, Lithuania,¹ 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.

E-visa to visit certain regions of the Far East

Russian e-visa

  Primorsky Krai

  Kamchatka Krai

  Sakhalin Oblast

From 8 August 2017, citizens of the following 18 countries can get e-visa to visit to regions in the Russian Far East.

Conditions for issuing:

• e-visa is a single-entry visa and issued for 30 calendar days from the date of its issuance. The permitted stay in Russia with an e-visa is up to 8 days starting from the date of entry, within its validity period
• e-visa validity and/or the permitted stay under it cannot be extended
• an e-visa is free
• invitations, hotel booking confirmations or any other documents that confirm the purpose of your journey to Russia are not required for an e-visa
• the time period for issuing an e-visa is no longer than 4 calendar days from the date of submission of the complete application
• e-visas can be of the following categories only: ordinary business visa (purpose of journey is business), ordinary tourist visa (purpose of journey is tourism), and ordinary humanitarian visa (purposes of journey are sports, cultural, scientific and technological ties)
• foreign nationals will have the right to freedom of movement within the territory of the region near the point of entry with the exception of territories, organizations and facilities, to enter which a special permission is required in accordance with federal laws of the Russian Federation.
• foreign citizens who have arrived to Russia with e-visas have the right to freedom of movement within the territory of the constituent entity of Russia which they entered, with the exception of territories, organizations and facilities, to enter which a special permission is required in accordance with federal laws of Russia.
• foreign citizens should leave the territory of Russia only through checkpoints of the constituent entity of Russia which they entered
• application form for an e-visa can be filled not earlier than 20 days and no later than 4 days before the intended date of entry into Russia
• passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of application
• foreign citizens are required to have a medical insurance

Eligible countries

  Russia

  Visa-free access

  Access to some regions with e-visa

Algeria Bahrain Brunei China India Iran Japan North Korea Kuwait

Mexico Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates

Eligible border crossing points of entry

Port of entry	Areas permitted to stay	Effective date
Vladivostok International Airport	Primorsky Krai	8 August 2017
Sea passenger terminal of Vladivostok
Sea port of Posyet		1 January 2018
Sea port of Zarubino
Railway checkpoints: Khasan, Makhalino, Pogranichny
Road checkpoints: Poltavka, Turiy Rog
Sea port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky	Kamchatka Krai
Sea port of Korsakov	Sakhalin Oblast

Visa-free transit

Direct airside transit

Passengers travelling through international airports do not need a visa for a transit of less than 24 hours (except to/from Belarus), provided a confirmed onward ticket is held and the traveller remains in the international transit area (without clearing passport control).

The following international Russian airports do not have international transit areas, meaning a transit visa is required to connect there:

• Khabarovsk Airport (KHV)
• Krasnodar Airport (KRR)
• Mineralnye Vody Airport (MRV)
• Rostov Airport (ROV)
• Sochi Airport (AER)
• Vladivostok Airport (VVO)
• Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS)

Saimaa canal

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.

Värska–Ulitina road

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 passports

  Russian Federation

  Crimea Under Russian visa policy

  Diplomatic and service category passports

  Diplomatic passports only

Under reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or various categories of service passports (official, service, special, consular) issued by the following jurisdictions are allowed to enter and remain in Russia for up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted) without a visa:

All European Union citizens3 D* (excluding Ireland and United Kingdom) Abkhazia D S Albania D S Angola D S Argentina 2 D S O Armenia D Azerbaijan D S Bahrain 3 D S Sp Bangladesh 6 D O Belarus 1 D S Benin D S Bolivia 2 D S O Bosnia and Herzegovina D S Botswana D S Brazil D S Brunei 7 D O Burkina Faso D S Cape Verde D S Cambodia D S Chile 2 D S China 6 D S Sp Colombia D O Congo D S O Costa Rica 2 D S Cuba 6 D S Dominican Republic D S Ecuador 4 D S O Egypt D S Sp El Salvador D O Ethiopia D S Fiji D Sp Gabon D S Guatemala 2 D O C Guinea D S Guyana D* Honduras D O Iceland 3 D* India D S O Indonesia 7 D S Iran 6 D S Jamaica D S Kazakhstan D S Kuwait 3 D Sp Kyrgyzstan D S Laos 6 D S Liechtenstein 3 D* Macedonia D S Mali D S Mauritius 5 D Mexico D S O Moldova D S Monaco 3 D* Mongolia 6 D S Montenegro D S Morocco D S Mozambique 6 D S Myanmar D S O Nauru 7 D O Nepal D S Nicaragua D S O North Korea D S Norway 3 D* Oman D S Sp Pakistan D S Panama D S O Sp C Paraguay 2 D S O Sp Peru D S Sp Philippines D S O Qatar D* Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 D O (21 Nov 2017) Samoa D O Senegal D S Serbia D S Seychelles 6 D O Singapore D S O South Africa D S O South Korea D S O South Ossetia 1 D S Sri Lanka 6 D S O Switzerland 3 D* Syria D S Sp Tajikistan D S Thailand D S Tunisia 3 D S Sp Turkey D* Turkmenistan 6 D S Ukraine D S United Arab Emirates D* Uruguay 2 D O Uzbekistan D Vanuatu D S Venezuela D S Vietnam D S Zimbabwe 8 D S

_{* - diplomatic passport only (diplomatic and service passports for Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia)}

_{D — diplomatic passports
S — service passports
O — official passports
Sp — special passports
C — consular passports}

_{1 — Unlimited
2 – 3 months
3 – 90 days within any 180 day period
4 – 90 days within any one year period
5 – 60 days
6 – 30 days
7 – 14 days}

_{8 – not for tourism or transit, only for employees of official institutions of the country on the territory of Russia}

APEC Business Travel Card

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:

Australia Brunei Chile China Hong Kong Indonesia Japan South Korea Malaysia

Mexico New Zealand Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand Vietnam

Closed cities

Several closed cities in Russia require special authorization.

Areas closed to foreigners

Due to the Government Decree of 1992, parts of 19 subjects of Russian Federation closed for foreigners without special permits. This restriction is not applicable for Russian citizens.

Part of them:

• 1. Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, all
• 2. In Leningrad Oblast - all Russian islands of Gulf of Finland, except Gogland, and 20-km strip along South coast of Gulf of Finland.
• 3. The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, 85% of territory. Transit to border with Georgia and to border with South Ossetia are possible along the main roads. Tsey Gorge is opened for foreigners from 2012.
• 4. Part of Kaliningrad Oblast, approx. 15%.
• 5. Part of Moscow Oblast, approx. 10%.
• 6. Part of Arkhangelsk Oblast, include Novaya Zemlya, approx. 30%.
• 7. Part of Murmansk Oblast, approx. 15%. Transit to/from Norway is possible by main road.
• 8. Part of Kamchatka Krai.
• 9. Part of Primorsky Krai.

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:

• Brunei – 14 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within any 180 day period for ordinary passports
• Guyana – 90 days for service passports

Visa waiver agreements have already been signed with the following countries but are not yet ratified or applied:

• Equatorial Guinea – 90 days within any 180 day period for diplomatic and service passports
• Gambia – 90 days for diplomatic and service passports
• Grenada – 90 days within any 180 day period for all passports
• Iran – 15 days for tourist groups
• Jordan – 90 days within any 180 day period for diplomatic and service passports
• Laos – 30 days for ordinary passports
• Micronesia – 30 days for all passports
• Saint Kitts and Nevis – 90 days within any 180 day period for all passports from 21 November 2017
• Vatican – 90 days within any 180 day period for diplomatic passports

Agreements

The Russian Federation has visa waiver agreements with 127 jurisdictions.
In the table, red indicates agreements signed but not ratified or temporarily not applied.

Bilateral and multilateral visa waiver agreements
Country or territory	Duration of stay by type of passport			Date of signing	Effective date	Citation
	Diplomatic	Service Official Consular	Ordinary
Abkhazia	90 days			2 Oct 2009	26 Apr 2011
Albania	90 days			7 Apr 1993	6 Aug 1993
Angola	90 days			26 Feb 1999	16 Jun 2006
Argentina	3 months			16 May 1994	27 Sep 1994
			90 days within any 180 day period	11 Mar 2009 18 Mar 2009	29 Jun 2009
Armenia	90 days			25 Sep 2000	25 Sep 2000
Azerbaijan	90 days			3 Jul 1997	4 May 1998
Bahrain	90 days within any 180 day period			16 Dec 2015	26 Jun 2016
Bangladesh	30 days			22 Sep 2016	12 Feb 2017
Belarus	Unlimited			30 Nov 2000	7 Jun 2002
Benin	90 days			21 Jun 2001	20 Aug 2001
Bolivia	3 month			11 Apr 1995	28 Apr 1997
			90 days within any 180 day period	12 Apr 2016	3 Oct 2016
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days		30 days within any 60 day period	31 May 2013	20 Oct 2013
Botswana	90 days			10 Feb 2005	11 Apr 2005
Brazil	90 days			16 Apr 1991	16 May 1991
			90 days within any 180 day period	26 Nov 2008	7 Jun 2010
Brunei	14 days			7 Oct 2009 12 Oct 2009	11 Nov 2009
			14 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within any 180 day period	Nov 2017
Bulgaria	90 days within any 180 day period			5 Mar 2002	7 May 2002
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007
Burkina Faso	90 days			2 Mar 2000	2 Mar 2000
Cape Verde	90 days			14 Jul 1995	14 Sep 1995
Cambodia	90 days			17 Mar 1988	28 May 1988
Chile	3 months			14 Feb 1995	1 Oct 1996
		3 months		4 Oct 2002	12 Feb 2004
			90 days within any 180 day period	24 Sep 2010	18 Jan 2011
China	30 days			22 Mar 2013	26 Apr 2014
			15 days for tourist groups	29 Feb 2000	9 Nov 2000
Colombia	90 days			26 Nov 1997	28 Mar 1998
			90 days within any 180 day period	24 Sep 2010	11 Mar 2011
Congo	90 days			18 Dec 2014	1 Jan 2016
Costa Rica	3 month			16 Oct 1997	30 Apr 1998
Croatia	90 days within any 6 month period			2 Mar 2010	31 Mar 2013
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jul 2013
Cuba	30 days			3 Dec 1993	29 Jul 1994
Cyprus	90 days within any half-year period			8 Jun 2005	20 May 2006
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007
Denmark	90 days within any 180 day period			27 May 2008	1 Oct 2009
Dominican Republic	90 days			9 Sep 2009	9 Apr 2010
Ecuador	90 days within any year period			18 Feb 1999	15 May 1999
			90 days within any 180 day period	24 Sep 2010	24 Nov 2012
Egypt	90 days			17 Jul 2003	17 Jul 2003
El Salvador	90 days			25 Jan 1999 29 Jan 1999	30 Mar 1999
			90 days within any 180 day period	26 Mar 2015	27 Aug 2016
Equatorial Guinea	90 days within any 180 day period			7 Apr 2017
Ethiopia	90 days			11 Dec 2002	11 Jan 2003
European Union countries 25 states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden (excluding Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom)	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007; for Croatia from 1 Jul 2013
Fiji	90 days			28 Jun 2013	29 Jul 2014
Gabon	90 days			5 Apr 2011	25 Sep 2011
Gambia	90 days			4 May 2017
Grenada	90 days within any 180 day period			20 Sep 2017
Guatemala	3 months			24 May 1999	24 Jul 1999
			90 days within any 180 day period	22 Sep 2011	29 Feb 2012
Guinea	90 days			7 Jan 1998	8 Mar 1998
Guyana	90 days			3 Nov 2005	12 Feb 2006
			90 days within any 180 day period	27 Sep 2015	27 Nov 2015
Honduras	90 days			21 Sep 1999	20 Nov 1999
			90 days within any 180 day period	26 Sep 2014	11 Jul 2015
Hong Kong	14 days			23 Apr 2009	1 Jul 2009
Hungary	90 days			14 Jun 2001	14 Jun 2001
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007
Iceland	90 days within any 180 day period			24 Sep 2008	1 Mar 2010
India	90 days			3 Dec 2004	15 Feb 2005
Indonesia	14 days			1 Dec 2006	22 Mar 2008
Iran	30 days			29 Mar 1993	28 Apr 1993
			15 days for tourist groups	28 Mar 2017
Israel			90 days within any 180 day period	20 Mar 2008	20 Sep 2008
Jamaica	90 days			23 Jun 2000	1 Sep 2000
Jordan	90 days within any 180 day period			11 Sep 2017
Kazakhstan	90 days			30 Nov 2000	7 Jun 2002
Kuwait	90 days within any 180 day period			10 Nov 2015	10 Apr 2016
Kyrgyzstan	90 days			30 Nov 2000	7 Jun 2002
Laos	30 days			29 Nov 2004	30 Dec 2004
			30 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within any 180 day period	8 Sep 2016
Liechtenstein	90 days within any 180 day period			12 Nov 2013	1 Apr 2015
Macao	30 days			19 Jun 2012	30 Sep 2012
Macedonia	90 days		30 days	19 Jun 2008	31 Oct 2008
Mali	90 days			27 May 2009	27 May 2009
Mauritius	60 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within any 180 day period			23 Dec 2015	10 Apr 2016
Mexico	90 days			28 Jan 1997	5 Jul 1997
Micronesia	30 days			21 Sep 2017
Moldova	90 days			30 Nov 2000	30 Nov 2000
Mongolia	30 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within any 180 day period			3 Sep 2014	14 Nov 2014
Montenegro	90 days		30 days	24 Sep 2008	21 Nov 2008
Morocco	90 days			15 Oct 2002	15 Oct 2002
Mozambique	30 days			30 Dec 2009	30 May 2010
Myanmar	90 days			3 Jul 2000	3 Aug 2000
Nauru	14 days			24 Sep 2014	14 May 2015
Nepal	90 days			16 Apr 2002	16 May 2002
Nicaragua	90 days			28 Nov 1997	13 Jan 1998
			90 days within any 180 day period	28 Jul 2009	3 Jul 2010
North Korea	90 days			24 Jan 1997	22 May 1997
Norway	90 days within any 180 day period			8 Jun 2007	1 Dec 2008
Oman	90 days			3 Feb 2016	27 Oct 2016
Pakistan	90 days			4 Jun 1994	4 Jul 1994
Panama	90 days			16 Jun 1995 22 Jun 1995	20 Aug 1995
			90 days within any 180 day period	3 Dec 2014 9 Dec 2014	8 Feb 2015
Paraguay	3 months			20 Nov 1995	2 Feb 1997
			90 days within any 180 day period	25 Sep 2013	20 Oct 2014
Peru	90 days			14 Jul 1999	19 Nov 1999
			90 days within any 180 day period	13 Nov 2010	21 Jun 2011
Philippines	90 days			3 Aug 2007	22 Dec 2008
Poland	90 days			18 Sep 2003	1 Oct 2003
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007
Qatar	90 days			18 Jan 2016	14 Aug 2016
Romania	90 days			26 Aug 2002	1 Mar 2004
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007
Saint Kitts and Nevis	90 days within any 180 day period			21 Sep 2017	21 Nov 2017
Samoa	60 days			4 Apr 2017	9 July 2017
Senegal	90 days			2 Jul 2015	6 Feb 2017
Serbia	90 days		30 days	20 Feb 2009	10 Jun 2009
Seychelles	30 days			2 Sep 2015	14 Dec 2015
Singapore	90 days			17 Nov 2015	2 Jan 2016
Slovakia	90 days			29 Dec 2000	29 Dec 2000
	90 days within any 180 day period			25 May 2006	1 Jun 2007
South Africa	90 days			5 Aug 2010	15 Dec 2010
			90 days	24 Jan 2017 27 Feb 2017	30 Mar 2017
South Korea	90 days			21 Sep 2004	21 Nov 2004
		90 days		17 Oct 2006	31 Dec 2006
			60 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within any 180 day period	13 Nov 2013	1 Jan 2014
South Ossetia	Unlimited; 90 days until 30 Jul 2015			1 Feb 2010	25 Apr 2011
Sri Lanka	30 days			13 Aug 2015	24 Oct 2015
Syria	90 days; 30 days until 6 May 2010			20 Mar 2008	2 Jul 2008
Switzerland	90 days within any 180 day period			21 Sep 2009	1 Feb 2011
Tajikistan	90 days			30 Nov 2000	7 Jun 2002
Thailand	90 days			17 Oct 2002	6 Mar 2003
			30 days	13 Dec 2005	24 Mar 2007
Tunisia	90 days within any 180 day period			28 Jun 2012	13 Feb 2013
Turkey	90 days			5 Nov 1999	6 Jan 2000
		30 days (temporarily not applied from 15 Apr 2016)		12 May 2010	16 Apr 2011
			30 days (temporarily not applied from 1 Jan 2016)
Turkmenistan	30 days			17 Jul 1999	17 Jul 1999
Ukraine	90 days			16 Jan 1997	10 Mar 1997
United Arab Emirates	90 days			27 Jun 2010	31 Mar 2013
Uruguay	3 months			13 Jul 1999	3 Oct 1999
			90 days within any 180 day period	26 Sep 2011	27 Dec 2011
Uzbekistan	90 days			30 Nov 2000	24 Nov 2009
Vanuatu	90 days			20 Sep 2016	21 Oct 2016
Vatican	90 days within any 180 day period			22 Aug 2017
Venezuela	90 days			28 Jun 1993	1 Nov 1993
			90 days within any 180 day period	26 Nov 2008	6 Mar 2009
Vietnam	90 days			28 Oct 1993	20 Feb 1994
Zimbabwe	90 days			23 Jan 1991 31 Jan 1991	31 Jan 1991
Notes: ^ Agreement include the item "Total period of permitted stay in the territory of the state for a certain period of time is set in accordance with the laws of the state." From 2014, it is 90 days within any 180 day period. ^ Agreement concluded through an exchange of diplomatic notes. ^ Agreement between Russia and EU. Article 14 " ...the provisions <of the agreement> shall prevail over the provisions of any bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements between the Russian Federation and the Member States... ^ Only for group tourism (from 5 to 50 persons) organized by accredited travel agencies in both countries.

Unilateral visa waiver concessions
Country	Type of passport	Duration of stay	Date of signing	Effective date	Citation
Estonia	Alien's passport	90 days within any 180 day period	17 Jun 2008	17 Jun 2008
Latvia	Non-citizen passport
Monaco	Diplomatic passport	90 days within any 180 day period	3 Sep 2017	3 Sep 2017

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:

Visa facilitation agreements
Country	Entry into force
Bulgaria	2002
Croatia	2013
Cyprus	2006
China	2014
Denmark	2009
Egypt	2011
European Union (excluding Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom)	2007
France	2005
Germany	2004
Iceland	2010
India	2011, 2015, 2016
Indonesia	1990
Iran	1996, 2016
Israel	2002, 2016
Italy	2005
Japan	2013, 2017
Latvia	1995 2013
Liechtenstein	2015
Lithuania	2003
Norway	2012 2017
Poland	2003 2012
Romania	2004
South Africa	1996
South Korea	1992, 2002, 2010
Spain	1990, 2015
Switzerland	2011
Turkmenistan	1999
United Kingdom	1989
United States	2012, 2013
Vietnam	1994, 2005
Yemen	1988

Russia has agreements on cancellation of consular fees, for execution of visas, with the following countries: Algeria (1965), Angola (15 Apr 1985), Cambodia (26 Sep 1983), Iran (15 Feb 1966), Japan (1 Apr 1965), Mauritania (1967), New Zealand (1 Apr 1962).
Agreements were denounced in 2017 with Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Visa waiver agreements which ceased to apply

Canceled agreements
Country or territory	Duration of stay by type of passport			Date of signing	Effective date	Cancellation date	Citation
	Diplomatic	Service category	Ordinary
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days		90 days with invitation 30 days with voucher	24 Sep 2007	1 May 2008	20 Oct 2013
Bulgaria	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation Transit without a visa			2 Nov 1978	6 Jul 1979	7 May 2002
	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation up to 90 days			3 Nov 1969	24 Jan 1970	6 Jul 1979
	About private trips			20 May 1965	1 Jun 1965	24 Jan 1970	no text
CIS countries 9 states Armenia Belarus Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan (excluding Azerbaijan and Ukraine)	Unlimited			9 Oct 1992	9 Oct 1992; for Georgia 1 Aug 1995	3 Dec 2000; for Turkmenistan 19 Jun 1999
China	Yes			29 Feb 2000	25 May 2001	25 Apr 2014
	Yes including passport for public affairs			29 Dec 1993	29 Jan 1994	25 May 2001
				15 Jul 1988		29 Jan 1994	no text
Cuba	During the term of official journey For tourism with a tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation			10 Jan 1985		29 Jul 1994
				1981		1985	no text
Cyprus	During the term of official journey		90 days	27 Dec 1994	15 Jun 1995	1 Jan 2004
Czech Republic	During the term of official journey 30 days for all passports			7 Dec 1994	3 Sep 1995	29 May 2000
Czechoslovakia	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation Transit without a visa			17 Dec 1981	30 May 1982	for Czech 28 Sep 1995; for Slovakia 7 Aug 1994
	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation up to 90 days Transit without a visa			16 Sep 1969	16 Sep 1969	30 May 1982
	90 days with an invitation			17 Sep 1965	17 Sep 1965	15 Sep 1969
				18 Dec 1962		17 Sep 1965
Hungary	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation Transit without a visa			24 Nov 1978		14 Jun 2001
	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation up to 90 days			4 Mar 1969	11 Jun 1969
North Korea	During the term of official journey For tourism with a tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation			22 Jan 1986	17 Sep 1986	22 May 1997
Laos	Yes			20 Dec 1984		30 Dec 2004
Lithuania			30 days for residents of the Kaliningrad region	24 Feb 1995	25 Jun 1995	1 Jan 2003
Mongolia	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation			20 December 1979		5 May 1995
	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation up to 90 days			26 Jan 1971	23 May 1971
Poland	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation Transit without a visa			13 Dec 1979	22 May 1980	1 Oct 2003
	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation up to 90 days			5 Feb 1970	12 May 1970	22 May 1980
Romania	Yes About abolition of the visa regime			11 Mar 1991	24 October 1991	1 Mar 2004
	During an office mission For tourism with a tourist documents For a private trip with an invitation up to 45 days			30 Jun 1969	1 Jan 1970	24 October 1991
	Without visas on office affairs For a private trip with an invitation up to 45 days within year Transit on private affairs without visa			4 Mar 1966	23 Jun 1966	1 Jan 1970
	About trips for a visit to close relatives			1963		23 Jun 1966	no text
	About visa-free trips of citizens on diplomatic, service, all-civil passports and collective certificates			1956		23 Jun 1966	no text
Slovakia	30 days for all passports During the term of official journey			13 Feb 1995	25 Aug 1995	1 Jan 2001
				1 Jun 1994	7 Aug 1994	25 Aug 1995	no text
Vietnam	During the term of official journey For tourism with tourist documents Visa free transit for tourism and official purposes			15 Jul 1981	14 Aug 1982	20 Feb 1994	no text
Yugoslavia	During a term of an official trip For tourism with a voucher For a private trip with an invitation up to 90 days			31 Oct 1989	26 Apr 1990	for Croatia 31 Mar 2013; for Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 May 2008; for Macedonia 31 Oct 2008; for Montenegro 21 Nov 2008; for Slovenia 1 Dec 1999; for Serbia 10 Jun 2009
	Yes		Yes, on duty	26 Oct 1965		26 Apr 1990	no text
			For tourism with a voucher	3 June 1967 27 Nov 1967	26 Dec 1967

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:

• Private
• Business
• Tourist
• Educational
• Working
• Humanitarian
• Entry (for receiving shelter or to obtain citizenship in Russia)

Diplomatic visa

A diplomatic visa shall be issued to a foreign citizen holding a diplomatic passport.
A diplomatic visa is issued:

• to foreign heads of state, foreign heads of government, members of the foreign official delegations, family members of such persons traveling with them or accompanying them - for a period of up to one year.
• to diplomatic agents of diplomatic missions and consular officials of consular establishments, the staff of representations of the international organizations in the Russian Federation which have the diplomatic status in the Russian Federation, to family members of specified persons for a period of up to one year.
• to foreign diplomatic and consular couriers for the term of business trip.
• to officials of the foreign states who have the official status in the Russian Federation have the right to a diplomatic visa and who come for a working visit to diplomatic missions or consular establishments of the foreign states in the Russian Federation or to the international organizations or their representations in the Russian Federation, for a period of up to one year.

Service visa

A service visa is issued to the foreign citizen having service (consular, official, special) passport.
A service visa is issued:

• to members of foreign official delegations, family members of such persons traveling with them or accompanying them - for a period of up to one year.
• to administrative and technical and service personnel of diplomatic missions, consular employees and service personnel of consular establishments of the foreign states in the Russian Federation, representations of the international organizations in the Russian Federation and to family members of such persons for a period of up to one year.
• to military personnel of armed forces of the foreign states and family members of such persons for a period of up to one year. Extension of term of stay in the Russian Federation by issuance of the multiple entry visa for a period of validity of the foreign trade contract registered in accordance with the established procedure, but no more than for five years is allowed to the military personnel of armed forces of the foreign states driving to the Russian Federation for implementation of international treaties of the Russian Federation and (or) decisions of public authorities of the Russian Federation in the field of military and technical cooperation, and family members of such persons.
• to foreign state officials who have the official status in the Russian Federation have the right to be issued a service visa and those who travel for a working visit to diplomatic missions or consular establishments of the foreign states in the Russian Federation or in the international organizations or their representations in the Russian Federation, for a period of up to one year.

Ordinary visa

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:

1. An ordinary private visa is issued for a period of up to three months or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity for a period of up to one year to foreign citizens traveling to Russia for a short visit on the basis of an invitation letter.
2. An ordinary business visa is issued for a period of up to one year to foreign citizens traveling to Russia for a business trip.
3. An ordinary tourist visa is issued for a period of up to one month or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity for a period of up to six months to foreign citizens traveling to Russia as tourists, if holding an invitation letter by a Russian tour operator. Invitations can be issued by many hotels on request (sometimes for a fee) or through various online services associated with Russian tour operators.
   An ordinary tourist group visa is issued for a period of up to one month to foreign citizens traveling to Russia as a tourist in an organized tourist group (not less than five people), of holding a confirmation by an organization in the unified federal register of tour operators.
4. An ordinary student visa is issued for a period of up to one year to foreign citizens traveling to Russia for training in the educational institution.
5. An ordinary work visa is issued to foreign citizens visiting Russia for work purposes for a period of validity of the employment contract or civil contract for performance of work (rendering services), but no more than for one year.
6. An ordinary humanitarian visa is issued for a period of up to one year or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity for a period of up to five years to foreign citizens visiting Russia for a scientific, cultural, political or a sport visit, religious communication and contacts, pilgrimage, charity, delivery of humanitarian aid.
7. An ordinary entry visa to Russia for receiving a shelter is issued to foreign citizens for a period of up to three months if holding a decision of the federal executive authority authorized on implementation of functions on control and supervision in the sphere of migration on recognition of this foreign citizen as a refugee on the territory of Russia.
8. An ordinary entry visa to Russia to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation is issued to foreign citizens for a period of up to one year if holding a decision on recognition of such foreign citizen as a native speaker of Russian.
9. An ordinary entry visa to Russia to obtain permission for temporary resident is issued to foreign citizens for a period of up to four months.

Transit visa

A Transit visa is issued for a period of up to ten days to the foreign citizen for transit through the territory of Russia.

Visa of temporary living person

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

Entry and exit passport stamps issued at Saint Petersburg port.

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:

• Original passport
• One photo (colour, passport size photo)
• Tourist invitation
• Russian Consulate Application Form

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

Some Russian embassies and consulates, but not all, require visa applications to be submitted in person to visa processing centres instead of directly to the consular section. Costs differ per administration center.

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.

Statistics

Visa statistics

Most visas were issued in the following countries:

Location	Number of visas issued in 2015	Number of visas issued in 2016
Germany	299,791	153,727
China	357,040	129,744
France	119,314	61,999
Finland	112,655	55,415
Italy	117,123	52,107
United Kingdom	87,863	42,524
United States	85,974	46,180
Estonia	77,953	37,445
Latvia	70,328	30,933
Spain	57,001	25,262

Visitor statistics

According to the Federal Security Service and the Federal State Statistics Service, most visitors arriving to Russia were from the following countries of nationality:

Nationality	Total (includes all types of purposes of visits)
	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Ukraine	01 9,737,405	01 10,314,757	01 9,842,990	01 7,080,991	01 6,502,543	01 6,072,775	4,198,030
Kazakhstan	02 4,686,059	02 5,180,246	02 4,215,161	02 3,848,899	02 3,630,342	02 3,049,406	2,747,358
Uzbekistan	03 2,116,480	03 2,163,256	03 2,353,140	03 2,967444	03 2,677,322	03 2,086,359	1,584,086
China	04 1,565,524	06 1,353,051	07 1,125,098	09 1,071,515	09 978,988	08 845,588	747,640
Finland	05 1,376,646	05 1,476,412	05 1,446,169	05 1,388,036	04 1,375,614	04 1,211,520	1,012,621
Tajikistan	06 1,293,270	07 1,200,972	06 1,202,260	07 1,348,868	07 1,134,150	07 955,455	830,160
Azerbaijan	07 1,156,703	08 1,071,324	08 1,021,204	08 1,196,759	08 1,116,238	06 1,045,525	979,778
Poland	08 1,056,013	04 1,766,612	04 1,823,143	04 1,644,657	06 1,190,003	09 704,610	394,872
Armenia	09 833,577	09 850,137	10 794,098	10 882,864	10 700,332	15 550,349	459,040
Kyrgyzstan	10 792,042	10 842,396	11 725,664	11 763,418	12 623,970	13 592,960	552,909
Moldova	11 699,112	11 770,965	09 923,625	06 1,374,690	05 1,194,291	05 1,073,637	988,084
Germany	12 613,370	12 595,200	12 635,153	12 686,557	11 671,676	10 629,391	611,367
Mongolia	13 542,196	13 505,429	22 225,972	22 226,673	18 365,236	22 212,117	157,367
Estonia	14 433,926	16 382,031	16 363,942	15 430,164	15 494,282	16 519,402	474,949
Abkhazia	15 415,606	15 422,130	17 362,811	20 293,429	22 273,964	24 202,440	52,289
Latvia	16 360,603	17 348,338	15 374,701	17 391,304	16 461,162	14 571,374	569,300
Stateless persons	17 321,383	18 326,841	19 349,400	14 463,640	14 523,333	12 618,705	679,757
Belarus	18 320,372	14 424,531	13 495,999	16 418,207	17 372,942	18 267,233	259,191
Lithuania	19 281,168	20 270,600	14 487,206	13 539,308	13 553,896	11 622,740	760,728
United States	20 248,990	21 242,104	20 257,070	19 305,954	21 286,551	17 275,239	262,060
Italy	21 208,689	22 204,710	23 219,976	23 225,933	24 212,411	23 207,476	198,002
France	22 201,260	23 191,643	24 219,210	24 225,860	23 225,343	21 213,473	194,248
United Kingdom	23 190,278	24 190,775	21 228,346	21 259,676	22 231,670	20 221,418	212,847
Israel	24 182,438	25 165,003	26 152,853	26 136,827	26 123,974	26 114,380	100,291
South Korea	25 181,024	27 153,189	27 135,676	28 107,942	28 94,922	28 91,335	90,622
Philippine	26 160,734	26 163,010	25 162,990	25 149,213	25 130,541	27 99,405	81,385
Turkey	27 120,035	19 323,039	18 361,416	18 385,147	19 305,429	19 249,109	196,704
Spain	28 116,032	29 110,247	30 100,206	27 109,089	27 101,536	25 129,730	110,601
South Ossetia	29 115,382	28 125,444	28 117,283	32 94,159	32 73,863	39 47,739	33,409
India	30 108,498	30 95,527	31 94,259	31 95,542	31 80,127	33 60,191	53,364
Japan	31 95,675	31 93,550	29 105,220	30 102,408	29 86,806	30 76,204	78,188
Serbia	32 79,575	32 79,406	32 87,048	29 107,601	34 70,371	34 57,177	47,939
Iran	33 75,203	39 46,760	49 29,743	54 20,657	51 23,085	50 21,575	20,576
Netherlands	34 68,017	34 63,469	33 80,543	33 86,402	30 81,212	29 87,549	80,720
Vietnam	35 66,939	35 60,882	34 75,840	34 81,073	36 62,961	35 53,529	50,823
Georgia	36 65,378	33 69,095	37 58,264	41 48,440	46 35,511	47 30,415	24,568
Austria	37 56,663	36 57,242	36 67,392	36 74,277	33 71,863	31 70,388	67,606
Turkmenistan	38 56,258	37 51,170	42 47,002	46 40,238	42 43,720	42 39,579	35,017
Switzerland	39 52,656	41 46,200	40 50,838	38 54,898	39 52,852	38 47,978	44,964
Czech Republic	40 47,288	40 46,432	35 68,875	35 76,530	35 62,980	40 46,776	40,565
Greece	41 46,730	43 41,210	43 46,450	42 48,280	45 36,474	46 33,569	33,396
Norway	42 46,631	38 49,535	38 57,423	39 54,433	40 50,115	37 48,614	45,340
Australia	43 43,940	45 39,613	44 46,072	44 46,861	43 43,105	45 34,868	30,583
Canada	44 43,158	42 43,663	39 53,370	37 61,234	38 54,730	36 52,238	48,559
Bulgaria	45 41,290	46 37,035	45 42,230	43 47,154	41 45,312	41 42,031	38,446
Sweden	46 39,153	44 40,424	41 49,908	40 53,340	37 58,900	32 60,840	54,253
Belgium	47 37,492	48 33,714	46 37,441	45 40,316	44 37,025	43 36,430	33,571
Thailand	48 32,222	49 29,482	52 25,585	52 23,919	54 19,375	54 17,023	15,192
Brazil	49 29,704	47 35,531	47 33,301	47 37,386	48 33,647	48 29,840	21,950
Cuba	50 26,667	55 12,349	55 11,609	55 9,625	55 5,293	55 4,099	4,053
Hungary	51 25,313	52 24,849	50 28,421	51 27,155	52 23,047	49 23,241	20,736
Romania	52 23,684	50 25,970	51 28,391	49 30,886	49 24,792	51 21,993	17,884
Slovakia	53 23,555	54 19,876	53 24,962	50 27,554	50 24,161	52 20,445	18,512
Denmark	54 22,059	51 24,980	48 33,271	48 36,262	47 34,908	44 35,814	33,121
North Korea	55 22,036	53 20,893	54 23,902	53 23,604	53 22,071	53 18,901	21,167
Total	N/A	56 33,729,187	56 32,421,490	56 30,792,091	56 28,176,502	56 24,932,016	N/A

History

Main article: Visa history of Russia

General Rules

Visa policy of the Russian Federation

  Russia

  Visa free access

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. It should be noted that 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.

According to the Russian Constitution, international treaties of Russia override the domestic legislation. Russia has concluded a number of bilateral or multilateral treaties on visa abolishing or simplification and is seeking to negotiate new such treaties. The visa policy Russia applies the principle of reciprocity, the principle of specular.

Visa-free 72-hour transit

In September, 2013 the president of Russia has sent the bill of introduction of 72-hour visa-free transit to parliament. The list of the airports and the list of the states which citizens will be able to use visa-free transit in the tourist purposes, will be approved by the Government of the Russian Federation after ratification. In 2014 the parliament has suspended ratification of the bill for an indefinite term.

Crimea

In April 2014 Crimea’s Tourism Minister proposed a visa-free regime for foreign tourists staying at Crimean resorts for up to 12 days and a 72-hour visa-free stay for cruise passengers. Visa-free access for Chinese citizens was proposed in June 2014. Visa-free entrance in cruise courts to Sevastopol began to be carried out from September 2015 Other of the proposals has been not realized.

International events

Art events

Participants and members of delegations coming to participate in the musical events are either provided with a simplified visa regime (e.g. Eurovision Song Contest 2009) or the right of visa-free entry (e.g. International Tchaikovsky Competition 2015).
Currently (September 2015) the law providing permanent visa abolition for participants and jury members of art competitions is being planned by the Government of Russia. The focus of this regulation will be on the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Economic events

Participants of the 1st Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok did not require a visa. Entrance was allowed with passport and the accreditation certificate only.

Sporting events

Prior to the adoption of a special law, participants and members of delegations arriving to sporting events, could count on a visa-free entry or visa facilitation (determined by law for each event which has to pass ratification in parliament and to be signed by the president). On 13 May 2013 the presidential decree on the abolition of visas for athletes, coaches, team leaders and members of foreign official delegations, as well as judges from the international sports competitions came into effect. It envisages entry on the basis of passport and accreditation certificate. The order of the President or the Government of Russia is sufficient for visa abolition or simplification of registration of visas.
Visas were abolished for participants of the 2013 Summer Universiade, the 2014 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow, the 2014 World Judo Championships in Chelyabinsk and the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan. Participants of the XVI World Aquatics Championships in the Masters category were exempted from visa fees.

The right to enter Russia without a visa was also given to visitors during thee 2014 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi if they were in a possession of tickets for the event. Players of 2016 IIHF World Championship were able to obtain visas on arrival, for the fans were simplified procedure for issuing visas.
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup holders of tickets for matches of the championship could enter Russia without a visa with personalized card of viewer (also known as the passport of a fan or fan-ID) and national passport from 7 June to 12 July 2017, if holding a laminated FIFA FAN ID card; from 14 June to 2 July 2017, if holding a printed FIFA FAN ID electronic format card. The foreign citizens could use their FAN IDs for multiple visa-free entry into and exit from the Russian Federation.

2018 FIFA World Cup holders of tickets for matches of the championship will be able to enter Russia without a visa with personalized card of viewer (also known as the passport of a fan or fan-ID) and national passport from 4 June to 25 July 2018.
Foreigners participating in events and athletes included in the lists of FIFA, will have to obtain visas, but in a simplified manner. In particular, visas for this category of citizens will be issued within 3 working days from the date of filing and without consular fees. This procedure will be applied until 31 December 2018. Foreigners involved in activities and not participating in sporting events, will travel to and from Russia by an ordinary multiple-entry work visas that will be issued for a period of 1 year. Foreigners, attracted by the FIFA, its subsidiaries and contractors, confederations, national football associations, the Russian football Union, organizing Committee "Russia-2018" will be entitled to work in Russia without obtaining a patent.

See also

• Visa requirements for Russian citizens
• List of diplomatic missions of Russia
• Foreign relations of Russia
• Visa history of Russia

References and Notes

Notes

References

External links

• The conditions of entry of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation of diplomatic, service (official, special), regular passport. (in Russian) May 2017
• E-visa to visit the free port of Vladivostok. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
• Federal Law No.114-FZ On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation (in English) (without additions)
• Federal Law No.114-FZ On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation (in Russian) (with additions)
• Timatic. Visa & Passport Information