FAQ Russia – The most frequently asked questions about the visa for Russia
Please note the following two important points:
1. Processing times: The stated processing times always refer to the working days of the visa offices. These are open Monday to Friday (except on holidays, sometimes also Russian holidays). If you submit your application to us, we will inform you when it is expected to be completed. An express visa (i.e., completion by the next working day), submitted on a Friday, will be ready on Monday, provided it is not a holiday. One that we receive on Tuesday would be ready by Wednesday. Express visas can only be issued by the next working day if we receive your complete documents by 9 a.m.
2. Travel period: The visa for Russia is issued for exact dates. The dates in your invitation are applicable. If you commission us to obtain your invitation, we can have an invitation issued for the maximum stay period (Russia Visa Invitation).
Visas for Russia should generally not be applied for earlier than 90 days before the planned start of the trip. The embassy's recommendation is 6 weeks before departure. In particularly urgent cases, processing as an
express visa is also possible, i.e., the Russia visa will be issued to you by the next working day.
The issuance time of your visa for Russia depends on the chosen processing time. We offer you a standard processing time of 8-10 working days, an
express processing of 4 working days, and an express processing until the next working day.
The validity of Russia visas varies by
category. For example, a tourist visa allows entry within 30 days of issuance (maximum two times and only on the pre-applied dates, whereby the period must be stated as the entry date of the first trip and the exit date of the possible second trip). With a business visa, you can enter within 90 days after the visa is issued (also a maximum of two times and only on the pre-applied dates). The Russia annual visa is valid for 12 months and allows spontaneous entries within this period, each for a duration not exceeding 90 days within 180 days.
The costs for the Russia visa depend primarily on the desired processing time. The costs consist of the embassy fee and our service fees. For a visa with standard processing, you pay about 137.00 euros (incl. VAT) through our visa service. Faster processing times cost correspondingly more. Details can be found in our overview of the
Russia visa costs. There you will also find the prices for our additional services and shipping costs.
For each Russia visa, you must provide an
invitation and an
overseas travel health insurance (which must meet certain criteria). If desired, we can obtain both documents for you for a fee without any time loss. You can also commission us to transfer your visa application, filled out in German, to the
online form of the Russian government. All these are optional services that must be commissioned by you through a corresponding checkbox on our order form.
The visa application is submitted at a Russian visa office (Visa Russia in Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich). You are welcome to commission our visa service to obtain your Russia visa. If you do not happen to live in a city where a visa office is located, it is definitely worth going through our agency, as our service fees are guaranteed to be lower than the travel costs you would otherwise incur (for at least 2 trips). By commissioning a visa service, you also ensure that you will not be sent home empty-handed by the visa office due to form errors in the visa application or the documents to be submitted.
In exceptional cases, you can still apply for the entry permit directly at a consulate. The Russian embassy currently accepts applications without the intermediation of a visa office by appointment.
Numerous countries require a visa for Russia. Only 37 countries are exempt from the visa requirement, including South Africa, Chile, Ukraine, Thailand, and Brazil. Travelers from EU countries need Russia visas for entry.
To apply for a Russia visa, you must first fill out the online form of the Russian consulate. Together with the corresponding documents according to the visa type, you send the visa application to our Frankfurt branch. We will then take care of everything else for you. Specifically, this means that we will check your application, personally bring it to the Russia Visa Center, and pick it up from there again.
Please send your documents to:
1a Visa Consulting Limited
Kennedyallee 93, 5th floor
60596 Frankfurt am Main
For each visa application, you must submit the completed visa application. To be attached are: the original passport (which must be valid for at least 6 months after the visa expires), a colored and biometric passport photo, a registered invitation (e.g., from the hotel or your partner company in Russia), and an
overseas travel health insurance.
The visa is issued for exact dates. If your invitation specifies a travel period from August 5 to August 14, you will only get a visa for this period. Be sure to have all your documents complete, then nothing will stand in the way of your Russia trip. This includes, for example, proof that you intend to return to your home country, the so-called "proof of return willingness". This can be, for example, a declaration signed by your employer, a pay slip, a pension statement, a student ID, or similar.
The health insurance must cover the entire period you will be in Russia. It must also be explicitly valid for Russia and include a clause for the repatriation of mortal remains. The coverage amount should be at least 30,000 euros.
We are happy to take out suitable insurance for you if you do not already have one, or if your insurance is unable to issue the required confirmation.
The necessary invitation can be obtained, for example, from a hotel in Russia or from your business partner. An invitation must meet very specific criteria, a corresponding sample can be found in our visa application package.
Download visa application in German now
On request, we can also send you the sample in Russian.
We are also happy to take care of obtaining a Russia visa invitation for the desired period for you. Just check the appropriate box on our order form. The costs can be found in our price list. The cost for the tourist invitation is only £20 plus VAT.
You can only enter Russia with a current visa. Your passport should be valid for 6 months after the visa expires. You cannot travel to Russia with an ID card. You need a passport in any case.
Yes, you need a visa for both cities. For St. Petersburg, there is the possibility to apply for an electronic Russia visa for short trips of up to 8 days. However, this is only valid for St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region. For Moscow, you still need a "normal" visa for Russia.
A visa is also required for Kaliningrad. There is now the possibility to apply for an E-visa for the Russian exclave. This is free of charge, but only valid for 8 days and only usable in Kaliningrad. If you want to stay longer or plan a side trip to another part of Russia, you must apply for a regular visa for Russia.
Apply for Russia ETA visa online
Don't forget to pack your passport with the valid visa, the invitation, and your insurance certificate in your hand luggage. At the airport, you must fill out the so-called "migration form". You hand one page back immediately, the other you need for the exit.
Within the first seven days of your Russia trip, you must register. The corresponding document will be provided by your accommodation or possibly by your tour operator.
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