Russian Tourist Visa from UK

A tourist visa is issued for those citizens of United Kingdom who come to Russia for a holiday, to visit sports events or sightseeing. The invitation for a Tourist Visa is issued by a travel company which must be registered in the United Federal Register of the Tour Operators. This type of invitation to visit Russia for British can be made within 1 working day.

Read more: Russian Tourist Visa

Issuing of a tourist invitation for foreign citizens is the quickest way to obtain an invitation. A Tourist Visa Invitation has two parts – a tourist voucher and a confirmation of acceptance of a tourist.

Such tourist invitation from a travel company for a citizen of Great Britain should have:

• Full information about a travel company which issues an invitation;
• A reference-number of a travel company;
• Full name of a tourist and his/her passport information;
• Cities he/she is planning to visit;
• A hotel information where a tourist will be accommodated;
• A time period for the visit, number of entries of a foreign citizen on this visa;
• A purpose of a visit should be stated as “tourism”.

A Tourist Visa (single and double entry) is issued for citizens of the UK for a maximum period of 30 days.

Get a Tourist Invitation to Russia from UK

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Russian Private Visa for British citizens

Foreigners who want to visit friends or relatives who live in the RF have to apply for a Private (Guest) Visa. Private Visa can be single or double and is issued for a period not longer than 90 days.

An Invitation which is necessary to have in order to obtain a Private Visa is issued by a branch of the Federal Migration Service (the FMS). Such an invitation can be issued after an individual or a juridical person has applied for it (wherein such juridical person should be accredited at the FMS).

Read more: Russian Private Visa

The order of issuing of a private invitation by an individual is as follows: The inviting person applies at his/her local branch of the FMS at the place of residence, submitting a completed application, his/her passport, a copy of the passport of the person invited, an income statement, a receipt on the state tax paid and all other necessary documents. When a private invitation for British citizens is issued by an organization its representatives should address the FMS department where the company was accredited.

If the application is successful, the inviting party receives a special form of the Federal Migration Service, which will contain information about the inviting party, the British citizen’s passport data, the validity of the visa, the number of estimated entries, an individual number, a signature of an authorized person and a stamp of an appropriate territorial body of the FMS.

Get of a Private (Visitor) Invitation to Russia for British citizens

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Russian Business Visa from UK

Foreign citizens who are planning to enter Russia in order to conduct business development affairs, to look for new partners, to participate in exhibitions and auctions, to sign contracts, etc. must apply for a business visa.

Read more: Russian Business Visa

The business visa invitation letter can be obtained by either of these ways:

• Russian Invitation Letter from FMS;
• Telex Russian Invitation;

A business invitation by telex doesn’t have any standard form. It is a directive from the Department of Consulate Service at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs into a consulate of the RF. When applying for a visa with a telex invitation, the applicant should come to a consulate of the RF and quote the number of telex.

A Business invitation on a form from the FMS is a state approved document. It takes 12 working days to obtain a single entry visa and 17 working days to obtain a double entry visa. During this period of time checks are made as to whether a foreign citizen has incurred any violations, penalties or deportations. If any such violations or penalties are discovered the applicant will be denied an invitation and the reason for this will be indicated.

Read more: What is the difference between a telex and the original invitation

Business visas for citizens of Great Britain can be either single or double entry (to enter Russia for a period up to 3 months) or multi-entry (unlimited number of entries to Russia within a period from 6 months up to 1 year).

Business Visa for citizens of the UK can be issued for a period from 1 month (30 days) to 1 year. It can be single, double-entry or multi-entry.

Please, note that according to Russian visa policy maximum stay in Russia without leave is 90 days in 180-period days.

Issuing of a Business Invitation to Russia for British citizens on the FMS form

Go to Issuing a Business Invitation

Get a Business Invitation to Russia for British citizens by a Telex

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Work visa for British citizens

Foreign citizens who want to enter the Russian Federation to work for a juridical person (a representative office of a foreign company in Russia or a Russian company) on a contract have to apply for a Work Visa. The application for a work visa has to be done by a company or employer who must also provide a foreign citizen with a work permit.

Read more: Russian Work Visa

In order to receive a work visa it is necessary to:

1. Provide a foreign citizen with a work permit (a company/employer should be in charge of this);
2. Obtain a short-term work visa (for the period of 90 days) and to put a foreign citizen on a migration register after his arrival in the RF;
3. Extend the work visa term (for the period of a work permit) and extend the registration.

The specifics of a Russian Work Visa is that it allows a foreign citizen to stay in the RF for the whole period of its validity. If a foreign citizen comes to Russia with a work visa members of his family can also receive work visas. In this case the purpose of the visit would be indicated as: “an accompanying member of a family”.

Get Work Visa to Russia for British citizens

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Russian Electronic Visa from UK

Russian consulate in UK:

British citizens may obtain Russian visa in these Consular centers of the Russian Federation:

Current Addresses of Russian Embassies in UK​ (translated version)

• The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Embassy Consular Section
  • Address: 5 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QS
  • Phone: +44 (0) 203 668 7474 - Telephone help desk for Consular Affairs at the Russian Embassy in the UK
  • Fax: +44 (0) 207 229 3215
  • E-mail: info@rusemb.org.uk
  • Web: www.rus.rusemb.org.uk
  • Business hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (passport), Thursday, Friday. The Consular Section is closed on weekends and during the Russian holidays
• Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Edinburgh
  • Address: 58 Melville St., Edinburgh, EH3 7HF
  • Phone: +44 (0) 13 1225 7098
  • Fax: +44 (0) 13 1225 9587
  • E-mail: visa@edconsul.co.uk
  • Web: http://edinburgh.mid.ru/
  • Business hours: From Monday to Thursday - from 09.30 to 12.30 and from 14.00 to 17.30, Friday - from 09.30 to 12.30 and from 14.00 to 17.15

Frequently Asked Questions