TOURIST VISA

This type of Russian visa is the cheapest and the easiest to get. Tourist visa can be obtained on the basis of an invitation from a tourist agency, registered with the Department of Consular Service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs according to the Russian law, or on the basis of a hotel confirmation.The hotel issuing an invitation should also be registered with corresponding authority and have its own “tourist reference number”.

If your hotel cannot provide official invitation or you are planning to stay with your friends or relatives instead, a Russian travel agency can issue a voucher for you.

A tourist invitation should contain two parts: confirmation and a tourist voucher. Confirmation has a standard form
Tourist voucher does not have a standardized form and can look different. It should contain number of the voucher, name of the sponsoring organization, its address and reference data; personal data of the tourist, dates of entry and exit from Russia, detailed description of the tourist services provided and information about payment for the tourist services. Tourist voucher should be stamped and signed.

A Tourist visa is valid for one entry. It is possible to get a double-entry Russian visa in case when a foreign citizen travels to Russia, then to a neighboring CIS country, then back to Russia, and only after that to a third country.

Period of stay in Russia: up to 30 days (usually 14 days). Extension is not possible.

Although tourist visa is considered to be the easiest one to get and travel with, it is important to choose the agency that can provide registration of your visa in Russia and advice and/or help in exceptional cases.