Who needs a visa to enter Russia?

Q: Which visa policy exists in Russia?

If you are a citizen of EU , a country in Asia or Africa, Japan or USA you are required to obtain a visa to enter Russia. More detailed information on each of the countries is listed in the table of the acricle.

Visa policy for citizens of foreign countries

If you are a citizen of EU, a country in Asia or Africa, Japan or USA you are required to obtain a visa to enter Russia. More detailed information on each of the countries is listed in the table below [source - MFA].

Citizenship	Do foreign citizens need a visa to enter Russia?	Migration Risk Level	Comments
Abkhazia	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Australia	Visa required	Normal	Visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS".
Austria	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports No visas for aircraft crew members
Azerbaijan	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Azores Islands	Visa required	Normal
Aland Islands	Visa required	Normal
Albania	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Algeria	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Virgin Islands (US)	Visa required	Normal
American Samoa	Visa required	Normal
Anguilla	Visa required	Normal
Angola	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Andorra	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Antigua and Barbuda	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Argentina	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Armenia	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Afghanistan	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Bahamas	Visa required	Normal
Bangladesh	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days without visas for diplomatic and service passports
Barbados	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Bahrain	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic, service and special passports
Belize	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Belarus	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Belgium	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Benin	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Ivory Coast	Visa required	Normal
Bermuda	Visa required	Normal
Bulgaria	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports without visas for crew members of ships and aircraft
Bolivia	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Bosnia and Herzegovina	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Botswana	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay on a common civil passport up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Brazil	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Virgin Islands (US)	Visa required	Normal
Brunei Darussalam	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 14 days of uninterrupted stay on civil passports visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Burkina Faso	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Burundi	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Bhutan	Visa required	Normal
Vanuatu	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
United Kingdom of Great Britain	Visa required	Normal
Hungary	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Venezuela	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
East Timor	Visa required	Normal
Vietnam	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Gabon	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Haiti	Visa required	Normal
Guyana	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Gambia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Ghana	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia	Visa required	Normal
Guatemala	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Guinea-Bissau	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Germany	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Gibraltar	Visa required	Normal
Honduras	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Grenada	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Greece	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Georgia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Guam	Visa required	Normal
Denmark	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
The Democratic Republic Of The Congo	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Djibouti	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Dominica	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Dominican Republic	No visa required	Normal	up to 60 days of uninterrupted stay on civil passports. up to 90 days for diplomatic and service passports
Egypt	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic, service and official passports
Zambia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Zimbabwe	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	without visas on diplomatic and service passports (only for employees of official institutions of the country on the territory of the Russian Federation)
Israel	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
India	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Indonesia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 14 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Jordan	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic, service and special passports
Iraq	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Iran	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days without visas for diplomatic and service passports
Ireland	Visa required	Normal
Iceland	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Spain	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Italy	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Yemen	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Cape Verde	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 60 days without visas on civil passports up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Kazakhstan	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Cayman Islands	Visa required	Normal
Cambodia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	without visas for diplomatic passports and service passports
Cameroon	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Canada	Visa required	Normal
Canary Islands	Visa required	Normal
The Caribbean: Curacao, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, the Dutch part of the island of St. Maarten and Aruba	Visa required	Normal
Qatar	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Kenya	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Cyprus	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports without visas for crew members of sea and aircraft without visas for transit passengers - 24 hours (from the moment of arrival)
Kyrgyzstan	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Kiribati	Visa required	Normal
China	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days without visas for diplomatic and service passports without visas for members of train crews, crew members of sea, river and aircraft up to 15 days without visas for tourist groups from 5 to 50 people. (according to certified lists and confirmations of Russian tourist organizations about admission) without visas on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
The DPRK	Visa required	High level risk (read more)
Colombia	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Comoros	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Costa Rica	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Cuba	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Kuwait	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and special passports
Laos	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Latvia	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Lesotho	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Liberia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Lebanon	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Libya	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Lithuania	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports without visas for crew members of sea, river and aircraft
Liechtenstein	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Luxembourg	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Mauritius	No visa required	Normal	up to 60 days of uninterrupted stay
Mauritania	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Madagascar	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Madera	Visa required	Normal
Macedonia	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	from 30 to 90 days with the original of the tourist invitation up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports without visas for crew members of sea, river and aircraft
Malawi	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Malaysia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Mali	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Republic Of Maldives	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Malta	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Morocco	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Marshall Islands	Visa required	Normal
Mexico	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic and official passports visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Mozambique	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days without visas for diplomatic and service passports
Moldova	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Principality of Monaco	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Mongolia	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Montserrat	Visa required	Normal
Myanmar	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Namibia	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay of every 180
Nauru	No visa required	Normal	up to 14 days of uninterrupted stay
Nepal	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Niger	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Nigeria	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Netherlands	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Nicaragua	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Niue	Visa required	Normal
New Zealand	Visa required	Normal	visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Norway	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
U.A.E	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Oman	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic, service and special passports
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Visa required	Normal
Cook Islands	Visa required	Normal
Pakistan	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Palau	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Palestine	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Panama	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Papua New Guinea	Visa required	Normal	visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Paraguay	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Peru	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Pitcairn	Visa required	Normal
Poland	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports without visas for crew members of ships and aircraft
Portugal	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Puerto Rico	Visa required	Normal
The Republic Of Guinea	Visa required	Normal
Republic Of The Congo	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
The Republic Of Korea	No visa required	Normal	up to 60 days of uninterrupted stay
The Republic of Cote d'Ivoire	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Rwanda	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Romania	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports no visas for aircraft crew members
El Salvador	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Samoa	No visa required	Normal	up to 60 days of uninterrupted stay
San Marino	Visa required	Normal
Sao Tome and Principe	Visa required	Normal
Saudi Arabia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Swaziland	Visa required	Normal
Northern Mariana Islands	Visa required	Normal
Seychelles	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Senegal	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Saint Kitts and Nevis	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Saint Lucia	Visa required	Normal
Serbia	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Singapore	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Syria	Visa required	High level risk (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic, service and special passports
Slovakia	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Slovenia	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Solomon Islands	Visa required	Normal
Somalia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
The Special Administrative Region Hong Kong S.A.R.	No visa required	Normal	up to 14 days of uninterrupted stay
The Special Administrative Region Macao	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay
Sudan	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Suriname	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
United States	Visa required	Normal
Sierra Leone	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Tajikistan	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Thailand	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports without visas on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Tanzania	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Turks and Caicos Islands	Visa required	Normal
Togo	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days out of 180 without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Tokelau	Visa required	Normal
Tonga	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Tristan da Cunha	Visa required	Normal
Tuvalu	Visa required	Normal
Tunisia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic, special and service passports
Turkmenistan	Visa required	Normal	up to 30 days without visas for diplomatic and service passports without visas for crew members of sea, river and aircraft, as well as employees of train crews of railways, employees of intergovernmental courier communications, with appropriate certificates, persons entering to provide assistance in case of natural disasters and catastrophes
Turkey	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic passports up to 30 days without visas for official and special passports no visas for aircraft crew members up to 30 days for professional drivers engaged in international road transport
Uganda	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Uzbekistan	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Ukraine	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Uruguay	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Federated States Of Micronesia	Visa required	Normal
Fiji	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Philippines	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Finland	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic passports
Falkland Islands	Visa required	Normal
France	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Croatia	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports without visas for crew members of ships and aircraft
The Central African Republic	Visa required	Normal
Chad	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Montenegro	No visa required	Normal	up to 30 days of uninterrupted stay up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
Czech Republic	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Chile	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay visa-free regime on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"
Switzerland	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Sweden	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic passports
Svalbard	Visa required	Normal
Sri Lanka	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 30 days without visas for diplomatic and service passports no visas for aircraft crew members
Ecuador	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Equatorial Guinea	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Eritrea	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)
Estonia	Visa required	Normal	up to 90 days without visas on diplomatic passports
Ethiopia	Visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days without visas for diplomatic and official passports
South Africa	No visa required	Normal	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Visa required	Normal
South Ossetia	No visa required	Normal
Jamaica	No visa required	Migration-dangerous (read more)	up to 90 days of uninterrupted stay
Japan	Visa required	Normal	without visas for crew members of Aeroflot, Jal, ANA airlines, as well as for visiting the South Kuril Islands for certain purposes (according to lists certified by the Russian Embassy in Japan) without visas on APEC cards with the designation "RUS"

Special visa policy

In order to enter and stay in the territory of the Russian Federation, a person holding citizenship of another State is required to obtain a visa. However, there are two exceptional cases in which a special visa policy is applied.

Children who have not reached the age of 16.
- Children under 16 years do not need a visa if they are specified in their parents’ passports and traveling with them.
- If the child's name is not specified in the passports of his/her parents, or he/she travels alone, they must apply for a visa. Notarized consent from their parents (or guardians) is required.
- If the child and the parent(s) have different last names, it is necessary that his/her birth certificate should be attached to visa.

Passengers travelling on cruise ships.
- Passengers of cruise ships do not need a visa during their stays at ports not exceeding 72 hours, if they spend the night aboard the ship.
- St. Petersburg is the only destination on the route of the ship.
- Passengers who come ashore as part of an organized tourist group do not need a visa.
- It is forbidden to leave the ship with an expired passport or without a voucher from the host party.
- Citizens of foreign countries, who travel by cruise ship, wishing to go beyond the territory of ports outside organized tourist groups must possess a Russian visa (the visa decision should be made at the Embassy of the Russian Federation. Obtaining a visa in ports is not a possibility).

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main types of Russian visas?

Tourist Visa - e.g.: tourism, sightseeing;
Business Visa - e.g.: conferences, business negotiations;
E-Visa - e.g.: short-term visits;
Work Visa - e.g.: employment in a Russian company;
Private Visa - e.g.: visiting friends in Russia (though a tourist visa is cheaper and more effecient??).

How can I get a visa to Russia?

To obtain a Russian visa you need:

Fill in our online order form and get a Visa invitation to Russia
Refer to our Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Russian Visa Application, use your personal data and information from the Invitation to Russia

For children who have not reached the age of 16.
Passengers travelling on cruise ships.

Who needs a visa to enter Russia?

Who needs a visa to visit Russia?

Visa policy for citizens of foreign countries

Special visa policy

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main types of Russian visas?

How can I get a visa to Russia?

Who needs a visa to visit Russia?

Which visa policy exists in Russia?

What is special visa policy in Russia?

When visa is not necessary?