Visit Russia Without Visa?

Soon you may no longer have to hassel with getting a Russian visa!

Oleg Golodets, deputy prime minister for social affairs, recently made a proposal which if passed would allow foreign tourists to visit Russia for three days without a visa.

Russia has drastically been trying to increase the number of foreign tourists who visit the country and one of the main drawbacks for visitors is the hassel of getting a Russian visa. Although three days is hardly enough time to see and do everything, if passed the new law could significantly increase the number of tourists in Russia and have a big impact on the lacking Russian tourism industry.

There is currently such a law in Russia pertaining to visitors who arrive by ferry, allowing them to stay for three days visa free. This has become quite popular and boosted tourism in St. Petersburg as tourist fly to Helsinki or Stockholm, which can often be much cheaper than flying to Russian destinations, then travel to St. Petersburg by ferry or cruise ship.

Visa free travel to Russia has also been allowed in cases such as a Russian city hosting a major international event, such as allow ticket holders to the Champions League final to travel to Moscow without visas. The new law being proposed would do the same for cultural festivals and other events in Russia, which would also potentially draw more visitors and participants.

Although visa free travel has been a hot topic lately, don't expect these things to happen quickly, but they are steps in the right direction. The proposed law will probably be introduced to the Dume sometime this fall.