Russia visa for citizens of Latvia

A lot of Latvian citizens regularly visit Russia on tourist, business, private and other purposes. The first question which you as a Latvian citizen may have before planning your trip to Russia is:

Do Latvian citizens need a visa to enter Russia?

• Yes, they do.

But though it may seem quite a challenge – to get a visa by yourself, it is possible and not so complicated as it sounds. We’ll guide you through the process in this article step-by-step. You’ll be able to save on the agents commission or any package tours, because you can get your visa independently, following the simple procedures described below.

Step 1. Set your travel dates, select the visa type

You  don’t need to buy any tickets to apply for a visa or make prepaid bookings, however you’ll need to determine your travel dates at least approximately, the duration of your stay and choose the visa type. Read about the main Russian visa types to help you choose the one for you.
Overview of Russian visa types:

Visa types	Validity period	Travel purpose
Tourist visa	30 days	tourism and leisure
Private visa	90 days	private guest visits. Not recommendable: see why here
Business visa	30 -90 days (up to 5 years max)	conducting business in Russia, looking for partners, negotiating, investing etc.
Transit visa	3 -10 days	crossing Russian territory on your way to another country
Student visa	90 days and above	studying a course in a Russian school or university
Work visa	90 days and above	working under contract for a Russian employer
Electronic visa	8 days	short tourist, business or humanitarian visits

Russian Tourist visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia: no longer than 90 days. A visa can be issued either for 30 days or for 6 months with 90 days of stay out of 180.

Number of entries: single, double, multiple

Travel purpose:

• going on excursions and tours as part of group or independently
• attending concerts, festivals, fairs and exhibitions
• brief business visits or medical consultations (Aim Tourism)
• driving through country on cars, motorbikes, bikes (Auto-tourism)
• going on cruise tours (Note: tourists traveling as part of organized groups, staying on board the ship, or entering ports in a group under pre-arranged tours, can stay up to 72 hours visa free)

Inviting company: Russian registered tour operator

Russian Private visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 90 days

Number of entries – single or double

Purpose of trip – visiting friends or relatives, citizens or permanent residents of Russia

Inviting organization – Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Russia upon request of the host Russian citizen

Russian Business visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 90 days out of each 180. A visa can be issued for up to 1 year.

Number of entries – single, double or multiple

Purpose of trip:

– looking for business partners

– participating in business meetings, conferences, negotiations

– investing into Russian business

– purchasing goods and services, researching the market

– conducting trainings, maintenance work (sub-purpose Technical Maintenance)

– carrying out paid short-term commercial activities (sub-purpose Commercial)

– driving cargo or passenger vehicle throughout Russia (sub-purpose Driver)

– flying aircraft (sub-purpose Crew Member)

– a child accompanying parents in a business trip (sub-purpose Family Member)

– taking part in sports, cultural, political, religious, charity, volunteer events, or supplying humanitarian aid (Humanitarian type)

Inviting organization – A Russian organization, MIA or MFA of Russia upon request of the host Russian company

Russian Transit visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 3 days for air connections, no longer than 10 days for road/railroad travelers

Number of entries – single, double (for double entry transit visa overall validity won’t be longer than 1 month)

Purpose of trip – crossing Russian territory following to the next state en route.

Inviting organization – no invitation required. You should have valid tickets showing entry/exit from Russia

Russian Student visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – 90 days and above. A visa is issued for 90 days, but can be extended in Russia depending on the duration of studies.

Number of entries – single, double or multiple

Purpose of trip – full time studies at a Russian educational institution; short-term courses

Inviting organization – Russian academic institution; or MIA or MFA of Russia upon request of the Russian School or University

Russian Work visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – from 90 days and up, depending on the civil labour contract terms. For Highly Qualified Experts a visa is issued for 3 years at once. This visa type can be prolonged while in Russia.

Number of entries – single or multiple

Purpose of trip – full time work under a paid labour contract for a Russian employer

Inviting organization – MIA of Russia upon request of an authorized Russian Employer.

Russian Electronic visa for Latvian citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 8 days out of 30 days period

Number of entries – single 

Purpose of trip – tourism and leisure, business or humanitarian activities in Russia

Inviting organization – no invitation required. An e-visa applicant should fill in the online form on the MFA website 4 days prior to his trip to Russia, print it and present when crossing the Russian border 

Important to know: an E-visa so far gives right to visit one of the three regions of Russia:

• Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region
• Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad Region
• The Far East and Vladivostok

A traveler can enter and leave only through the same border point. It’s not allowed to travel to other regions during your trip on E-visa.

If you still have difficulties determining which visa type you need, contact our manager by email so we’ll be able to help you.

Step 2. Do the paperwork, gather documents for your visa

Here comes the boring part. People hate paperwork. But believe me, there’s not so much to collect actually. Here’s a list of documents you’ll need for your visa application:

• Original national passport, which should have minimum 2 blank visa pages, and be valid no less than 6 months beyond the visa expiry date. Also, prepare a copy of the main page with bio info of your passport.

• Completed online visa application form. It’s filled on website visa.kdmid.ru, printed on both sides, signed and dated. In the marked area you should glue your recent color photo 3.5×4.5. Read more on photo specifications here: Russian visa photo requirements. 

• For E-visas it’s important to fill the form without any mistakes not later than 4 days before the trip, if something is wrong you can be rejected entry. To make sure you fill it correctly, ask for professional assistance here: E-visa filling the form

• Visa support/ Invitation

– For tourist visa you’ll need a tourist confirmation from a registered Russian travel agency. Get it here in 10 min: Get Tourist Confirmation. Print and use

– For private visa your Russian host should contact the local MIA migration department and solicit the required invitation. It’ll take 20 working days and it will be sent to you in an e-format. If you don’t have time to wait, consider coming on a tourist visa instead

– For Business visa your Russian partner must provide you either with a written statement of invitation signed and sealed, or solicit an invitation at the MIA of Russia (takes 20 working days), or MFA  of Russia (invitation type – Telex, takes around 12 working days). If your host company can’t provide this, order your Business invitation here: Get Business invitation

– For Student visa your Russian school should solicit official invitation from the MIA of Russia (takes 1- 1.5 months); or provide you with an official letter of invitation, indicating the duration of the course, details about the school and your personal information, stamped and signed by the authorized person (takes 1 day to make, accepted in original only).

– For Work visa your Russian employer should solicit official invitation from the MIA of Russia (takes 1- 2 months)

• Travel insurance policy from the licensed insurance company (it should have a re-insurance agreement with a Russian insurance organization). Submitted in original or copy. It should be valid on the territory of Russia for the whole period of your trip (count first trip in case of multiple entry visas). The cover amount should be minimum 30.000 euro. 

• Financial statement. Might be any document proving your financial state either statement from your bank account, or payslip, pension document, certificate or study etc.

• For Work and Student visas you’ll need a certificate confirming you are HIV-negative. Take it at any local clinic, submit in original no later than 3 months after the test is taken.

Step 3. Apply for visa at an authorized Russian organ. Pay the fees.

As a citizen of Latvia you can apply with all your documents for a visa at either of these places:

• Russian Consular Division in Riga, Liepaja or Daugavpils in person after booking an appointment on the website of the Russian embassy;

• Licensed VFS Global Russian Visa Centers located in the same cities, in person after making appointment on the website of the visa center

For your convenience it’s recommendable to apply through the visa center, where managers will check your documents and point at any mistakes you might make. Also, you’ll be able to order extra services like photocopies, courier delivery of passport, filling the application form etc.

Visa fees

When you apply for a visa you’ll need to pay the visa fees. At the consulate you pay only the non-refundable consular fee, which amounts to:

• 35 EUR for standard processing (4-20 days)
• 70 EUR for expedited processing (1-3 days) 

If you apply through the visa center, you’ll also need to pay service charge of 25 EUR for each application. If you wish to get your passport delivered back you can order courier service at the visa center at additional 15 EUR.

When you submit your documents you’ll be given a receipt, which you shouldn’t lose, so as to use it to get your passport back when the process’s finished.
Remember, you can apply for a visa not earlier than 3 months before your trip.

Step 4. Obtain and check your visa

You will be notified when your application has been reviewed and you can get your passport back. Visa center also provides the opportunity to daily check the status of your application on their website.

Once you collect your passport, carefully check the information your visa holds:

If everything is correct, it’s time for you to start preparing for your trip. Don’t forget to take your insurance policy, invitation from a Russian company, and certainly your passport with visa stamp in it.

Step 5. Fill in migration card and get registered in Russia

When you enter Russia you’ll need to obtain two more documents:

• Migration Card
• Registration

A migration card is given to travelers free of charge by either personnel of transport companies or the officers of immigration control. A traveler has to fill two identical parts in block letters with pen and hand them to the officer, who then stamps them with the date of entry to Russia and returns one part to the traveler. When you leave the country you’ll need to return the document at immigration control.

If you happen to lose it, you’ll need to turn to the local police or migration service office and ask for a duplicate.

Registration is required in case a traveler stays over 7 working days in Russia. You can get it at the hotel where you’ll be staying or ask your Russian host to make one for you at the local post or police office department. 

Have both documents on you in case of checks.

Enjoy your travel to Russia!

I hope that my article will help you get your visa and make your travel to Russia closer.