Russian tourist visas are generally used by people who travel to Russia for tourism, leisure or short business trips allowing for either a single or double visit and may be valid for a maximum period of 30 days.
If you intend to visit Russia twice in a period of more than 30 days, or multiple times over a 6 or 12 month period then you may want to consider Business Visa support instead.
We are pleased to announce that we are able to offer three new options for Russian tourist letters of invitation:
| Type | Additional Cost |
| Single entry 90 day, allows for one trip up to 90 days within the validity period | £10 |
| Double entry 90 day, allows for two trips 90 day visa validity period | £35 |
| Six month multiple entry, allows for multiple trips within six months, maximum of 90 days total | £65 |
To order these new services:
Please note that for the six month multiple entry visa there will be a different fee to pay at the visa application centre of £226.40 (based on UK citizens) and the processing time will be 11 working days, ready for collection on the twelfth working day.
Please see the following link for any processing issues which may be affecting the Russian tourist visa support service.
To apply for a tourist visa to enter the Russian Federation you will need to provide an official tourist invitation with your visa application. The invitation, also known as a visa support document, will contain both the required confirmation and corresponding travel voucher.
Real Russia is officially accredited by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recognised by the Russian Ministry of Tourism, as a fully bonded in-bound tour operator and is licensed to provide the vouchers and invitations via a simple, fast and secure online process.
The visa support document is delivered by email and is recognised by Russian Consulates worldwide allowing you to apply for your visa with the Consulate of your choice.
For individual applications the visa support will be provided as a single page document, for group visa support of two or more persons it will be a minimum two page document.
We offer two levels of service dependent upon if you want a single or double entry visa. Prices start from £15.30.
The Real Russia visa support service cost is “all inclusive” and covers everything we need to generate your visa support documents and get them to you, including:
generation of your official letter of invitation
generation of your tourist voucher
Russian Ministry processing charges
local taxes (including VAT of 20%!)
A fax of a copy within Europe (if required).
You do not need to:
book a flight through us
book a hotel through us
purchase anything else from us at all
or provide any other details than those we ask for on our simple online form.
The price you see is the price you pay!
The processing time is how long it will take us to prepare your support documents and send them to you. For the Same Day service we will generate your support and email it to you in 15 minutes!
With a tourist visa, generally you may stay in Russia for a maximum of 30 days during any one visit and only up to the maximum validity period of the visa in any event.
If there are any restrictions on how long you can stay in Russia then this will be written into the visa in section 14, additional information.
In addition, it has been reported that Russian visas issued by Russian consulates in Europe now have a five day “waiting period” before entering Russia, i.e. you cannot travel to Russia for at least five days after the visa is issued. This rule has been applied sporadically and it seems to largely depend on a consulate so please do check with the consulate you intend to apply to.
Russian tourist visa support documents do not allow for listing any more than five cities in the itinerary on them.
If you are travelling on the Trans-Siberian railway then simply select the option “Transsiberian railway” as your first city and the visa support will be prepared to show this.
If you are travelling to many different cities and not on the Trans-Siberian railway then list the five main cities that you will be staying at, don’t worry you are not restricted only to staying at these cities and may visit others as well.
You are required to provide your biometric data (fingerprints) when applying for a Russian visa.
See our Russian biometrics page for more information on how the Russian visa biometric process works and where to submit your fingerprints.
Russian consulates in some countries or at certain consulates they may ask you to present the original visa support document and not a copy, for example; the Russian consulate in Beijing in China requires an original document while the one at Shanghai does not. If the consulate you want to apply too requires the original then this can be sent to you by courier from Moscow at an additional cost.
It is important that you are aware that the visa will only be issued and valid based on the dates that are recorded in the visa support documents, if you are not sure of your entry or exit dates then it is possible to request the support documents for a few days before and after your expected dates and then travel within this period.
If you are not a national of the country you are applying for your visa in, then Russian visa regulations require that you prove you have been legally resident in the country for at least 90 days before they will issue the visa. If you can not prove your residency then you will need to apply in your home country. Some consulates allow you to apply without the residency requirement being met, though will take a minimum of 10 working days to process the visa.
Applying for your Russian visa in the UK is a relatively straight forward process though please ensure that you check your visa carefully when you receive it and ensure that it is suitable for your travel requirements.
And finally, when you are in Russia, please remember to register your visa.
That’s it, it’s that simple!
You then complete a visa application form and send or take your completed application to the appropriate Russian Consulate.
To order your visa support, simply click on the level of service you want from the options above.
If you still have more questions please feel free to look at our Frequently Asked Questions, our section on Applying for a visa or contact us directly and we’d be delighted to help.
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