Tour Information
Excursions
This guide is designed to help you read the important information on your Russian Visa though is by no means exhaustive.
Below is an image of a blank visa with each field numbered and typical items briefly explained. You will find your own Russian visa attached to a page in your passport, though yours will have all of the fields filled in with your personal details.
You can download the PDF files on how to read a Russian visa here.
Labelled Russian Visa
1. Entries
This specifies the entry type for the visa, as well as the classification in the following format:
[Entry type in words] [Entry type as single-character] [Classification as two-character abbreviation]
Common entry types include:
Однократная 01 | Single entry visa |
Двукратная 02 | Double entry visa |
Многократная M | Multi-entry visa |
Classifications:
Од | Business |
OT | Tourist |
ОГ | Humanitarian |
ОЧ | Private |
ОР | Work |
2. Date of issue
The date your visa was issued on.
3. Dates of validity
This field confirms dates that your visa is valid for. You may enter and leave Russia on, or between, these dates and are not restricted to entering or leaving on the exact dates shown, however please note you may not enter before the start date and must leave by the end date.
4. Validity days
The maximum number of days that you can stay in Russia during each visit within the validity of your visa.
5. Nationality
This specifies your nationality, which will be written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Your nationality will be the country your passport was issued in. E.g.
Великобритания | Britain |
Франция | France |
Австралия | Australia |
6. VISA ID
This number is generated by the consulate when they issue your visa.
7. Family name/given name (s)
Your first and last name will be written here, along with any second names you may have. They will be displayed in the following format, on top in Russian and below in English:
[Last Name] [First Name] [Second Names]
Please confirm the English spelling of your name is correct.
8. Passport number
This will match the passport number which the visa is attached to. Please make sure this is correct.
9. Date of Birth
This shows your date of birth in the following format:
[DD] [MM] [YYYY]
Please confirm this information is correct.
10. Gender
МУЖ | Male |
ЖЕН | Female |
11. Invitation number
In case you have applied for a business visa, it will be the invitation number generated at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Otherwise it will be blank.
12. Purpose of entry
Depending on the purpose of your visit and the type of visa you have been granted, this will typically read:
ТУРИЗМ | Tourism |
ДЕЛОВАЯ | Business |
КОММЕРЧЕСКАЯ | Commercial |
ЧАСТНАЯ | Private |
13. Invited by
This is the name of the accredited organisation who is your official sponsor who has certain legal responsibilities for you while you are in Russia. In most cases the visas arranged through Real Russia will list the names of our Russian subsidiaries:
BОСТОК-ЗАПАД ЛИНК МОСКВА | Tourist visas |
АЛЬЯНСИНВЕСТ | Business visas |
ЦДР | Business visa |
14. Additional information
This field is usually blank, though in case of multiple entry business visas it will typically contain:
Действует 90 дней из каждых 180
Which informs you that you can’t stay in Russia more than 90 days during any 180 day period.
15. MRZ
This string of characters is encrypted for use by electronic passport scanners and can sometimes include misspellings of customer names. This is caused by translating between different alphabets and should not be worried about.
We take great care when processing your visa, however, once your passport is returned to you, you should confirm all the details are correct and the visa is suitable for your needs before you travel. Incorrect visa details could result in you being denied entry to Russia.
If you believe any of the information is incorrect or have any questions regarding the use of your visa then please contact us as soon as possible and we will be happy to help. For general questions about Russian visas, please see our ‘Russian visa FAQ’ page.
© Real Russia Limited 2001 – 2021 Registered in England, company number 5577776