Who needs a Russian visa in the 2020?

Russian visa policy is based on reciprocity, i.e. on bilateral agreements. In the 2020, citizens of some countries don’t need a visa but others have to apply for it in advance. In some cases it is possible to get a visa right on the border.

There are several visa types for the foreign tourists:

• Tourist visa
• Business visa
• Private (homestay) visa
• Work visa
• Study visa

If the question about easing visa regime is raised, it mainly concerns tourist visas.

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Countries, which have visa-free regime with Russia

There are different visa-free regime types:

Regime of staying without limitations. Russian visa is not required at all!

• Belarus
• South Ossetia

Up to 90 days of staying with internal passports

• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• South Ossetia

up to 90 days visa-free regime for international passports

You need to remember that citizens of all countries can stay no more than 90 out of 180 days in a year.

• Abkhazia
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Moldova
• Tajikistan
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan
• South Africa
• Latvia (only for non-citizens)
• Estonia (only for non-citizens)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Brasil
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Serbia
• Venezuela
• Guatemala
• Chile
• Israel
• North Macedonia
• Nicaragua
• Peru
• El Salvador
• Uruguay
• Fiji
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Costa-Rica
• Vanuatu
• UAE
• Maldives

Up to 60 days with international passports

• South Korea
• Mauritius
• Samoa

Up to 30 days of staying with international passpors

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Cuba
• Macau
• Montenegro
• Mozambique
• Serbia
• Thailand
• Mongolia
• Seychelles
• Laos
• Palau

Up to 14 days of staying with international passpors

• Brunei
• Hong Kong
• Nauru

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Countries, which have visa regime with Russia

If you are a citizen of EU, Japan, US or one of the African country, you need a visa to visit Russia. You can see more detailed information below. Follow the description of each country to learn more about obtaining Russian visa.

Countries, which citizens require a Russian visa:

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Special visa regime

Special visa regime allows to stay at the Russian territory without visa on particular conditions.

Passenger of a cruise liner

Passengers of cruise liners don’t require a visa, if vessel’s stay in port is not more than 72 hours (in such case passengers can leave a ship for an organized tour but spend the night on the board). Also, you don’t need a visa, if Saint Petersburg is the only place of staying in Russia on liner’s route. If you want to leave a port individually, then you need to get a Russian visa in advance in the Russian Embassy (it’s not possible to apply for it in a port).

Children under 16

There is no need to issue a Russian visa for the children under 16, if they are entered in parents’ passport and travelling with them. If childrens’ name is not specified in parents’ passport or they plan to enter Russia without parents, so it is necessary to issue a visa (moreover, visa will be valid only if there is a notarized permission from parents). If child’s surname differs from parents’, it is also necessary to issue a visa (don’t forget to apply a birth certificate). However, in any case, a child needs an invitation to Russia.

Transit

If you go through Russia to another country you can get a transit visa. Such visa allows you to temporarily stay at the Russian territory. Officially, transit visa holder has a right to stay at populated area for a period not longer than 3 days. Such a visa can be obtained at the airport in a case, when you have a transit flight with departure from another airport, for example, if you need a transfer from Domodedovo to Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.

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

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