Tourist visas
Tourist visas are issued to citizens of foreign countries and stateless persons entering the Russian Federation for a short-term stay with the purpose of tourism (going to cultural events, excursions, sight-seeing) on the base of a confirmation (the so called «tourist confirmation») that the foreign tourist will be hosted by a Russian tourist operator.
A Tourist visa empowers its holder to also conduct in the Russian Federation brief business negotiations, attend exhibitions, auctions and medical consultations or examinations. In such cases, a «tourism with a special purpose» should be mentioned in the field «purpose of visit» of the tourist confirmation, and the visa will be issued for the exact number of days required in order to attend the event, as shown in the confirmation (provided that it is no longer than 30 days).The standard maximum validity period of a single-entry or a double-entry tourist visa is 30 days.
The maximum validity period of a multiple-entry tourist visa issued on the basis of bilateral agreements of the Russian Federation with Austria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan and Spain is 6 months (the authorized stay is 90 days at one trip or in total, for India – each stay not more than 30 days).According to the Russia-USA bilateral visa agreement the US citizens having a standart set of a tourist visa documents may request multiple-entry tourist visas for 3 years (with each authorized stay of 180 days).
Tourist visas to the Russian Federation are either single-entry, double-entry or multiple-entry. Double-entry tourist visas (for no longer than 30 days) are issued to foreign nationals only in cases when, according to the documents, the tourist plans to visit other states neighboring Russia during his visit to the country (the “near abroad” (CIS, Baltic states)) or states from which they will return through Russian territory (e.g. China or Mongolia). The route must be stated on the tourist's ticket (or the tourist confirmation, issued by the Russian organization hosting the tourist). Multiple-entry tourist visas may be issued only in accordance with bilateral agreements of the Russian Federation with Austria, Estonia, Greece, India, Japan, Hungary, Spain and the USA.Where to apply for a Russian visa
There are 2 places in the Netherlands where you may apply for a Russian visa:
1. The Consular section of the Russian Embassy (Scheveningseweg 2, 2517 KT Den Haag, map):- to apply for a visa - only prior to an appointment on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 10.00 till 10.30, the applicant must be present in person;
- to pick up a passport - without an appointment on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 12.00 till 12.40, the applicant must be present in person with the payment receipt;
Read more here: https://rusvisacentre.com/.
Important ! If there are no available appointments in the Consular section of the Russian Embassy for the dates wished by a candidate for a visa the documents are to be submitted ONLY to the Russian visa application centre.Even if the documents have been submitted to the Visa application centre, the visas are anyway issued (printed) by the Russian consulate in the Hague.
Attention ! NEW FREE OF CHARGE E-VISAS ! Foreign citizens willing to visit with tourist purposes the city of Saint Petersburg and/or the Leningrad region, as well as the Kaliningrad region may get free of charge e-visas for the stay of 8 days. For more information, please, read here.Processing time
The processing time for the issuance of a tourist visa depends on the citizenship of an applicant and location where the visa documents have been submitted:- for apllications made in the Russian consulate directly (an appointment is required) by citizens of all European Union countries, Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iran, Canada, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Switzerland and Turkey - 4 working days;
- for apllications made in the Russian consulate directly (an appointment is required) by citizens of all other states – 5 working days;If any of the above mentionned apllications is introduced via the Russian visa centre in the Hague, Rotterdam or Amsterdam, 1 extra working day has to be added to the whole processing time.
The Article 7 of the Russia-EU visa facilitation Agreement authorizes the Russian consulate to extend the time processing of a visa application up to 30 working days in individual cases, notably when further scrutiny of the application is needed.The processing time starts from the moment all the necessary documents are duly provided, accepted and the visa fee is paid.
Visa fees
All the information about visa fees is available on this web-page.General rules
1. The Consular section is authorized to give visas only for the Russian Federation.2. The Consular section does not accept any visa documents sent by post and never sends passports with visas by post.
3. The visa application is to be introduced not later than 8 calendar days and not earlier than 3 months before the trip to the Russian Federation.4. All payments in the Consular section must be done only by bank cards. Cash money and other means of payment are not accepted.
5. The fee paid for a visa is not refundable.6. When obtaining a passport with a visa, we recommend that you carefully check the personal data specified in the visa.
7. The law of the Russian Federation empowers the Consular section to refuse to issue any visa without explaining the reasons of the refusal.8. Before you read the information about the required documents we recommend you to first make an appointment. The appointments are to be taken in the Russian Consulate directly OR (if there are no available dates in the Russian consulate) in the Russian visa application centre in the Hague.
9. Very important for visa applications directly in the Consular section of the Russian Embassy ! A foreign citizen or a stateless person (who does not have the Russian citizenship) must be present in the Consular section in person. The applicant is authorized to apply for a visa for himself and his/her children under 18 y.o. for a joint trip to Russia (for the same dates). Documents proving the degree of relationship are required (originals from the Gemeente). The applications on behalf of a third person (even with the power of attorney) are not accepted.Very important for visa applications in the Russian visa centre in the Hague ! A foreign citizen or a stateless person (who does not have the Russian citizenship) may visit the Visa centre or by him(her)self or empower a third person for this mission. To apply for a visa on behalf of the passport holder a hand-written (on the copy of the passport) power of attorney from the latter will be required.
10. VERY IMPORTANT ! The visa procedure that is underway in the Russian consulate may be cancelled (stopped) by the applicant. For that the candidate for a visa has to apply with a written statement to the organisation where he has submitted his/her visa documents. All paid fees in that case are not refundable. The passport without a visa will be returned to its holder not earlier than after 2-3 working days.11. VERY IMPORTANT ! ARE YOU BANNED TO ENTER THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION?
In case of non-payment in due time by a foreign citizen during his/her stay in the Russian Federation of customs duties and taxes, including the cases of temporary import of vehicles for personal use into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, the competent authorities of the Russian Federation may take a decision to prohibit the entry of such foreign citizen to the Russian Federation.
List of required documents
1. Tourist confirmation (fax or scan, originals are not required). This document confirms that the candidate for a visa will be hosted as a tourist by a Russian tourist operator, which is registered in the Unified register of tourist operators of the Russian Federation. The tourist operator must be registered and have a valid reference number in the Russian Ministry of foreign Affairs;2. Travel passport (original). The passport must contain at least 2 blank visa pages and must be valid 6 months after the last day of the required visa validity;
3. Visa application form printed and signed personally by the applicant (Very important ! when the web-site asks to select the location where the applicant is going to submit documents, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Netherlands OR the Visa Centre must be chosen – the choice depends on the place where the applicant has made his visa appointment);4. 1 recent passport photo. The photo must be glued (not stapled!) on the visa application form;
5. Medical insurance policy document (copy or original) issued by a foreign insurance company or a Russian insurance company. This document is required only from the citizens of all EU countries (except Great Britain), China, Iran, Iseland State, Israel, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway and Swiss. This document must contain:- the date when the agreement was signed;
- the policy number;- the full name of the insured person;
- full details of the insurer;- the dates of validity: the policy must cover the entire period of stay in Russia for single-entry and double-entry visas, and the duration of the first trip for multiple-entry visas;
- the list of medical services covered by the insurance, the repatriation must be included;- the geographical area coverage: worldwide or including the Russian Federation or Europe including the Russian Federation;
- the insurance coverage amount must not be less than 30.000 Euros;- the signature of the insurer.
Insurance policies and confirmation letters which do not contain the above information and standard forms stamped by the insurer are not accepted.Insurance cards are not accepted;
6. Original and copy of a valid Dutch permanent residence permit (not required if the applicant is a citizen of the EU or the USA).The Russian Consulate may request additional documents before issuing a visa, invite any applicant to a personal interview or extend the time required for the visa consideration.
To be noted that the law of the Russian Federation empowers the Russian Consulate to refuse to issue any visa without explaining the reasons of the refusal.