Characteristics of the unified e-visa and conditions for its issuance

1. Only citizens of the following foreign countries, the list of which is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, are eligible for the unified e-visa.
2. The unified e-visa is valid for the entry into and exit from the Russian Federation only through the following state border crossing points of the Russian Federation, the list of which is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
3. E-visa applicants are not required to submit an invitation letter, hotel booking confirmation or any other document confirming the purpose of their travel to the Russian Federation.
4. The unified e-visa entitles you to enter the Russian Federation and stay in the Russian Federation for private or business visit, tourism, as well as for participating in scientific, cultural, socio-political, economic, sporting events and carrying out relevant communications and contacts. If the purpose of your trip to the Russian Federation is none of the above, you have to apply to a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Russian Federation for a regular (not electronic) visa.
5. Foreign citizens arriving in the Russian Federation on the basis of a unified e-visa have the right to freedom of movement within the entire territory of the Russian Federation, except for visits to territories, organizations and facilities to which a special permit is required in accordance with federal laws.

6. The unified e-visa is a single entry visa. The validity period of a unified electronic visa is 60 days from the date of issue. The permitted period of stay in the Russian Federation on the basis of a unified e-visa within its validity period shall not exceed 16 days from the date of entry.

   ATTENTION! The permitted period of stay in the Russian Federation on the basis of a unified e-visa of up to 16 days DOES NOT IMPLY the possibility of staying for 384 hours net time (24 hours x 16). The day of arrival and the day of departure are counted as two days. We recommend using the visa calculator to calculate the permitted period of stay.

7. The period of validity of an electronic visa and/or the permitted period of stay may be extended only in cases where it is impossible to leave the territory of the Russian Federation due to the need of emergency treatment or unsurmountable circumstances (force majeure) or natural disasters.
8. Extension of the e-visa and (or) the permitted period of stay is carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation or its territorial bodies at the place of migration registration of a foreign citizen at the place of stay, and if there is no migration registration at the place of stay – at the place of actual stay by way of issuing an ordinary (not electronic) visa.
9. If you have a valid Russian visa in your passport, you do not need to apply for a unified e-visa. You can visit the Russian Federation with a regular visa within its validity period without the restrictions established for the unified e-visa. The validity of a regular visa cannot be extended by obtaining an e-visa.
10. In order to apply for a unified e-visa, it is necessary to submit an application from your personal account on the specialized website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia or through the Russian Foreign Ministry mobile application. The application can be submitted no earlier than 40 days and no later than 4 days before the expected date of entry into the Russian Federation.
11. Before completing the unified e-visa application, you will need to give your consent to the automated processing, transmission and storage of the data in your application for the purposes of issuing a unified e-visa.
12. A fee is charged for processing an application for a unified e-visa. Payment can be made on the specialized website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia or through the Russian Foreign Ministry mobile application using Internet acquiring technology with bank cards of international payment systems (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) through the special website of the Russian Foreign Ministry or its mobile app using the Internet acquiring technology. The payment is non-refundable regardless of the result of the application processing. No consular fee is charged in case of e-visa applications for children under 6 years of age.
13. Applications for a unified e-visa will be processed in no more than 4 calendar days from the date of submission of the application. The date and time of the submission of the application shall be the date and time of sending the completed application for processing. In the case referred to in point 14, the date and time of the submission of the application shall be the date and time of sending the amended application for reprocessing. It takes no longer than 4 calendar days from the date of submission of the application for a unified e-visa for it to be processed. The date and time of sending the completed application for processing is considered the date and time of its submission. In the case referred to in point 14, the date and time of sending the amended application for reprocessing will be considered the date and time of its submission.
14. The processing of applications and the issuance of unified e-visas are carried out by diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Russian Federation as designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. If the processing of the application reveals that any of the information stated therein is incorrect, it will be no longer processed and be returned to you for editing with the fields to be corrected being indicated and comments. An application shall be returned for editing no later than two calendar days from the date of submission of the application. Use your personal account to correct the application and submit it for reprocessing. Processing of the application shall only be resumed after the amended application has been submitted for reprocessing.
15. Indication of date, month and year of birth is mandatory when filling out the application form. If your full date of birth is not specified in your passport, the unified e-visa application cannot be accepted for processing.
16. Your passport must be machine-readable and issued by your country of nationality. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of submitting the application for a unified e-visa. If your passport does not meet these requirements, the e-visa application cannot be accepted for processing. There must be sufficient space in your passport for border crossing stamps.
17. If you are travelling with minor children indicated in your passport, a separate application for a unified e-visa must be submitted for each child. All minor children travelling with their parents must have a separate e-visa.
18. The information you provide in your application must be complete and accurate. Any incorrect information may lead to the revocation of the already issued visa at the border crossing point of the Russian Federation or in the territory of the Russian Federation.
19. Foreign citizens staying in the Russian Federation on the basis of unified e-visas are required to have a medical insurance valid in the territory of the Russian Federation for the entire duration of their stay, with the exception of citizens of the following foreign countries who are exempt from this requirement on the basis of reciprocity.
20. A unified e-visa may be refused in cases established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Applying for a unified e-visa

• The submission of applications and further actions are only available to the authorized users from their personal account on this website or in the MFA mobile application. Please create your personal account if you have not already done so.
• Make sure you have the following:
  • Web browser with JavaScript or the Russian Foreign Ministry mobile application installed on your device. Our website currently supports the following browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge. We cannot guarantee the correct functioning of our site in other browsers.
  • Software for PDF files viewing and printing. Adobe Acrobat Reader is recommended.
  • Your valid national passport that you intend to use when crossing the state border of the Russian Federation.
  • Digital photo of your passport data in JPEG format.
  • Digital photo of your face in JPEG format that meets the requirements.
    • The photo must be no more than six months old as of the date of the application and reflect your current appearance. The photo must show you alone. No foreign objects (chair back, pictures on the walls, etc.) or other people must be visible in the photo.
    • The photo must be taken in full-face view. The head must not be tilted or turned. You must look directly at the camera with a neutral expression, your mouth closed, eyes open and clearly visible. No hair across your eyes.
    • The photo must be taken with uniform lighting and not show shadows, flash reflections on your face and no red eyes.
    • The photo must be taken with a plain light-colored background with no shadows.
    • Applicants whose religious beliefs prohibit them to be seen with their heads uncovered are allowed to wear a head covering that does not conceal facial features in the photo. In this case, please make sure that your face is clearly visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead.
    • If you wear glasses, your eyes must be clearly visible in the photo. Flash reflection off the lenses, as well as tinted lenses are not allowed (if possible, avoid heavy frames – wear lighter framed glasses, if you have them). Make sure that the frames do not cover your eyes (even partly).
    • The photo must show the top of your head and the top of your shoulders. Your head must be in the center of the photo and be fully shown from the top of the hairline or the crown of the head to the tip of the chin. The nose must be on the symmetry line. The face must take up 70-80 percent of the photo.
    • The photo must have no frames.
    • The photo must be rectangular (with the 35x45 aspect ratio).
    • The color scheme must be neutral. The colors must show the natural skin tone. The image must be clear, well defined and in focus.
  • Bank card for paying the visa fee.

• You can track the status of your application in your personal account on this website or in the MFA mobile application.

  ATTENTION! The status of your application may be as follows:
  • “Draft saved” (means that the application has been partially completed or has not yet been sent for processing).
  • “Payment required” (means that the payment of the consular fee has not been made or has not yet gone through).
  • “Application is being processed” (means that the application is being processed).
  • “Correction required” (means that incorrect information was found during the processing of the application. You need to make corrections and then resubmit the application for processing).
  • “Processing completed” (decision on the application has been made).
• Only applications for which a consular fee has been paid will be accepted for processing. Children under the age of six by the date of the submission of the application are exempt from the consular fee.
• All applications which have been accepted for processing will undergo a validation process to check if the information in the application is correct. If your application is correct, its status will change to “Accepted for processing”. If incorrect data is found, the status will change to “Correction required”. You will need to edit the application in accordance with the comments to the fields with the incorrect information and submit the application for reprocessing. Please note that the date and time of the submission of the application will be the date and time you submitted the application for reprocessing.
• Once a decision on your application has been made, its status will change to “Processing completed” and you will be able to download a PDF file with the result of its processing. Automatic messages concerning the progress and outcome of the application with detailed instructions on how to proceed will be sent to your personal e-mail address provided when creating your personal account.
• In case of a positive decision regarding the issuance of a unified e-visa, be sure to print the notification with your e-visa or, if you do not have a printer, save it on your mobile device so that you can present it visually. You will need to show the notification to the representatives of a transport company when boarding the vehicle and to the border officers when passing passport control at the border crossing point of the Russian Federation.