1. To enter the Russian Federation, the Applicant must have a valid visa. When applying, please be advised that the permission to enter Russia is a courtesy of the State.
2. In accordance with the International Law, the Consulate reserves the right to consider visa applications for as long as it deems necessary.
3. The Consulate can deny a visa if it has reason to believe that the Applicant`s entry into or stay in Russia would be undesirable.
4. Consulate is not authorized to renew visas issued by other agencies.
5. In cases where the Consulate does not issue a visa, the submitted invitations will not be returned.
6. Type of visa or dates of entry/departure can not be changed or extended.
7. The Consulate is authorized to request any supplementary documents and information in regard to the application.
8. For visitors traveling as a group, a complete set of documents must be provided by each individual in the group.
9. Documents for visa processing must be submitted by the Applicant in person.
10. Travelers planning to stay in Russia for a period of more than 90 days (working or student visa) must attach a recent (administered within 90 days prior to entry into Russia) HIV test Certificate.
11. After the visa is received, it should be checked by the traveler. The Consulate assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies in visas which were not brought to its attention before the traveler's departure from China.
12. During entry through border control, in addition to the visa, a copy of the letter of invitation and tourist voucher (for tourist visa) must be presented.
13. While submitting the application form, Applicant must pay all visa fees. If visa is refused, previous payments made by Applicant will not be refunded.
14. For work and student visas, please be aware that the national passport must be valid for at least one and a half-year after the projected start date of the visa.
In order to obtain a Russian entry visa the following documents should be submitted:
1. Chinese permit for residence (for Chinese citizens only) an original and photocopy.
2. Completed visa application form, signed by the Applicant. All questions in the application form should be answered. Incomplete visa application form will not be processed.
3. Valid national passport and photocopy of its vital pages (it should have at least two blank pages). It must be valid for no less than six months after the visa expiration date.
4. One recent standard passport size (3.5*4.5 cm) photo of the Applicant. Photo should be in color, of full head from top of hair to bottom of chin, and stapled to the photograph box location of the application form. Digital copies are not accepted.
5. Citizens of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden should submit a medical insurance certificate valid for Russia.
6. Additional documents to be submitted depend on the type of visa.
1.Letter of invitation (only original is accepted) issued by Migration Service of Russia.
2.Photocopy of the passport (photo, name and address pages) of the inviting person.
Private visa for foreigners – close relatives of Russian citizens
1. Petition filled out by the Russian citizen (if a citizen of the Russian Federation is unable to submit the visa request form in person, an original of the application certified by a Russian notary is required to obtain a visa by a family member or a close relative)
2. Original or notarized copies of documents confirming kinship (marriage or birth certificate etc.). Documents of foreign origin must be legalized or apostilled.
3. Photocopy of the foreign passport of the inviting person.
4. Photocopy of the internal passport (main and address pages) of the inviting person.
5. Foreign citizens applying for a visa for a stay of over 90 days must submit an HIV negative test certificate taken within the last three months. This requirement does not apply to family members (spouses, children (adopted children), parents) of Russian citizens.
6. Travel medical insurance covering a minimum of 90 days from the date of entry stated in the visa.
Family members or close relatives of Russian citizens can apply for a single entry/double entry private visa effective for up to 3 months or a multiple entry long-term private visa valid for up to one year which allows to stay in Russia for the entire term of visa validity.
Processing time for applications:
- For single and double-entry visas – 5 working days
- For multiple-entry visas – 10 working days
1. Letter of invitation (only original is accepted) issued by Migration Service of Russia.
2. Certificate of HIV test and its photocopy (for visas from 3 months and above). This certificate is valid for 3 months only.
In case of need we can also ask for additional documents:
3. Photocopy of Labour Permission issued by Migration Service of Russia.
4. Photocopy of labour card issued by Migration Service.
1. Letter of invitation (only original is accepted) issued by Migration Service of Russia.
In case of need we can also ask for additional documents:
2. Bank certificate confirming an applicant has at least 5 000 USD on personal bank account.
3. Photocopy of education certificate.
1. Letter of invitation (only original is accepted) issued by Migration Service of Russia.
1. Standard tourist confirmation (visa support letter) issued by an authorized Russian travel agency (only original is accepted). The confirmation should contain full name of the traveller, date of birth, passport number, date of entry and departure, itinerary, the agency`s reference number, registration number, official seal and signature of authorized person.
2. Citizens of the following countries: Bahrain, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Iran, Cambodia, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Philippines may obtain a tourist visa on the basis of a confirmation of booking in a hotel or other accommodation facility, information about which is contained in the unified list of qualified hotels, ski slopes, beaches (https://классификация-туризм.рф/).
The confirmation letter must be submitted in original. It must be filled out in paper form by using technical means (computers, typewriters) in Russian, English or in the official language of the foreign tourist’s home country, singed by an authorized hotel employee and stamped by the hotel. This document should contain the following information:
- the name of the document "Confirmation of booking a place in the hotel", its number and date of issue
- the licensed name of the hotel, its actual address and registration number in the unified list of classified hotels, ski slopes and beaches
- information about the foreign tourist (surname, first name (s), date of birth, gender, citizenship, passport number or other travel document recognized by the Russian Federation as ID)
- dates of arrival/departure from the hotel
- other information about the conditions of booking (at the discretion of the hotel)
3. Travel/health insurance valid for the entire term of visa validity.
A tourist visa can be single or double-entry valid for up to three months or multiple-entry for up to 6 months.
The total period of stay of a foreign tourist with a multiple-entry visa in the Russian Federation cannot exceed 90 days within each period of 180 days.
1.Valid visa of the country of destination.
2.Tickets for the entire itinerary (photocopy), no tickets required if you travel by car.
3.Transit Visa is required if the period of stay in Russia exceeds 24 hours or a traveller needs to change the airport. Transit visa can be issued for no longer than 3 days if the Applicant is going to transit via Russia by plane and no longer than 10 days if the Applicant is going to transit by train/car.
Attention!
Citizens of the countries which have visa regime with Russia need to have a transit visa, when are going to Minsk or from Minsk with a change of flight in “Sheremetevo airport”, Moscow.
E-visa
The Russian Federation resumed issuance of unified electronic visas (e-visas) starting on August 1, 2023.
Such visas can be obtained by citizens of the countries listed in the Directives of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2571-r dated October 6, 2020, and No. 2040-r dated July 29, 2023:
- Andorra
- Austria
- Bahrain
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- China (including Taiwan)
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Myanmar
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Vatican
- Vietnam
An application can be filled at https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru or through a mobile application (link for download is available at the website), it must be submitted not later than four calendar days before the expected date of entry into the Russian Federation. A digital photograph and a scan of a passport are to be attached, no other documents are required. E-visas are being issued on a paid basis.
An e-visa allows for a single entry into the Russian Federation with private, business or tourist purposes or to participate in scientific, cultural, socio-political, economic and sports events. The validity of an e-visa is 60 days from the date of issuance with the maximum permitted period of stay of 16 days from the date of entry into the territory of the Russian Federation. Entry and exit with e-visas is allowed by air, road and water transport, as well as without the use of vehicles, only through the checkpoints listed in the Directive of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2741-r dated October 23, 2020. E-visas are valid for stay all across the country.
Transportation companies can check that a foreign citizen has a valid e-visa at https://evisacheck.kdmid.ru .
As the suggested by Australia, recently several APEC member economies have started issuing Virtual APEC Business Travel Cards (ABTC) which like plastic ABTC, allow entry of citizens of APEC member economies travelling to respective economies for business and official purposes during a five-year period.
The Russian Federation will need a fairly long transition period for the full-fledged implementation of the Virtual ABTC scheme in order to amend the Russian legislation, implement a series of organizational and technical measures and modernize the checkpoints and the system of data flow with regard to the entry and stay of foreign citizens in Russia.
In this regard, the holders of the virtual ABTC will not be permitted entrance to the Russian Federation pending Russia’s notification of its readiness to join the virtual ABTC system.
Please also note that due to the current epidemiological restrictions the entrance to the Russian Federation is permitted to citizens of states enlisted in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, provided they are travelling through air checkpoints.
Depending on the epidemiological situation, the list may be adjusted. For further details please follow the link.
For non-Chinese citizen information on visa consular fees (depending on the Applicant’s citizenship), please contact the Visa department.
Processing requirements and fees are subject to change without notice.
If you need further assistance, please call us at 024-2322-3927 (fax: 024-2322-3907), Monday-Friday from 3:00 p.m. till 5:30 p.m., or contact us via e-mail.
Office hours:
The Visa department is opened for visitors on Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. till 12:00.
Visa documents are accepted until 12:00 only. In order to apply for a visa in person, an applicant should book an appointment through the Online appointment system.
