Russian Visas

Express to Russia can help you obtain a Russian tourist visa or Russian business visa quickly and easily. To order a Russian visa please select the Russia visa type from the table below. To learn more about applying for a visa to Russia please read the information below.

*Russian visa invitation on paper.  This type of invitation must be sent to you.  Postal costs are not included in listed price. Express postage is charged at market rates (approximately 100 USD per package).

Russian Visa Support

We offer Russian visa support for those travelers who would like to obtain their Russian visas directly from the Russian Consulate themselves. This consists of a Russia visa invitation (sometimes called a voucher) that our company issues and either mails, scans or faxes to you. Customers ordering Russian visa support will be responsible for paying the Russian Consulate fees themselves and the logistics involved in getting their passports to and from the Russian Consulate. To order Russian visa support, please click here.

Recommended By: Our travel group under the names City Realty or Express to Russia is recommended by the following travel guides for Russian visa service and for travel and accommodation in Russia.

All foreigners visiting Russia require a Russian visa. In order to receive one, travelers need a Russian visa invitation from a Russian citizen or a company (sometimes called a voucher for tourist visas), which is then taken to a Russian Consulate, where the actual visa is issued.  Russian visa processing fees vary according to the applicant's citizenship and the Russian Consulate applied to.

Within three working days of arrival in Russia, the visa should be registered by the person or organization that issued the invitation either at a hotel or at a local registration office (OVIR). Registration is important because people lacking registration may have trouble leaving the country.

Below is information on the three most popular types of Russian visas.

A Russian tourist visa is good for stays of up to 30 days.  Although technically, a Russian hotel should issue the invitation only if the guest will actually stay at the hotel for the dates indicated, many tourist agencies will still issue the invitation and assist with Russian visa registration although the guest has not stayed at the hotel.  In order to apply for this type of visa, the Consulate requires your passport which must be valid for six months or more after the date of your return from Russia.  There should also be at least 2 clean, unstamped pages within the passport to place the visa on.  For a full list of documents, please see the section applying for a Russian visa. Order Russian tourist visa invitation.

A Russia business visa allows you to do much more than a Russian tourist visa.  Russian business visas are best for people coming to Russia for longer stays, those traveling independently without tour groups and those who may not require a hotel.  Technically, the visitor should be in Russia for business negotiations, contract signing, etc. but this rule is often not followed and there are many visa agencies out there that will issue the guest a business invitation.  Russian business visa invitations are issued by a Russian company rather than a tourism company or hotel.  Frequently travel agencies specializing in visas and travel to Russia can help arrange these invitations.  Order Russian business visa invitation.

Russian student visas are very convenient.  They are very flexible, allow long stays and also allow the visitor to purchase Russian theater, airplane, museum and train tickets at prices that are frequently below the normal cost.  The obstacle to being issued a Russian student visa is that the visitor must be enrolled in a Russian institution of higher learning (university, college, etc.).  The administration of the college or university can assist the applicant in the receipt of such a visa to Russia.

Besides the 3 most popular types of Russian visas listed above there are also Diplomatic visas, transit visas and visas that can be issued by MID (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on the spot.  Transit visas may be a good option for people just passing through Russia with the final destination being China or Central Asia but these visas really limit the visitor’s time in Russia and sometimes it is hard to exit Russia in time which can lead to problems.  Diplomatic visas are only issued for Foreign State Department workers and on the spot Russian visas are almost never available.

Immigration cards are issued to foreigners at entry points to Russia.  They are part of additional measures by the Russian government to keep track of foreigners during their time in Russia.  The cards have 2 identical sections where contact details, document numbers, visa number and other information are entered.  One part of the document is kept by the passport control people at the entry point and another part should be retained by the visitor throughout his or her stay in Russia. On exiting the country, the other half is given to the passport control people at the border. 

Immigration card

Medical insurance is required for the citizens of Israel, Finland, Estonia, as well as for the citizens of Schengen Agreement Member States (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain). Medical insurance is not required for US citizens.

If Children are traveling on their parent’s passport they do not require a separate Russian visa but Children traveling on their own passports must apply for and be issued a separate Russian visa.  If children are traveling with people other than their parents they will also need a notarized statement from their parents confirming that the parents have given the children permission to travel without them.  If the last name of the child differs from the parents a copy of the child’s birth certificate should be included in the travel documents.

» Order Russian Tourist Visa Invitation
» Order Russian Business Visa Invitation