Russian Visa Invitations

For your rail trip through Russia, RussianRail through our parent company Express to Russia can help you obtain two types of Russian visas - a Russian tourist visa or Russian business visa. If your stay in Russia is under 30 days only a Russian tourist visa will be required for your rail trip.

Russian Consulates require that all foreign travelers to Russia have a Russian visa invitation in order to issue the applicant a Russian visa. Russian Visa Online can quickly and professionally issue this invitation for both Russian tourist and business visas. We first issue the Russian visa invitation (sometimes called a voucher) and then email it, fax it or mail it to you. Customers ordering Russian visa support will be responsible for paying the Russian Consular fees themselves and the logistics involved in getting their passports to and from the Russian Consulate. Our customer service representatives will walk you through this process and answer any questions that you may have.

Recommended By

Our travel group under the names City Realty or Express to Russia is recommended by the following travel guides for travel and accommodation in Russia.

IN USD: PURCHASE YOUR VISA INVITATION FOR USD STARTING AT 18 USD
IN EUROS: PURCHASE YOUR VISA INVITATION FOR EURO STARTING AT 15 EURO click here

To pay in USD, please use the following table and click on the visa invitation that you would like to purchase. To pay in Euros, please go to the next table by clicking here.

Tourist Visa Invitation type	Processing Time / Price, USD
Tourist Visa Invitation type	3 days	1-2 days	12 hours
Tourist single entry	18	25	39
Tourist double entry	18	25	39
Tourist with registration in St. Petersburg	55	60	70

Business Visa Invitation type (sent by Telex)	*Processing time / Price USD**
Business Visa Invitation type (sent by Telex)	12 days	4 days
Business 1 month single entry		200
Business 1 month double entry		200
Business 3 months single entry		200
Business 3 month double entry		200
Multiple entry 6 months	280
Multiple entry 1 year	320

Business Visa Invitation type (paper invitation that must be mailed to you)	*Processing time / Price USD**
	20* days
Multiple entry 1 year	190*

*This is for a paper invitation that must be mailed to you. Postage is not included and is extra. Express postage is charged at market rates (approximately 100 USD per package).

Russian business visas can only be applied for within 45 days of the applicant's planned entry into Russia. All Russian business visas listed except where indicated are sent by telex to the Russian Consulate where you will pick it up.
Delivery by post of the Russian visa invitation is not included and the charge will be between $10 and $100 depending on which postage option is chosen.

IN EUROS:

Tourist Visa Invitation type	Processing Time / Price, EURO
Tourist Visa Invitation type	3 days	1-2 days	12 hours
Tourist single entry	15	20	30
Tourist double entry	15	20	30
Tourist with registration in St. Petersburg	45	50	58

Business Visa Invitation type (sent by Telex)	*Processing time / Price EURO**
Business Visa Invitation type (sent by Telex)	12 days	4 days
Business 1 month single entry		160
Business 1 month double entry		160
Business 3 months single entry		160
Business 3 month double entry		160
Multiple entry 6 months	220
Multiple entry 1 year	250

Business Visa Invitation type (paper invitation that must be mailed to you)	*Processing time / Price EURO**
	20* days
Multiple entry 1 year	150*

*This is for a paper invitation that must be mailed to you. Postage is not included and is extra. Express postage is charged at market rates (approximately 80 EUR per package).

Russian business visas can only be applied for within 45 days of the applicant's planned entry into Russia. All Russian business visas listed except where indicated are sent by telex to the Russian Consulate where you will pick it up.
Delivery by post of the Russian visa invitation is not included and the charge will be between 8 EUR and 80 EUR depending on which postage option is chosen.

For business visa support, please fax a copy of the first page of your passport to +7 812 315 9151 or scan a copy and email to visa@russianvisaonline.com.

New Russian visa regulations

1. Foreign citizens can obtain Russian visas ONLY in the country of his or her citizenship. Exceptions include those who have a residence permit for a foreign country for the period more than 90 days.
A Russian visa may also be issued in a country other than an applicant's own in case of urgent necessity, such as participating in international, governmental, official, scientific, sport and cultural events. A final decision in these cases would be left up to the consulate.

2. A multiple entry Russian business visa allows nationals of all countries to stay in Russia up to 90 days out of the period of 180 days.

After you have received your invitation (voucher), you are required to bring or send a copy of it along with the other documents listed below to the Russian Consulate in your country.

Applying for a Russian Visa – document collection
Before sending in your documentation to the Russian Consulate, we suggest that you call them first or check their Internet site to receive information concerning the processing in your specific country. Some Embassies and Consulates require the original Russia visa invitation instead of a copy. This is almost always the case for business visas. Please check Russian Consulate information here.
If you require the original invitation, please tell us and we will express post it to you. Express postage is extra.

Documents necessary for Russia visa processing by the Embassy or Consulate are:

Russian Visa Invitation (the document that we will give you)
Russian visa application form for US citizens only (PDF), this file requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader, if you do not have this program installed on your computer, you can install it for free by following this link to Adobe Acrobat Adobe Acrobat
Russian visa application form for non-US citizens (citizens of all other countries) (PDF), this file requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader, if you do not have this program installed on your computer, you can install it for free by following this link to Adobe Acrobat
Original passport with expiration date at least 6 months after your planned return from Russia. You must have 2 free pages (no stamps or marks) in the passport in which the visa will be inserted
3 passport photos (3x4)
Consular processing fee payable to the Russian Consulate by bank check or money order
Cover letter (doc)
Prepaid self-addressed return envelope from a registered delivery service such as DHL or Federal Express if you plan to have the Consulate mail the Russian visa to you
For Russian business visas only, if you plan to stay in Russia for more than 3 months a HIV test is required (please contact the nearest Russian Consulate or Embassy or review its web site for further information)

Russian Visa registration
Russian law requires that travelers register their Russian visas if they are staying in Russia more than 3 business days. If travelers are staying in Russia more than 3 business days they should apply for registration immediately upon arrival (on the same day). Travelers who do not have their visas registered are required to pay fines when they attempt to exit Russia or if they are stopped by the police..

If you are staying at a hotel, the hotel will register your Russian visa.
If you are staying at an apartment you will have to apply to a local migration department (OVIR) to have your Russian visa registered.

RussianRail is also available to answer all of your questions regarding Russia visa invitations. Please contact us.

Please note that due to licensing issues, Russian Visa Online does not handle Russian visa support to citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria, N. Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri-Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.