Member Article

On 11th August, Federal Law dated 31.07.2020, No. 305-FZ, introducing a new type of visa for entering Russia, came into force.

This unified electronic visa is a single-entry visa for the following purposes: guest, business, tourism, scientific, cultural, social and political, economic, and sports, or corresponding ties and contacts.

This electronic visa may be obtained by foreign nationals from a list of states defined by the Russian Government (member states of the EU, except for the UK; China, Turkey, Japan, etc.). The Government has also detailed the procedure for issuing this visa. The first unified electronic visas will be issued, beginning from January 1st, 2021.

To obtain an electronic visa, a foreign national shall submit an application on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry will issue an e-visa within four calendar days from the date of submission.

Foreign nationals may use an e-visa within 60 days from the date of issuance. However, the permitted duration of stay in Russia is up to 16 days, starting from the day of entry.

Currently, 29 checkpoints, where foreign nationals with electronic visas may enter Russia, are defined by the Russian Government. According to the Government’s website, this list will be supplemented, as soon as the checkpoints are equipped with the necessary equipment.

The Federal Law also amended the process of issuing visas in the form of electronic documents. Currently, this type of visa may be used once for entering Russia at the checkpoints within territories of Vladivostok Free Port, the special economic zone in Kaliningrad region, city of Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region, as well as at the airport checkpoints in the Far Eastern Federal District. An application for an e-visa (in the form of electronic documents) may be submitted until December 31st, 2020, inclusive. Their validity is limited to February 3rd, 2021. Subsequently, electronic visas will be processed in accordance with the new rules.

Please note that the electronic visa, as well as a hardcopy visa, does not guarantee entry to Russia. The final decision is made at the border checkpoint. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to reduce the risk of non-entry, manual verification of completed applications for the electronic visa will be introduced, starting from 2021. Nevertheless, we highly recommend carefully completing the respective application and avoiding any inaccuracies (especially regarding passport data).