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In order to travel to Russia you will need to obtain a Russian visa. In order to get this you will first need to apply for a Russian Letter of Invitation (visa support). Once you have your invitation you can apply for the visa through a local travel agent.
For a basic introduction on applying for a Russian visa, see our article on ‘All you need to know about applying for a Russian visa in 2019’.
For a more in-depth breakdown of what will happen if you apply for your Russian visa through us, continue reading this page.
When you have placed an order with us, you can follow its progress through our online order tracking system which will detail the steps taken and the steps remaining to obtain your visa. You will not be left in the dark as to what is happening!
When you are in Russia, if you need assistance, you will not be left on your own, you have the support of our partner offices in over 50 cites and major towns including Moscow and St. Petersburg who will be happy to help.
Here, we have included a list of all the documents you will need in order to apply for a Russian tourist visa:
1. Russian visa application form |
Visa application forms are freely available either from the Russian Consulate or a Russian Visa Application Centre. Ensure that you fill the form in as accurately as you can and that you sign and date it. Note: The form must be printed and not hand written or the consulate will not accept it. |
2. Passport (with at least one blank page) | You must present your original passport as the visa will be fixed inside on a blank page. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after your planned date of departure from Russia and have at least one blank visa page. |
3. Passport-sized photograph | One recent passport size photograph, stuck in the required place on the Visa Application Form. |
4. Travel voucher | This is a document confirming your itinerary, hotel and travel bookings in Russia. It is issued by a licensed UK or Russian travel company. The Tourist Invitation and the Travel Voucher should carry the same reference number. If necessary, Real Russia will issue you with this document, see visa support. |
4. Tourist visa Letter of Invitation | This is an official document issued by a company specially licensed by the Russian Ministry of internal affairs. This document details the tourist reference number given by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Real Russia will issue you with this document if you require visa support. |
5. Additional documents | Listed above are the basic documents required for a tourist visa. Certain nationals or people applying outside of their home country may have additional documents to provide with their applications. You can check the requirements for applying in the UK on our tourist visa page in the “What documents do I need to provide?” section, or on the appropriate Russian consulate/visa application centre website. |
Once you have all of the necessary documents and completed your application, you should take or send these to the Russian Consulate of your choice. Please note that some consulates have now outsourced to a Visa Application Centre so please double check with your local consulate.
1. Russian visa application form | Visa application forms are freely available either from the Russian Consulate or a Russian Visa Application Centre. Ensure that you fill the form in as accurately as you can and that you sign and date it. Note: The form must be printed and not hand written or the Consulate will not accept it. |
2. Passport (with at least one blank visa page) | You must present your original passport as the visa will be fixed inside on a blank page. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after your planned date of departure from Russia and have at least one blank visa page. |
3. Passport-sized photograph | One recent passport size photograph, stuck to the required place on the Visa Application Form. |
4. Russian Business Invitation | Also known as a letter of invitation, this is an official document issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, their representative offices or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Please note that the Russian Consulate reserves the right to request the original of this document. |
5. Company introductory letter | An introductory letter from your company specifying the purpose of the visit, itinerary and the names of organisations to be visited. |
6. HIV certificate | If you are applying for a visa with a validity of more than 6 months with multiple entry (or certain 3 month visas), you may need to supply a current HIV certificate. |
7. Additional documents | The above are the basic documents required for a business visa. Certain nationals or people applying outside of their home country may have additional documents to provide with their applications. You can check the requirements for applying in the UK on our business visa page in the “What documents do I need to provide” section, or on the appropriate Russian consulate/visa application centre website. |
Applying for a Russian visa with Real Russia is easy, we do all the hard work for you, raising the necessary visa support documents, completing the appropriate forms and managing your application directly and in person with the consulate on your behalf and finally, delivering your visa to you when it is ready.
To get your visa we do not require you to:
We make it easy so you can concentrate on your trip, not worry about your visa.
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