Russian Student Visa. Price 2020

Validity:	3 months or 1 year
Average cost:	≈795$ (≈705€) *
Multiplicity:	Single, multiple
Processing term:	From 20 to 50 business days

* – Price per year may differ according to a university

• Introduction
• Validity
  • for 3 months
  • for 1 year
• Average cost
• How to get a visa?
  • Which documents are required?
  • Where to get an invitation?
  • Where to get an insurance?
  • Certificate of absence of the HIV
  • Where submit documents to?
  • Visa processing terms
• Visa multiplicity
• How does a visa look like?
• How to extend a visa?
• Summary
• Legislation
• Q&A

Russian student visa refers to ordinary visas. In the beginning, a foreign entrant needs to obtain a short-term student visa, then it can be prolonged if necessary under an application of educational institution.

Obtaining a student visa is a complicated process requiring considerable time and effort. If you want only to visit Russia, you should use another visa type.

Quick video guide:

Term of student visa validity may be 3 months or 1 year.

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Russian Student Visa for 3 months

Ordinary student visa is issued for the foreigners, who are going to study in Russia for up to 3 months with a possibility to extend such a visa for 1 year in the local office of migration registration^[2]. Such a visa is issued for entrants in order to arrive to Russia and apply to an university. After admission to the university you can prolong a visa for 1 year.

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Russian Student Visa for 1 year

Ordinary student visa is issued to foreign citizens to study at educational institutions for 1 year^[1]. This visa can be prolonged every year during your study at university.

It is from 635$ to 2070$ (from ≈563€ to ≈1836€) per year according to an university which you apply to. Price of the student visa is individual in every case.

There is no state fee for the issuance of invitation to study at Russian educational institution, which has a state accreditation. That’s why student visa price consists only of medical insurance price and a consular fee amount, which is required for the diplomatic authority to consider an issuance of a visa.

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Consular fee amount for a student visa

Consular fee is not the major expense of a student visa. The biggest financial component for such a visa is an invitation.

Consular fee has a fixed value and depends only on a multiplicity of a visa.

Consular fee amount according to a multiplicity of a visa to Russia:

In case of expediting processing fee doubles (except the USA, there are a flat rate):

Due to a reciprocity, consular fee may increase or decrease. For example, there is the visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the European Union.

The precise amount of a consular fee you can find out on the website of the Consular Office or if it doesn’t have one, you can call.

List of diplomatic authorities of the Russian Federation

In order to obtain a student visa, you must do the following:

1. Bear the valid passport
2. Collect a pack of documents
3. Get a health insurance
4. Complete an application form on visa.kdmid.ru and print it
5. Glue a photo 3,5х4,5cm on your visa application form
6. Pay a consular (visa application) fee
7. Submit or send all the documents to the Russian Consulate (passport, invitation, insurance, application form, receipt)
8. 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 only. For others it is from 1 to 20 business days

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According to the “Visit purposes” list^[4], you can get an ordinary student visa if you have the following purposes of visiting Russia:

• postgraduate study;
• internship;
• courses;
• study;
• specialization;
• accompanying family member.

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• Which documents are required?
• Where to get an invitation?
• Where to get an insurance?
• Certificate of absence of the HIV
• Where submit documents to?
• Processing terms

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Which documents are required for a Russian Visa?

In order to obtain a student visa, you’ll need:

• student invitation;
• international passport, which is valid at least for 1,5 year from a date of issuance of your visa;^[2]
• visa application form with a photo;
• medical insurance policy;
• certificate of absence of the HIV (for applicants of a visa with a validity more than 3 month).

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Where to get an invitation for a study?

The basis of the student visa issuance is an invitation or a decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which is sent to the Russian diplomatic authority (in that case, you receive only a 6-digit number of an invitation, which you must indicate while completing a visa application form)^[2].

Invitation to study in the Russian Federation is issued on a request of an educational institution. It can be issued by the Federal executive authority of migration on a request of the Federal executive authority of security, defence, internal affairs, customs, prevention and response to emergencies and natural disasters, if it has an educational institutions in its structure.^[3].

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Where to get an insurance for a Russian Visa?

You can buy medical insurance policy at any company providing health insurance services on the Russian territory (you can get contacts of such an organization from your friends, who have a successful experience of obtaining a visa to Russia or from the Consular employees). It costs ≈0,4-2$ (0,3-1,5€) per day of stay in Russia.

Many foreign citizens use websites of mediaries to obtain a medical insurance policy. In this case you order a policy via internet and it is delivered by courier or by e-mail.

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Certificate of absence of the HIV

If you are going to Russia for a period more than 3 months, you must have a certificate of absence of the HIV to apply for a visa. It must contain:^[5]

• your passport data (name and surname, date of birth, passport number, country of your residence);
• planning period of stay in Russia;
• details of the test (date of test, sign of a doctor, type of an antigen, which has been used for the test, stamp of an institution, your sign).

Such a certificate must be in Russian and English language. It is valid for 3 months from the date of a test.

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Where submit documents to?

Student visas to Russia are issued by the Russian diplomatic authorities of your country.

List of Russian diplomatic authorities

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Student visa processing term

Documents for a visa application can be considered for up to 20 business days. If there is a visa facilitation agreement between your country and Russia, it could be considered for 15, 10 or even 5 days.

After your migration registration, you can prolong your 3-months student visa and obtain a multiple-entry student visa^[2]

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It is a form sized 120х80 mm, pasted into your passport. This form contains the following information:

• multiplicity;
• visa type;
• date of issue;
• validity;
• citizenship;
• visa ID;
• your name and surname in Latin and Cyrillic;
• passport number;
• date of birth;
• sex;
• institution ID-number and number of an invitation;
• visit purpose;
• name of an inviting organization;
• additional information.

Educational institution, in which you study, should help you to extend a visa. It is prolonged every year for a period of study or 1 year, if this period is longer. You need an international passport, copy of school’s contract, written request of university to extend your visa, arrival notice stub, migration card, state fee receipt.

Student visa to Russia is issued under an invitation from an educational institution, which is going to take you to a study. Great advantage of a student visa is that its bearers can not only study but work in Russia, if they obtain a work permit.

The following legal acts were used to write this article:

1. 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.
2. Russian Federation 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.
3. Federal law of 25.07.2002 N 115-ФЗ (ред. от 19.07.2018) – О правовом положении иностранных граждан в Российской Федерации.
4. Приложение к совместному Приказу МИД России, МВД России и ФСБ России от 27 декабря 2003 г. N 19723А/1048/922.
5. Russian Federation government decree of 25.11.1995 N 1158 – Об утверждении требований к сертификату об отсутствии ВИЧ-инфекции, предъявляемому иностранными гражданами и лицами без гражданства при их обращении за визой на въезд в Российскую Федерацию на срок свыше трех месяцев.

If you have any questions ask them in the comments to this article. I will try to answer them all.

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