Visa policy of Russia
The visa policy of Russia deals with the requirements of foreign nationals to enter Russia.
Russia has agreements with many countries whose citizens are exempt from visas, although an Electronic Travel Authorization with a QR code from the Gosuslugi mobile app is required in these cases. If a visa is required, depending on country of origin, some people may obtain an electronic visa ; while others must apply for a visa at a diplomatic mission of Russia or visa center. A holder of a visa to enter Belarus may also enter Russia with such visa; however, this policy does not apply to Belarusian e-visas.
Despite international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to issue visas to citizens of all countries. Depending on country of origin, at any border crossing, foreigners may be questioned, have their biometrics taken, including fingerprints and photos, and are subject to search of baggage and mobile phone content, including contact lists, correspondence, and posts on social media. Officers focus on contact with Ukrainians, and any opinions on politics and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Types of visas available for issuance include private, business, tourist, educational, working, transit, humanitarian, service, and diplomatic. The length and terms of visas depend on the nationality of the recipient and other personal circumstances. Long term tourist visas are available to citizens of the United States and the European Union.
The Russian visa is a machine-readable document, that is stickered to a page 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 the Cyrillic alphabets. However, since Cyrillic letters cannot be used in the machine-readable passport, Russia has a one-to-one correspondence for the Cyrillic letters and the Latin letters, but since Russian alphabet has 33 Cyrillic letters, 26 Latin letters are not sufficient, thus Russia also uses some Arabic numerals for the Cyrillic letters.
To apply for a visa, a passport, a passport photo, a tourist invitation letter, and a completed application form printed on A4 paper are required.
Russia has 380 border checkpoints. Transporting any amount of currency of countries in the European Union, including Euros, directly to Russia from EU countries such as Estonia and Latvia is prohibited by the EU.
Crimea is under de facto Russian control and the visa policy of Russia applies for travel to Crimea. Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, and, although they are at least partially or sometimes controlled by Russia, the visa policy of Ukraine applies to travel to these regions.
Visa policy map
Ordinary passports
Visa-exempt countries
Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries and territories may enter Russia without a visa for visits up to the period listed below.Nationals who are exempt from obtaining a visa must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization with a QR code from the Gosuslugi mobile app. They may not reset the allowed period of stay by leaving and re-entering the country.
Foreign citizens from visa-exempt countries may only stay 90 days within any 1 calendar year period, unless otherwise stipulated by an international agreement or Russian legislation.
ID - May enter with a national ID card in lieu of a passport.
IDKZ - May enter with a national ID card in lieu of a passport if arriving directly from Kazakhstan.
IP - May enter with an internal passport.
A - For Chinese citizens with People's [Republic of China passports], Hong Kong [Special Administrative Region passports] or Macao Special Administrative Region passports only.
T - Temporary measure until 14 September 2026.
1 - 90 days within any 180-day period.
2 - 90 days within any 365-day period.
3 - 90 days within any 1 calendar year period.
4 - 90 days within any 1 year period.
5 - 60 days within any 180-day period.
| Date of visa changes |
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have never required a visa to enter the Russian Federation.
As the Soviet Union:
As the Russian Federation:
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APEC Business Travel Card
Holders of APEC Business Travel Cards as well as passports issued by full members of APEC may enter Russia without a visa for business trips for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.ABTCs are issued to citizens of:
Other visa exemptions
Economic integration and international treaties
The following partnerships provide for special entry rules to citizens of certain countries:- Union State of Russia and Belarus
- Single Economic Space of the Eurasian Economic Union
- Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Tour groups from India, Iran and China
Mutual recognition of visas between Russia and Belarus
Holders of a valid visa or residence permit of either Belarus or Russia and a mutually recognized identity document may enter both countries, within the validity of the visa; however, this policy does not apply to e-visas. In cases where one country has a visa-free regime and the other requires a visa, the person must hold both the ID document and a visa for the latter.Foreign nationals with temporary permanent residency or a document for attending an international event have the right to enter, exit, stay, and transit without a visa within the validity of their documents.
Stay duration is calculated from entry into one country from a third state.
The common visa does not apply to individuals restricted from entering either country. Officials retain the right to deny entry or reduce the duration of stay for any foreign national or stateless person, as well as to check compliance with entry, exit, transit, or stay regulations.
Crossing between Belarus and Russia via land is allowed only at the following 6 international border crossing points:
- Yukhovichi – Dolossy
- Yezeryshche – Nevel
- Lyozno – Kruglovka
- Redki – Krasnaya Gorka
- Zvenchatka – Dubovichka
- Selishche – Novozybkov
Visa-free visits for up to 72 hours for cruise ship and ferry passengers
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, Vladivostok, Vyborg, Zarubino.
Visa-free visits to Chukotka Autonomous Okrug by indigenous Alaskans
- - Residents of Alaska who are members of the indigenous population do not require a visa to visit Chukotka Autonomous Okrug if they have relatives 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. The agreement was signed between USSR and United States on 23 September 1989 but came into force on 17 July 2015 after ratification by the United States.
Visa-free visits to border areas by residents of Latvia
- - 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.
Visa-free visits to border areas by residents of Kazakhstan
Visa-free visits to border areas by residents of Norway
- - 15 days for holders of border traffic permit
Visa-free visits to border areas by residents of Poland
- - 30 days, for a maximum total stay of 90 days within a 180-day period for holders of border traffic permit
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.
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,
North Korea,
Poland,
Tunisia,
Turkey
Turkmenistan,
Vietnam.
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
;Direct airside transitPassengers 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.
The following international Russian airports do not have international transit areas, meaning a transit visa is required to transfer planes:
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 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.Electronic visa (e-Visa)
Citizens of the following 64 countries and territories may obtain an e-Visa, which allows entry for up to 30 days until 120 days after issuance.| Border crossing points for eVisa holders | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Airports Citizens of the 18 countries could apply an e-Visa to visit to regions in the Far Eastern Federal District. Citizens of 54 countries could apply for single-entry business, humanitarian and tourist visas to visit the Kaliningrad region. Non-ordinary passportsUnder reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or various categories of service passports of the following countries and territories may enter and remain in Russia without a visa for the following period:C - Consular passports D - Diplomatic passports O - Official passports S - Service passports Sp - Special passports 1 – 90 days within any 365-day period. 2 – 90 days within any 180-day period. 3 - With the right of multiple entry and exit. 4 - Applies only to employees of official institutions operating in the territory of a contracting parties and their families. Currently, visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports of European Union member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have been suspended. Among citizens of countries whose citizens do not normally require a visa, holders of diplomatic or service passports of Israel require a visa. Future changesRussia has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:
Russia is considering visa exemption agreements or visa policy improvements for the following countries:
A - 30 days for all passports B - 30 days for ordinary passports TG - For tourist groups Closed citiesIn accordance with the Government Decree of 1992, special authorization is required to enter 19 closed cities in Russia. This restriction does not apply to Russian citizens.A full list of such areas:
Changes and tightening of Russian legislation in the sphere of migration do not apply to those who have Russian citizenship through international agreements on dual citizenship, and to citizens of the EAEU countries. For citizens of the EAEU, the rules of the EAEU apply. On 29 November 2024, the Commonwealth of Independent States adopted an updated Concept for the phased formation of a common labor market and migration regulation. Simplified Ordinary Tourist VisaThe Russian government issues general tourist visas for up to 6 months to 19 countries based on hotel reservations or other accommodation reservation confirmations. This list includes information on hotels, ski resorts, and beaches.Exit visaRussia 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. In some cases, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can issue a Return-Home certificate that is valid for 10 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. It is also colloquially called an exit visa. Visitor and visa statistics;Visitor statisticsAccording to the Border Service of the [Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation|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:
Visitor statistics 2024-2021
;Visa statistics Most electronic visas were issued for citizens of the following countries :
Most visas were issued in the following countries: |