The Russian Consulate has suspended all visa service due to coronavirus. We expect them to reopen from 6th May. In the meantime, it is possible to complete your application form on our website, but please do not send any documents to us until we request them.
The Russian Visa Application Centre and Consulate will be closed on the following dates:
- 1-8 January – New Year’s Holiday and Orthodox Christmas
- 24 February - Defender of the Fatherland Day
- 8 March – International Women’s Day
- 1 May – Labour Day
- 11 May – Victory Day
- 12 June – Russia Day
- 4 November – Day of the National Unity
- 25 December - Christmas Day
In addition, the Russian Migration Authorities in Moscow will be closed on the following dates:
As a result, there will be no visa application or visa invitation submissions or collections on these days and this day will not count towards the processing time. For any further information, or if you have any questions, please contact our visa team.
Visa submission on the 24th and 31st December - If you have posted your documents to us, please collect them from our office by 11am before visiting the Visa Application Centre. If you would like to bring your documents to be checked in person, please arrive at our office by 10.30am to allow time for us to check them before you visit the Visa Application Centre.
Visa collection - Please note that visas due to be collected on 24th December will be collected on the 27th December. Visas due for collection on 31st December will be collected on 9th January.
Following the presidential order, as of 10th December 2014, all applicants over 12 years of age applying for their Russian visas in the UK, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia are required to provide their biometric data at the time of having their visa documents submitted for processing at the consulate.
Information on the requirements and the new process may be found here.
Due to restrictions from the Russian Federal Migration Authorities, there are currently delays when issuing letters of invitation on the 12-working day service for 30- and 90-day visa support. Visa support for these validity periods will take 16-18 working days to process.
While we are working to minimise any delays, please take this into consideration when planning your trip to Russia.
Important information for October 2019:
As of 1st October 2019, the Russian Federal Migration Authorities will ONLY issue electronic business letters of invitation (visa support documents). Paper invitations will no longer be available, although, for eligible nationalities, ИНН/TIN invitations are still available.
The change is set to offer a faster and more secure way of obtaining Russian business invitations as they are sent directly to your chosen Russian Consulate when submitting your order. That is why we offer "Electronic - sent directly to your designated Consulate" as the only delivery option. Please bear in mind that once we start processing your order, you will not be able to apply for your visa in a different city other than the one you selected when completing the application form.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated visa specialists.
If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us at visas@realrussia.co.uk or via phone on +44(0)207 100 7370 and we will be happy to help.