What is a Russian Business Visa?
Russian business visa is a documents required to stay in Russia, if there is no visa-free regime between your country and Russia. Validity of a business visa to Russia may be from 30 days to 5 years. Business visa is issued under a business invitation. There are the following visit purposes:
- search for business partners and performing negotiations with them;
- signing and extending of contracts;
- participation in exhibitions and auctions;
- marketing research;
- installation, repair or maintenance of unique equipment imported to Russia.
Brief details of business visa:
Validity | From 1 month to 5 years * |
---|---|
Average price | ≈147$ (≈130€) ** |
Multiplicity | Single, double, multiple |
Processing term | From 1 to 10 calendar days *** |
* – For the EU citizens. For others it is from 1 month to 1 year
** – For the EU citizens. For others it is ≈392$ (≈350€) (What does it consist of?)
*** – For the EU citizens. For others it is from 1 to 20 business days
Don’t you want to delve into details? Easy step-by-step guide will help you.
Using this guide, you will be able to collect all the necessary documents in 1 hour and you will only have to wait your visa to be issued. So, what do you need to do?
- Bear a valid passport
- Get the Russian Business Visa Invitation
- Get a medical insurance
- Complete a visa application form on visa.kdmid.ru and print it
- Paste a photo 3,5х4,5 cm into your form
- Pay the consular (visa application) fee
- Submit or send documents to the Russian Consulate (passport, invitation, insurance, application form, receipt)
- Wait from 1 to 10 calendar days * and obtain your passport with a visa
Step-by-step guide to get a Russian Visa
* — For the EU citizens. For others it is from 1 to 20 business days
Read more about business visa to Russia:
Introduction
Business visa to Russia is issued under a business invitation. Such invitation can be issued only by a legal entity interested in your arrival to Russia.
Business visa is popular among foreign citizens who need a multiple-entry visa for a period up to 1 year and even for up to 5 years for the EU citizens.
Long-lasting business visa allows you to save time and money, if you often visiting Russia.
I recommend you to watch a video about business visa:
Validity of the Russian Business Visa
Validity may differ:
It is easier to use a tourist visa instead of 30-days business visa, except for a case when you are going to lecture, which will be paid.
In order to obtain a 5-year visa, you need to have any previously issued business visa to Russia.
You should understand, that you can’t stay in Russia for the whole period of visa validity. There is a restriction – not more than 90 out of 180 days.
Russian Business Visa for 90 days
90-days visa is in great demand because in contrast to a tourist visa, allows to stay longer. If you are the EU citizen, it is not necessary for you to obtain such a visa. It will be easier to issue a tourist visa.
Russian Business Visa for 1 year
1-year business visa is the most common long-term visa. Such a visa is multiple-entry. If you bear this visa, you may cross the border of Russia as many times as you want. Just don’t forget, that you can stay under this visa type “not more than 90 out of each 180 days”.
Average cost of the Russian Business Visa
Typical business visa for the EU citizens costs from ≈116$ to ≈402$ (from ≈103€ to ≈356€). For the citizens of other countries the price is higher. Visa price consists of paperwork cost, fees and services required to obtain a visa. Here I will give you an example of typical business visa price, then I will explain nuances in order.
Example of a price of a multiple-entry business visa to Russia for 1 year for a citizen of the one of the European Union countries:
Invitation to Russia | ≈70$ (≈62€) |
---|---|
Insurance for a visa | ≈1.5$ per day * 30 days ≈ 36$ (≈32€) |
Photo 3,5х4,5 cm | 8$ (≈7€) |
Consular fee | 40$ (≈35€) |
Post services (optional) | 5$ (≈4€) |
Total: | 159$ (≈141€) * |
* — For the EU citizens. For others the price may be higher. Look at the calculation.
Business visa price consists of:
- Invitation to Russia
- Insurance for a visa
- Photo
- Consular fee (bulk of the cost)
- Post services (optional)
The price of the Russian Business Visa Invitation
Invitation price may differ due to a length of a period of stay from 39$ to 195$ (from ≈35€ to ≈173€) respectively for 1 month and 5 years. Besides, it may differ depending on the inviting organization.
Where to get a business invitation?
Price of insurance for a business visa
Insurance for a business visa costs ≈1.5$ (≈1€) per day. Insurance pricing is complicated and depends on your age. Price range depending on age is from 1.5$ to 7$ (from ≈1€ to ≈6€) per day.
Depending on the length of your stay, insurance may cost from 36$ (30 days) to 148$ (180 days).
Minimum required insurance validity for a multiple-entry visa is 30 days. But I recommend to buy an insurance covering the whole period of stay in Russia.
The feature of insurance for a multivisa is that it may be valid for the year but cover only a limited number of days. It is days of actual stay on the Russian territory, which are counted from the day of crossing the Russian border.
Where to get an insurance for a visa?
Price of a photo for a business visa
Professional photo costs ≈7$ (≈6€). Photo must be in high quality, taken without head covering and glasses. Photo size is 3,5х4,5 cm.
Consular fee amount for the Russian Business Visa
(bulk of the cost)
Consular fee has a fixed price and depends on the visa multiplicity.
Consular fee amount due to a multiplicity:
Single | Double | Multiple | |
---|---|---|---|
EU countries | 40$ (35€) | 40$ (35€) | 40$ (35€) |
USA | 160$ (140€) | 160$ (140€) | 160$ (140€) |
Other countries | 80$ (70€) | 128$ (115€) | 240$ (215€) |
Fee doubles for the expedited processing (except the United States, there are the same price):
Single | Double | Multiple | |
---|---|---|---|
EU countries | 80$ (70€) | 80$ (70€) | 80$ (70€) |
USA | 160$ (140€) | 160$ (140€) | 160$ (140€) |
Other countries | 160$ (140€) | 256$ (228€) | 480$ (425€) |
Consular fees may increase or decrease due to a reciprocity basis. For example, there is the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia.
Precise amount of a consular fee can be found out on the website of the Consulate and if it doesn’t have any, you should call.
List of Russian diplomatic authorities
Post services (optional)
If you apply for a visa by yourself, there will be no additional costs. In a case, when a Consulate is far, you don’t have to go there, it is enough to send a pack of documents by post. It may cost from 10$ to 20$ (from ≈9€ to ≈18€) (it depends on a country).
As you can see, it is not difficult at all!
How to get the Russian Business Visa?
Business visas are issued by diplomatic authorities of the Russian Federation.
Using this guide you could collect all the necessary documents in 1 hour and then you’ll only have to wait your visa to be issued. So, what do you need?
- Bear a valid passport
- Get the Russian Business Visa Invitation
- Obtain a medical insurance
- Complete an application form on visa.kdmid.ru and print it
- Glue a photo 3,5х4,5 cm onto application form
- Pay a consular (visa application) fee
- Submit or send documents to the Consulate of Russia (passport, invitation, insurance, application form, receipt)
- Wait from 1 to 10 calendar days * and obtain your passport with a visa
Step-by-step guide to get a Russian Visa
* — For the EU nationals. For others it is from 1 to 20 business days
Detailed information about documents and nuances of obtaining the business visa to Russia:
- Which documents are required?
- Where to obtain an invitation?
- Where to get an insurance?
- Where submit documents to?
- Processing terms
Which documents are required for the Russian Business Visa?
In order to obtain the business visa to Russia, you need the following documents:
- business invitation to Russia;
- international passport, which is valid for at least for 6 months after visa date of expiry with at least 2 empty pages for visas;
- completed visa application form with a photo;
- health insurance policy;
- certificate of absence of the HIV (for visas with 3-months and more validity).
Where to get a Russian Business Visa Invitation?
Only a Russian organization [3] interested in your visit to Russia can issue an invitation. Invitation cost depends on the visa multiplicity, its validity, business invitation type and your citizenship. Invitation processing terms depend on the business invitation type.
Some types of business invitation can be obtained online.
Read more: Russian Business Visa Invitation
Where to get an insurance for a Russian Visa?
You can obtain an insurance required for obtaining a business visa at insurance company.
Issue a health insurance policy via specialized service
Price of such an insurance depends on your age, insurance program, insurance coverage amount, fame of the insurance company. Usually it costs up to 1 Euro per day.
Pay attention: minimum required insurance coverage amounts are defined due to a reciprocity. For example, if some state require citizens of Russia to be insured for 30 thousands euro, then citizens of that state need to be insured for at least 30 thousands euro before entering Russia. Contact the Consulate to find out the required coverage amount.
Where submit documents to?
In order to obtain a business visa, you need to apply to the Russian diplomatic authority situated in a country of your residence. It is impossible to obtain this visa on the Russian territory! At first, find out which documents are required for the business visa. Then you should collect a pack of necessary documents, complete a visa application form and glue a photo of a certain size onto it. After that, submit all the documents to the Consular office in person or by post.
List of Russian diplomatic authorities
Processing term of the Russian Business Visa
Standard visa processing term depends on a workload of the Russian consular section and due to a law must not exceed 20 business days. However, this term may be decreased, if there is a visa facilitation agreement. For example, it is only 10 calendar days for the EU nationals [5] from a date of admission with 35 euro consular fee and 3 days for 70 euro.
Multiplicity of the Russian Business Visa
Business visas can be single, double or multiple.
Visa multiplicity sets an amount of entries to the Russian territory.
Business visas which are issued for a period up to 3 months may be single and double-entry. 1-year and more business visas are multiple-entry. Herewith, a period of stay is limited by the 90/180 rule.
How does a Russian Business Visa look like?
Business visa to Russia looks like a slip 120×80 mm pasted into your international passport. It contains the following information:
- visa multiplicity;
- ОД (which means “ordinary business visa”);
- date of issue;
- dates of visa validity;
- number of visa validity days;
- citizenship;
- alphanumeric code, indicating a place of issue and visa serial number;
- your name and surname in Russian and English;
- number of your passport;
- date of birth;
- sex;
- code of an institution, which has issued an invitation and its number (if it has);
- visit purpose;
- name of an inviting organization or full name of an inviting person;
- additional information.
Special topics
There are some nuances concerning an issuance of business visas to Russia to foreign media representatives and the United States and EU citizens. Let’s have a look.
- Visa for journalists
- 3-year multiple visa for the EU citizens
- 5-year multiple visa for the USA citizens
How to get Russian Visa for journalists?
If a foreign journalist is going to Russia to report on certain events, then in order to issue an invitation, it is necessary to verify if that foreign media is accredited at Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. If yes, then a journalist will obtain a work invitation under which a multiple work visa could be obtained. If no, then a journalist will receive a business invitation and get a single or double business visa for 3 months.
3-year Russian Business Visa for the USA citizens
There is a visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the United States. According to this document, citizens of the United states obtain multiple-entry visas (business, humanitarian, private, tourist) for a period not more than 6 months from a date of arrival, which are valid for 36 months from the date of issue.
5-year Russian Business Visa for the EU citizens
According to the article 5 of an agreement on the facilitation of the issuance of visas between the European Community and the Russian Federation, multiple visas with a validity from 2 to 5 years are issued to those EU citizens, who have used 1-year multiple-entry visa in previous 2 years. Such visas are issued on their request to issue a multiple visa.
Summary
Business visa to Russia can be single, double and multiple-entry and may be valid from 90 days to 5 years. It is issued under several types of invitations, which should be issued by inviting organizations. Cost and processing terms depend on your citizenship and your invitation type.
If you have any questions visit Q&A section. Maybe your question has been answered. Some important comments from Q&A section gets to this article.
Legislation
The following legal acts were used to write this article:
- Federal law of 15.08.1996 N 114-ФЗ (ред. от 11.10.2018) – О порядке выезда из Российской Федерации и въезда в Российскую Федерацию.
- Russian government decree of 09.06.2003 N 335 (ред. от 20.11.2017) – Об утверждении Положения об установлении формы визы, порядка и условий ее оформления и выдачи, продления срока ее действия, восстановления ее в случае утраты, а также порядка аннулирования визы.
- Federal law of 25.07.2002 N 115-ФЗ (ред. от 19.07.2018) – О правовом положении иностранных граждан в Российской Федерации.
- Соглашение между Правительством Российской Федерации и США об упрощении визовых формальностей для граждан двух стран (Нота МИД от 08.11.2011 №46197/кд).
- Соглашение между Российской Федерацией и Европейским Сообществом об упрощении выдачи виз гражданам Российской Федерации и Европейского Союза (Сочи, 25 мая 2006 года).
Q&A
If you have any questions ask them in the comments to this article. I will try to answer them all.
Dr sami says:
Hi good afternoon, I am Pakistani National living in 🇦🇪. I want a five years Russian business visa . I already had 3 months business visa then one year multiple entry business visa which expired in august 2022. How can I get a five years business visa now ? Please guide me .