How to get Visa to russia from Belgium in 2020

Tourist visa is for those Belgians who want to visit Russia to sightseeing for a period which is not exceed 30 days. In order to issue such a visa you need a special tourist invitation, which can be obtained in every tourist agency registered in the Unified Federal register of tour operators of the Russian Federation.

Advantage of the tourist invitation is that it can be issued in 5 minutes online. Therefore, such invitation consist of two parts:

1. Tourist voucher indicating that you have bought a tourist ticket to Russia.
2. Confirmation of tourist admission — the Consulate is requested to issue a visa to a foreign citizen.

Reference number, travel agency’s name, tourist’s passport data, cities which are planned to visit, hotels, where tourist is going to stay, planned travel dates and visa multiplicity, dates of arrival and departure are indicated in a voucher. In a confirmation all the information is duplicated.

Invitation letter from an organization is an application to the Consulate of Russian Federation in Belgium for a business visa to a certain citizen of Belgium. Only organizations which are accredited at the Ministry of internal affairs have a right to issue such invitations.

I recommend to issue business invitations to the citizens of Belgium in a form of letter from an organization because it is much cheaper than Telex or the MIA letterhead and you will receive it to your e-mail right after a payment. Besides, in a presence of at least 2 business visas to Russia, Belgian citizen can obtain a multiple-entry visa for 5 years using such a letter (there is simplified visa regime between the EU and Russia).

In order to issue a business invitation in a form of invitation letter, you need to complete an application form and make a payment by credit card or via PayPal. Invitation will be delivered to your e-mail in 5 minutes.

Invitation on the letterhead of the MIA is issued as follows: representative of an inviting organization submits an application with a pack of necessary documents to the MIA office. After that, MIA employees check if you are banned to visit Russia. If there are no reasons to refuse, inviting party gets an invitation on the state letterhead and forward it to an invited foreigner. Issuance takes from 7 to 21 business days.

Electronic invitation from the Ministry of foreign affairs is very convenient type of invitation because you don’t have to send any paper or electronic documents, just Telex number. Issuance takes from 7 to 21 workdays. Advantage of such invitations is that they are not required to be sent via post.

Receive an invitation

If Belgian citizen found an employer in Russia who is ready to issue a work permit for him and work invitation, he can get a work visa to Russia. If there is no such employer, you need to visit Russia under a tourist visa to find a company, which is in need of highly qualified employee, who is moreover a citizen of another country.

Russian company, which agrees to hire a foreigner must not only issue all the necessary documents but hereinafter monitor that a foreign employee doesn’t violate visa regime. Advantage of the work visa is that it is issued for 90 days at first and then prolonged for the whole period of work permit validity. You can stay without a break in Russia under the work visa during the whole validity period (1 or 3 years). Herewith it can be prolonged without leaving country.

Belgians wanting to stay in Russia for a short period of time can apply for the electronic visa. It is visa type which allows Belgian citizens to visit Russia for a period from 1 to 8 days.

This visa type is experimental. In order to obtain it, Belgian citizens don’t need an invitation, just digital photo and completed on the MFA website application. Under the electronic visa you can visit only Kaliningrad oblast (St. Petersburg will be added on this list from 1 October 2019).