How to Apply for Visa

You can apply for your visa personally or through the mail using a reliable, overnight mail service such as DHL, FED EX or UPS. Please make sure to have all of the documents listed in the Russian Visa Requirements section handy. To receive a visa invitation and voucher, you will have to contact a travel agency that is recognized my the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RussianConsulate.org currently is working through Express to Russia. Click here to contact them.

Some travel agencies also offer full visa service, where they handle all relationships with the Russian Consulates themselves and pay all fees. To learn more, about full visa service, please click here.

Example of combined Invitation and Voucher

Important Notice

Visas are issued at the discretion of the Russian Consulate. In rare cases, visas may be refused. The Russian Consulate reserves the right to invite the applicant in for an interview and to review the visa applications for longer periods than the fee schedule suggests (although this rarely happens). The Consulate fee is non refundable whether the applicant receives a visa or not.

In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation as of February 10, 2003 Migration Card (part A and B) must be completed by all foreign Citizens in Russian/English language in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

The Card is to be presented to the Russian Border Control officer along with a national passport and travel documents.

Migration Card can be obtained aboard a plane, on a train or at a Border Control Office.

Please be advised, that you must register yourself in a local office of the Ministry of the Interior within three working days of arrival at the hotel or other organization rendering hotel services (this rule is applied to all foreign Citizens except those arriving at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). It is not necessary to register if the visa is for two to three days only. (Central Moscow Registration Chamber Tel: 202 2963).

Negligence can result in penalties and fines.

Registration outside the territory of the Russian Federation is illegal and may entail serious consequences and penalties.

Please keep part B of the Migration Card along with your passport until the departure passport control procedure.

Important! Please be advised that one can not have two valid visas in one passport; in this case the first visa will be cancelled.

Additional Information

On the basis of reciprocity, German citizens may apply for Visa to Russia at the Russian Consular Missions in the US only if they have a US Permanent Resident or US Resident Alien status (green card). In all other cases they have to apply for Russian Visa at the Russian Consular Missions in Germany.

Citizens of Israel, Finland and Shengen Agreement States (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and France) should submit national medical coverage certificate valid for Russia or guarantee of medical coverage from a Russian hosting organization for all period of stay.

Citizens of Estonia must submit to the Consulate medical insurance certificate valid for Russia and covering all period of stay.

Applicants who used to be citizens of the USSR or of the Russian Federation and then emigrated from the USSR or from Russia must submit one of the documents which confirms that they are no longer citizens of the Russian Federation (so called "Visa to Israel" or stamp in their passport saying that they left for "permanent residence abroad" before the 6th of February, 1992 or official document certifying that their Russian citizenship was abrogated), otherwise the applications will not be accepted.

The Consulate reserves the right to call the applicants for an interview and ask questions on personal, financial, business, corporate related issues as well as on applicant's Russian contacts and relatives.