Russian Visa Step-by-Step
What
is a Russian Visa?
A visa to the Russian Federation is a document, gives you permission to enter and
to leave the Russian Federation during a period of time specified
in the visa. Please note, if you lose it or stay
over your designated departure date, leaving the country could
be more troublesome than entering one.
There are six types of Russian visas: 1) a tourist
visa, 2) a business visa, 3) a student visa, 4) a personal (private)
visa, 5) a transit visa, 6) a short 72-hour visa. You can read
more in Russian Visa Types section.
Choose
your Visa Type.
It depends on
the purpose of your visit which visa (and, in first instance,
which visa invitation) you have to purchase, but this is not followed
very strictly. Since tourist visas are much easier to obtain,
people who come for a short business trip simply purchase a tourist
visa. Visitors who travel often to Russia, for friends, for work
or just because they like the country so much, do this with a
business (multiple-entry) visa.
Bear in mind that Russian consulates can take 1-25 workdays to
process visa applications.
So, when choosing
the type of visa, the only consideration should be — price
/ speed of processing / period of stay / the number of entries,
and not the formal name of the visa.
Ordering
Oficial Russian Visa Support.
Russian visa
can be received at any Russian Consulate.
For getting visa you should to submit proper documents
which depends on the type of visa you apply for. (See more
in
Russian Visa
requirements section. But we offer you to contact your consulate
for specifying details).
It should not be a problem for you to collect all required
documents, the exception can be you invitation from the inviting
party from Russia. This can be your hotel, travel company, business
partner, employer, university, or a Russian friend. (Additional information you can find in Russian Visa Information section)
If you have
no this invitation or you want it in shorter time we can help
you with that.Go to Russian Visa
Support section.
At consulate.
After you receive
the invitation, you can bring it along with the other documents
needed to the consulate and apply for your Russian
visa. You will be asked to fill in visa application form. You
can do this right at
the Russian consulate, or at home by downloading the visa
application form (in English and Russian) from our website.
At the border.
All
foreigners are obliged to fill in a migration card, which will
be given to you at the Russian border. This card should be handed
over to immigration officials on the border when leaving the country.
The migration
card is not something complicated, it's just another paper to
fill in. You can
also be asked how long you intend to spend in Russia – and
may be asked to show a proof – return tickets, for example.
Russian Visa Registration.
According to Russian law, your Russian
visa must be registered within 72 hours upon your arrival (excluding
weekends and official holidays).
1. If you are
staying at a hotel: the hotel will register your visa. You will be asked of
your visa and passport. A small registration fee can be imposed.
2. If you are not staying at a hotel in Saint-Petersburg: we can help you with
registration (extra charge, check tariffs here). You should bring your passport
and migration card in our office within 2 days upon your arrival. If you come
before 12 a.m. your registration will be ready the same day after 5 p.m. In
other cases your registration will be ready on next business day after 5 p.m.
3. If your final destination is not St. Petersburg and you are not staying at a
hotel, you will need to register your visa with a local UVIR or contact our
office and we will give you advice who might help you with this problem.
Read more in
Registration of visas section.
