Information about visas

 

About your visa

In order to enter the Russian Federation foreign nationals are required to obtain a visa, unless another procedure has been established by an international agreement.

Visas must be obtained before foreign nationals enter the Russian Federation.

The visa must be attached to the foreign national’s passport and contain the following information: surname, first name (in both Cyrillic and Latin letters), date of birth, gender, nationality (citizenship), number of main identity document, visa issue date, permitted duration of stay in the Russian Federation, invitation number for entry to the Russian Federation or decision number from the state authority, expiry date of visa, purpose of visit, data about the organization which invited you to Russia (or the individual who invited you), and the number of entries into the country permitted by the visa.

In case if the passport of a foreign citizen contains an already valid or unused visa, the new visa is issued only on the condition of the cancellation of the previous visa by means of an ink stamp “cancelled”.

Categories of visa

Depending on the purpose of entry into and stay in the Russian Federation, the following categories of visa are issued to foreign nationals: diplomatic visas, service visas, standard visas, transit visas and visas for temporary stays.

Number of entries

Single-entry visas entitle foreign nationals to cross the state border of the Russian Federation once when entering the Russian Federation and once when leaving the country.

Double-entry visas entitle foreign nationals to cross the state border of the Russian Federation four times - twice when entering the country and twice when leaving the country.

Multi-entry visas entitle foreign nationals to enter the Russian Federation multiple times (more than twice). Citizens from EU states which are signatories to the Agreement may stay in Russia on a multi-entry visa for a maximum of 90 days (either on aggregate or continuously) in each 180-day period.   Breaches of this rule will be penalised under existing Russian legislation, with the maximum penalty being refusal to allow entry into the Russian Federation.

Foreign citizens planning to stay in Russia for more than 3 months must obtain a work or study visa, depending on the purpose of their stay, or apply for permission for a temporary stay in the Russian Federation or permission for residency.