General Visa Information
Travel to Russia requires an entry visa. The Consular Division of the Embassy issues different categories of visas to Russia based upon the purpose of the trip and the duration of stay in Russia.
In general, it’s recommended to apply for 3-year multiple business, private, humanitarian and tourist visas (please have a look at the correspondent visa type information).
The following documents should be submitted in order to obtain a visa according to its category:
- Completed visa application signed by the Applicant only. Incomplete visa application forms shall not be processed. Application available online at http://visa.kdmid.ru All questions in the application form should be answered. If a question is not applicable to the applicant, he should put “N/A”. Each application form must be signed by the visa applicant personally.
- Valid national passport (original only and it should have at least two clear visa pages). It must be valid no less than six months after the visa expiration date. Holders of travel documents such us: Permit to Re-Enter the United States of America, Travel Document, etc. must submit valid Permanent Resident Card (an original and a copy).
- One picture of an applicant. Russian visa photo specifications.
- Money Order or Certified Bank Check made out to the Russian Consulate for visa processing. Please note that we do not accept cash, credit or debit cards, personal or company checks.
- Invitation to Russia from a host person or organisation.
The maximum validity period of a tourist visa is no more than 30 days.
Issuing of a Tourist visa with Invitation from organization takes very little time - 1 working day to get the invitation and insurance and a maximum of 10 days to receive the visa itself after the submission of all documents to a Consulate. But we recommend you to start the visa obtaining procedure in advance! That is, the entire procedure can be completed in less than two weeks (or even 2-3 days, if you use the express service.
ATTENTION! In the Visa Centre of the Russian Federation, visas are issued no earlier than 6 months before the estimated date of the trip. That is, if you go to Russia in July, you can start to apply for a visa approximately from January.
Tourist visas to the Russian Federation are single-entry, double-entry or multiple-entry.