Russian Visas

Christmas and New Year Holidays are coming soon, which means there might be disruptions to our usual services during this period.

Here are the Real Russia opening times for the Christmas and New Year period:

• London office (GMT)
• Moscow office (MSK, GMT+3)
• Sales team (GMT)

Alternatively, click here for more information about the opening hours of our offices and those of the consulates, as well as any Post Office closures, to make sure you can get visas in time for your travel.

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.

If you got a Fan ID document for the 2018 World Cup, you can use it to visit Russia without a visa until the end of 2018! For more information on how you can use your Fan ID to embark on a new Russian adventure, follow this link.

A tourist visa can be used to visit Russia for tourist and leisure purposes or on a short business visits. The trip can consist of either a single or doubly entry during a maximum validity period of 30 days. The tourist visa will be issued for the exact days you have requested or that are stated on the invitation if you should be providing this document yourself.

Tourist visa are the most efficient for a short trip to Russia with a known destination.

Business visas are usually issued to travellers visiting Russia on official or private business and allow you to travel when and where you wish within the visa’s validity period. A business visa can be issued for varied reasons, including cultural relationships, accompanying family members and commercial driving.

If you wish to lodge your own visa application with the Russia consulate, you will be required to provide a visa support document, or letter of invitation, from a licensed organisation in Russia. This organisation will be your official sponsor for both the processing of your visa at the consulate and for the Russian authorities while you are in the country.

You can be assured that visa support from Real Russia is genuine and that our company, as your official sponsor, will be on hand to help you while in Russia if needed.

All of our full visa services above include full visa support provided by Real Russia.

Our prices include all costs necessary to get your visa, among which are:

• fees for all visa support documents and letters of invitation
• Russian ministry processing charges and local taxes
• consular tariffs and visa centre charges (if applicable)
• delivery, collection and management of your application at the consulate by our staff

In addition to this you can choose from the following optional services

• central London courier delivery the day your visa is ready
• Royal Mail Special Delivery of your passport and Belarus visa back to you (UK only)
• £2,500 of consequential loss postal insurance (UK mainland only)

This means you do not have to:

• Book a flight (unless you are a French national) or a hotel.
• Provide your own visa support document or letter of invitation.
• Visit the consulate yourself to collect your passport.

There are no hidden fees; the price you see is the price you pay!

The Russian consulate requires that the photograph provided meets the following specifications:

• Photo should be taken against a plain, white background and must be in colour.
• Quality must be clear with the focus on the face.
• You face must be facing directly into the camera with a neutral expression, neither frowning nor smiling and with your mouth closed.
• Photo must be printed on regular photo paper.
• Photo must measure 35mm x 45 mm in size.

If your photo does not meet these requirements, your application may be rejected or considered incomplete

Please see the following guide for more information: Reading a Russian visa

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 (fingerprints) when they submit their visa application documents at the consulate.

Information on the requirements and the new process may be found here.

In most cases your child can get an ‘accompanying family member’ visa based on one parent’s business visa. For further information, please consult this page: Taking a child to Russia

Yes, of course you can. We have an office in central London and we will be happy to see you there and assist with your application if needed. If you intend to deliver an application in person or collect your passport and visa we are open for collection and deliveries during the following times:

Visa applications received by our office after 4.30 pm on weekdays or at any time on Saturdays or non-working days will not start to be processed until the following working day.

The processing time will vary dependent upon the type of visa you order. Please see the visa-specific pages for more information and consult our tooltip in order to find out when you can expect your visa to be ready.

To order your Russian visa online, simply click on the level of service you want from options at the top of this page.

Yes, of course we can. We will process all necessary visas ‘back to back’ and return your passport with all three visas when they are complete. See the following links for further details:

• Chinese visas
• Mongolian visas
• Trans-Siberian, Mongolian and Manchurian visas
• Train tickets - online schedule and booking

If you still have more questions please feel free to look at our Frequently Asked Questions or simply contact us directly and we are happy to help.