The Government of the Russian Federation allows citizens or residents of specific countries/territories to enter Russia without having to obtain a visa, based on bilateral or multilateral agreements. Citizens of other countries must obtain a visa from a Russian embassy.

There are several types of Russian visas - travel visa that usually lasts for 6 months, business visa and homestay visa that applies when a person is staying at their friends or relatives home. Diplomatic visa and official/service visa lasts for 1 year.

Visa-free Entry

The citizens of the following 37 countries and territories are eligible to visit Russia with a valid passport and without obtaining a visa in advance. These rules generally apply to holders of ordinary passports, rules for holders of diplomatic passports and other travel documents may differ.

As of 2014, citizens of the countries, except Belarus, who have the right to a visa-free entry to Russia must not stay longer than 90 days per every 180 days. Resetting the allowed period by leaving and re-entering the country is no longer allowed. Overstaying is punishable by a three year entry ban. The rule of "90 days per every 180 days" canceled for citizens of Ukraine until 1 Aug 2015.In parentheses are given the date of entry into force of the current agreement.

Unlimited period

• Belarus

90 days

• Abkhazia
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Moldova
• South Ossetia
• Tajikistan
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan

Stateless persons

Stateless persons who were citizens of the Soviet Union and now reside in the following countries are visa-exempt:

• Estonia (holders of an alien passport)
• Latvia (holders of a non-citizen passport)

Non-commercial purposes

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Fiji
• Guatemala
• Israel
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

60 days for non-commercial purposes

• South Korea

30 days for non-commercial purposes

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Cuba
• Macau
• Macedonia
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Serbia
• Thailand
• Turkey

15 days for tourist groups

• China (Only for group tourism (from 5 to 50 persons) organized by accredited Chinese travel agencies)

14 days for non-commercial purposes

• Hong Kong

Visa-free agreement allowing stays of up to 14 days was signed with Nauru in September 2014, but it is yet to be ratified.

Recent Developments

Russian government has instructed the Foreign Ministry to sign an agreement on visa-free regime with El Salvador, Mauritius.

Diplomatic and service/official passports

Holders of diplomatic and service/official passports of the following countries may enter Russia without a visa:

• Abkhazia
• Albania
• Angola
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Benin
• Bolivia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Cape Verde
• Cambodia
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Ethiopia
• Fiji
• Gabon
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guyana
• Honduras
• Hong Kong
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Jamaica
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Macao
• Macedonia
• Mali
• Mexico
• Moldova
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Nepal
• Nicaragua
• North Korea
• Pakistan
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Romania
• Schengen area countries
• Serbia
• Singapore
• South Africa
• South Korea
• South Ossetia
• Syria
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Zimbabwe

Agreement signed with Congo and Nauru, but it is yet to be ratified.
Russian government has instructed the Foreign Ministry to sign an agreement on visa-free regime with Bangladesh, Kuwait, Mauritius, Oman, Senegal, Sri Lanka.

3 days for Kaliningrad visits

Citizens of Schengen states, United Kingdom and Japan may visit the Kaliningrad region as tourists and obtain a 3-day visa at the border check points of Bagrationovsk, Mamonovo and Khrabrovo Airport if travelling through one of the approved travel agencies. This policy is effective until 31 December 2015.

 

Visa-free transit

Direct airside transit

Passengers travelling through international airports do not need a visa for a transit of less than 24 hours, provided a confirmed onward ticket is held and the traveller remains in the international transit area (without clearing passport control).

Only five Russian airports have an international transit area:

• Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) - terminals D, E and F
• Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport (DME)
• Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) - terminal A
• Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport (LED) - new terminal 1, opened on February 14, 2014
• Yekaterinburg's Koltsovo International Airport (SVX) - international terminal.

Future changes

The Russian Government has instructed the Foreign Ministry to sign an agreement on visa waiver with the following countries:

• Jamaica – 90 days within any year period for ordinary passports
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 90 days within any 180-day period for all passports^[

Visa waiver agreements have already been signed with the following countries but are not yet ratified or applied:

• Algeria – 90 days within any 180-day period for diplomatic and service passports
• Costa-Rica – 90 days within any 180-day period for ordinary passports
• Cuba – 90 days within any 180-day period for all passports
• Equatorial Guinea – 90 days within any 180-day period for diplomatic and service passports
• Gambia – 90 days for diplomatic and service passports from 15 August 2018
• Iran – 15 days for tourist groups
• Micronesia – 30 days for all passports
• Sudan – 90 days within any 180-day period for diplomatic passports
• United Arab Emirates – 90 days within any 180-day period for all passports