Russia: Vladimir Putin wants to expand the issuance of electronic visa

The electronic visa (e-Visa) for Russia will soon be extended to a new category of travelers, according to a recent directive from Vladimir Putin.

Currently, travelers holding an electronic visa (e-Visa) can enter Russia for tourism, business, private visits, or to attend cultural, economic, scientific, social, political, or sporting events.

Mentioned last January, an expansion of the issuance of the Russian e-Visa has now been officially requested by Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president has indeed ordered the extension of the issuance of electronic visas and the implementation of various other measures to encourage leading foreign scientists to work in Russia.

“The Government of the Russian Federation, in collaboration with the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the Russian Science Foundation, must develop and implement measures to attract leading researchers and specialists (including foreigners) to participate in scientific research and development conducted in the Russian Federation”, explains the order published on the Kremlin’s website.

According to the document, the Russian government must ensure “the creation of favorable conditions for these individuals and their family members, including providing housing and simplifying the processing of documents required to enter and work in Russia, by expanding the practice of issuing electronic visas for these purposes”.

Visitors from 56 countries can apply for an electronic visa to Russia

Vladimir Putin indicated last June that Russia was open to scientific cooperation with other countries and that it was ready for the achievements of Russian scientists to be utilized abroad. The Russian president expressed confidence that international scientific cooperation would be restored in the future.

For a year now, travelers from 56 countries and territories have been able to apply for an e-Visa on the evisa.kdmid.ru portal to visit Russia.

These 56 countries are:

• Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Myanmar, Netherlands, North Korea, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Vatican City and Vietnam.

The Russian electronic visa is valid for 60 days upon approval, allows stays of up to 16 days in the country, and costs around fifty USD.

There are 98 checkpoints available for entering Russia with an e-Visa, including major international airports in the country, such as Moscow (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky), St. Petersburg (Pulkovo), Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo), and Sochi.