Russian visa for citizens of the Netherlands
Are you getting ready for a trip to Russia? Then you should know how to get your Russian visa first. If you are asking yourself:
Do Dutch nationals need a visa to Russia?
Yes, they do.
This article will tell you how to go about the whole bureaucratic visa application process in a smooth and efficient way. There’s truly no need to buy an expensive package tour with visa support included, or pay any agents to provide you with visa. I will show you how to do it on your own in several simple steps.
Step 1. Select the appropriate visa type and decide on your travel dates
Revise the information on main Russian visa types below. It will help you select the necessary visa type for you. Also, you’ll need to decide on the dates, duration of your trip, and number of entries. There’s no need to buy tickets or make prepaid bookings in advance, though. Remember, that you can start the visa application process as early as 3 months before your entry date.
Russian Tourist visa for Dutch citizens
Duration of trip: 30 days.
Number of entries: single, double (issued for travelers planning to visit neighbouring to Russia countries and returning back through Russia)
Purpose for traveling:
- Sightseeing
- Going on tours or traveling independently
- Going to health and sports resorts
- Visiting festivals, concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events
- Taking a trans-siberian railway tour
- Driving/cycling/hiking through Russia (Auto Tourism is required for travelers crossing Russian borders on road vehicle)
- Taking short medical examinations, consultations (Aim tourism)
- Attending business meetings for a short period (Aim tourism)
- Going on cruise entering Russian ports (no visa is required for cruise passengers traveling as part of organized group and entering ports upon pre arranged tours during 72 hours)
Basis for visa: Confirmation of reception by a registered Russian tour operator
Russian Private visa for Dutch citizens
Duration of trip: up to 90 days
Number of entries: single, double
Reasons for traveling:
- Visiting relatives or friends, who are Russian citizens or permanent residents of the country
Basis for visa – official invitation obtained through the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Department of Migration by the Russian host
Russian Business/ Humanitarian visa for Dutch citizens
Duration of trip: 90 days out of each 180. A visa can be issued for up to 5 years.
Number of entries: single, double, multiple
Reasons for traveling:
- Researching the market
- Conducting negotiations with Russian partners
- Attending business meetings, fairs, exhibitions
- Signing contracts, agreements, purchasing goods and services for business
- Hold seminars, trainings, doing maintenance support work (Technical maintenance sub-purpose)
- Carrying out short-term commercial activities (Commercial sub-purpose)
- Driving cargo and passenger vehicles (Driver sub-purpose)
- Piloting aircraft or flying as crew member (Crew-member or pilot sub-purpose)
- Attending cultural, sports, political, religious, charity events (Humanitarian type) etc.
Basis for visa:
- A written invitation from the Russian company (available for Dutch citizens holding previous Russian visas in the last 2 years under Bilateral Visa Facilitation Agreement between Russia and EU countries),
- or an Official invitation issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia upon request of the inviting Russian company,
- or a Telex directive issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia upon request of the host company.
Russian Study visa for Dutch citizens
Duration of stay:
90 days and over, depending on the duration of study contract. Initially a study visa is issued for 90 days, but can be subsequently extended on the territory of Russia, if your course lasts longer.
Number of entries: single, multiple.
Reasons for traveling:
- Studying at a Russian educational institution
Basis for visa: Official invitation issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (MVD), or a Telex issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) upon request of a Russian educational institution (both original and electronic invitations are valid).
Russian Work visa for Dutch citizens
Duration of stay:
90 days and over, according to your employment contract. A standard work visa is issued for 90 days and can be extended in Russia if so required by the employment contract. A work visa for Highly Qualified Specialists is issued for 3 years with multiple entry at once.
Number of entries: single, double, multiple
Reasons for traveling:
- Carrying out paid work for a Russian employer
Basis for visa: Original official original invitation issued by the MVD of Russia upon request of the Russian employing company.
Russian Transit Visa for Ducth citizens
Duration of stay: for air connections up to 3 days, for crossing Russia by road or rail – up to 10 days
Number of entries: single
Reasons for traveling:
- Crossing Russia en route to another country
Basis for visa: Entry-departure tickets showing your route
Important: Air-travelers making connections without the need to leave transit zone do not need visas. Please check with your airlines whether you require transit visa to make your connection.
Important: Passengers following to Belarus or Kazakhstan with connection in Russia require transit visa
Russian Electronic Visa for Dutch citizens
Duration of stay: 8 days out of 30 days visa duration
Number of entries: Single
Reasons for traveling:
- Tourism and leisure activities in one of the chosen regions: Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region, or The Far East and Vladivostok, or Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad
Note: Only the region which you entered is allowed for travel. You should leave only through the border point through which you entered.
Basis for visa: filled application form for E-visa. It should be filled not later than 4 days before entry to Russia.
Step 2. Prepare documents for visa application
Dutch citizens need the following documents to apply for a Russian visa:
- Original personal passport valid minimum 6 months beyond exit from Russia. Passport should have at least 2 blank visa designated pages
- Application filled online at visa.kdmid.ru It should be then printed on both sites, signed and dated personally by the applicant. A recent color photo 3.5×4.5 taken on light background without shades or head coverings should be glued accurately into the marked area of the form. It’s recommended to use the services of professional photo agencies.
E-visa applications should also be filled online and printed. If you want to get professional assistance to avoid any mistakes, contact Visando
Important: When choosing the place of visa application in the electronic form – choose always “Russian Visa Center (Hague)”, regardless of the actual place of application in the Netherlands.
- Personal travel insurance policy valid in Russia and covering your stay there
- Invitation from Russia (Travel Support document)
- For tourist visa get tourist confirmation from a registered Russian travel agency. IIt should contain details of a tourist, dates of trip, cities and hotels of stay, information of the travel agency. t’s accepted in copy. If you need one, get it here in 10 min: Get tourist confirmation
- For business visa obtain invitation from your Russian partner company. If they can’t provide you with one, order it with us: Get business invitation
- For student/work visa request an official invitation from your Russian university/ employer
- HIV-negative medical certificate in original for Work/Study visa applicants intending to stay over 90 days in Russia is required.
Step 3. Apply for Russian visa and pay the fees
A Dutch citizen can apply for a Russian visa in one of these places:
- At the Russian consulate in the Hague in person by prior appointment. Book it here: http://hague.kdmid.ru/queue-en/
- At the Russian Visa Center in person on a walk-in basis or upon prior appointment booked here: http://russiavisacentre.nl/en/schedule-an-appointment-2/
It’s recommended to apply through the visa center for facilitation of the process. Moreover, at the visa center you can use many extra services including delivery of passport back to your place. However, you should remember you’ll need to pay extra service fees.
If you choose to apply at the Consulate you’ll need to pay Consular fee only:
| Visa type | Standard processing (7-20 business days) | Urgent processing (3 business days) |
| Private, Study, Business, Humanitarian, Transit, Tourist visas | 35 € | 70 € |
| Work, Study single entry 90 days visas | 75.2 € | 15.4 € |
| Work, Study double entry 90 days visas | 120.3 € | 240.7 € |
| Work, Study visa multiple entry over 90 days visas | 225.7 € | 451.4 € |
If you choose to apply at the Russian Visa Center, you’ll also need to pay 30 € for service fee, and another 27€ for courier delivery (per 1 envelope). If you order courier you pay for the service after you have applied and visa center has received your passport with visa from the Consulate, never before! The payment is done through bank transfer to:
| Company Name | IBAN |
| TRAVELCO B.V. | NL62 ABNA 0865 7483 06 |
Payment confirmation is then sent in scan to [email protected]
Find the addresses of consulate and visa centers here: Russian consulates and embassies
Step 4. Collect your passport and check your visa
The Consular department doesn’t offer delivery of documents back to your place, so if you’ve applied there, you’ll have to return to the Consulate to pick up your passport after the processing time passes.
If you paid for delivery at the Visa Center wait for 1-2 days to get your passport back.
Now that you have your visa in your hands, carefully check all information – your name, surname, visa validity, number of entries, inviting company. If you find any mistakes – contact the Consulate department or Visa Center.
If everything is okay, you can pack your bags. Don’t forget to take with you:
- passport with visa
- hotel bookings
- invitation (visa support document)
- travel insurance policy
Have a safe trip!
Step 5. Arrive to Russia and get registered
There’ll be two more documents to obtain after you come to Russia:
- Migration card
- Registration
The first is a form, which is normally distributed to passengers free of charge on board the plane, or can be found at immigration control points. You are required to fill in pen two identical parts of the document in Russian or English. indicating your travel dates, inviting company, place of stay. Don’t lose it, and always carry along in your passport while in Russia. You’ll be asked to return it when you leave the country.
The second document – Registration – is required if you plan to stay beyond 7 working days in Russia. Normally, the management of your hotel will take charge of it, and provide you with the required registration for the period of your stay.
If you stay at your friends or relatives’ place, or book an apartment via airbnb, you’ll need to contact the owner of the apartament and ask to provide you with registration. It’s made at the local post or police office within the first 7 business days after your arrival to Russia.
I hope you will follow the described steps and get your Russian visa without any problems.
If you need more information, you are welcome to write to our email to get a free consultation.
Final Travel Tips:
- Devise your route and check on the opening hours and schedules of the sights you are going to visit;
- Take photos of your visa, bio page of passport, registration and migration card, and save on your smartphone
- Don’t believe in stereotypes – if you offer all Russian to drink vodka with you, it might not always be appropriate. Most women don’t drink strong alcoholic beverages.
- learn how to use public transport systems like underground, busses, trams etc. You can download offline navigation system 2gis to your smartphone as well as most metro maps or yandex taxi for ordering cabs online in any Russian city
- Don’t be afraid to smile in public. Russian people actually do smile and all this non-smiling stereotype will prove false once you find yourself in Russia.
- Ask for directions or help – Russian people are in most cases glad to help and quite friendly
- Relax and don’t be paranoid – Russia is a very safe place for travelers, especially in comparison with EU or US. Certainly you should still keep an eye on your stuff in public places.
- Enjoy your trip, take pictures, buy souvenirs and collect beautiful memories!
