Russian visa for citizens of Greece

For Greek citizens planning a guest, tourist or business trip to Russia the process starts with visa.

Do Greek citizens need a visa to Russia?

Yes, they do.

Even through the process of getting a visa can scare away some travelers, it’s not as challenging as it seems. We’ll help you navigate through different visa types, requirements and the entire application process. Read our step-by-step guide to get your Russian visa in a fast and cost-effective way.

Step 1. Know the dates of your trip and the type of visa you need

To make the first step you don’t need to buy tickets or make any prepaid bookings, but it’s essential that you set some definite dates for your trip. Depending on the duration of your visit, number of entries to Russia, travel goals and the inviting Russian party, you should identify the required visa type. There exist several main types. Read on to know which one is for you.

Russian visa types overview

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 CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You are going to see the sights, on a tours or excursions, backpacking, hiking or driving through Russia. For driving you’ll need the Auto-tourism visa type
• You are going to stay no longer than 90 days. A tourist visa for Greek citizens can be issued either for 30 days or for 6 months, but the stay shouldn’t exceed 90 days in total
• You are planning to enter Russia once, twice or multiple times during your trip
• You have bought a package tour or use the services of a registered Russian tour operator to get the required tourist confirmation. (Pay special attention to the seal, signature and date on the tourist confirmation – they should be placed separately on the document. The confirmation can be applied in a photocopy of good quality.)

RUSSIAN BUSINESS AND HUMANITARIAN VISA FOR CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You are planning to participate business events, meetings, exhibitions; negotiate or sign agreements with Russian partners; provide technical maintenance; attend cultural, sports, political, religious and other events (for such events you’ll need a Humanitarian visa type)
• You are going to stay no longer than 90 days within 180 days period. A visa itself can be issued for up to 5 years. For multiple entry visas you’ll need to have two previous Russian visas issued in the last year
• You are planning to enter Russia once, twice or multiple times
• You are invited by a registered Russian company or a business partner from Russia

RUSSIAN GUEST VISA FOR CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You intend to visit your friends or relatives in Russia
• You are going to stay no longer than 90 days
• You are planning to enter Russia once or twice during your trip
• Your Russian host has obtained for you the legal invitation through the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (MIA)

RUSSIAN STUDENT VISA FOR CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You are going to study at an authorized Russian school or university; or participate in a short-term student exchange program
• You are going to stay 90 days or longer, according to your course duration
• You are planning to enter Russia once, twice or multiple times
• You are officially invited by the Russian educational establishment

RUSSIAN WORK VISA FOR CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You are going to work under an official employment contract for the Russian employer
• You are going to stay 90 days or longer in accordance with the contract terms. A work visa can be issued for 90 days and be extended in Russia, or for 3 years at once for Highly Qualified Experts
• You are planning to enter Russia once, twice or multiple times
• You have an original invitation issued by the MIA of Russia upon request of your employer

RUSSIAN TRANSIT VISA FOR CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You are going to travel through Russia on your way to another country; or make a connecting flight at a Russian airport with the need to leave transit zone. In case you stay within transit zone, you don’t require any visa
• You are going to stay no longer 3 days in case of air connection or up to 10 days in case of crossing Russia by road or railroad
• You are planning to enter Russia once or twice during your trip. A double entry transit visa is only issued under a special consideration of the Consul and can be valid no longer than 30 days
• You have the prepaid entry and exit tickets to show your route

RUSSIAN ELECTRONIC VISA FOR CITIZENS OF GREECE

You need it if:

• You are going to spend a short vacation in Russia for tourist, business or humanitarian purposes in one of the 3 regions: 

• Saint Petersburg and Leningrad region
• Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad region
• Vladivostok and the Far East

You are allowed to enter and leave through the same border point only and not leave the region which you entered. If you want to travel more freely, consider going on a regular tourist visa instead

• You are going to stay no longer 8 days out of the 30 days visa validity period
• You are planning to enter Russia once during your trip.
•  You have duly filled in the electronic visa application form at kdmid website 4 days prior to your trip, and printed it to display at the border control

Choose the appropriate visa type and proceed to the next step

Step 2. Gather documents for visa application

Mainly the set of documents is standard for all visa types, apart from the invitation, which is a specific document issued by a certain Russian party. Find out below which papers you’ll need to collect to apply for a visa.

• Personal passport submitted in original. It should be valid for 6 months beyond your Russian visa expiry date, and have minimum two blank pages for a visa stamp
• Visa support/ invitation from Russia

You can get your tourist visa support or business invitation from us here: Get Visando visa support

If you need to apply for another visa type, please contact your Russian host to obtain the required document with his help

• Completed online visa application form. Find it at visa.kdmid.ru, fill in English letters, print out on both sides, sign, date, glue your color photo in the marked field. See photo specifications here: Russian visa photo specifications
• For E-visa applicants it’s very important to complete the form without any mistakes, seek our professional assistance here: Contact Visando
• Travel insurance policy. Obtained in any insurance company office or online service. It should be valid on the territory of Russia for the entire period of your trip and have coverage of no less than 30000 euro.
• If you want to study or work in Russia staying longer than 90 days, you’ll need to take a blood test for HIV, get the certificate stating you are negative and include it in your list of documents. It’s valid for 90 days from the issuance.
• If you are applying for transit visa – instead of the invitation, submit your return tickets

Step 3. Apply for a visa in Greece

The only way to apply for a Russian visa is from your country of residence. Russian visas are not issued upon arrival. So, make sure you start the process in advance, but not earlier than 3 months before your trip. 

A Greek citizen can apply either:

• at Russian Consulates in Athens or Thessaloniki in person by prior appointment booked on the website of the Russian embassy in Greece
• at authorized Artionis Russian visa centers situated in the same cities in person or by post

We recommend applying through the visa centers for your convenience. The managers at the visa center will proofread your documents, help correct any mistakes. Moreover, you’ll be able to order courier delivery of your passport back or even apply by post without the need of a personal visit.

To apply by post pack all documents in an envelope along with the signed checklist, which you can download on the website of the visa center. Pay the visa fees in advance, put the receipt in the envelope, and send to:

Russia Visa Center

2nd floor, Ethnikis Antisaseos 42, Chalandri

15232 Athens, Greece

Also, you can find the contacts of the consulates and visa centers here: Russian Consulates and Embassies

Visa fees

The Consulate of Russia charges a certain fee for the processing of your documents. The fee amounts to 35 EUR for standard processing in 4-20 days or 70 EUR for expedited processing in 1-3 days. The fee is non-refundable. If you apply at the consulate you’ll pay it by credit card when submitting your documents.

Visa center also charges its service fee of 25 EUR. Delivery costs 15 EUR and postal fee, in case you chose to apply by post, another 10/25 EUR.

If you want to apply at the visa center by post, make payment in favor of:

Artionis Greece IKE

Bank: Alpha Bank

IBAN: GR3101401410141002002007574

Important: Electronic visa is issued free of charge. The only fee you can pay anyone is for help in filling the application form. 

Step 4. Collect your passport and examine your visa stamp

After the processing of your documents has finished, you can collect your passport. Visa center offers an opportunity to track your application status on their website, or for a charge of 2 EUR to receive a text notification when the process is finished.

Find a Russian visa stamp in it and carefully check all details:

If you notice a spelling or other mistake, you can apply for correction the sooner the better.

If everything is fine, you can start preparing for your trip to Russia. Remember to take:

• your passport with visa
• invitation from Russia
• hotel and other bookings
• travel insurance policy

Step 5. Final things to do when in Russia

After you have arrived to the Russian border you’ll be asked to complete the migration card, which is given out by the immigration officer. Save this document after having it stamped and carry along in your passport throughout the trip. You’ll need to return it back at the immigration control when leaving the country. It looks like this:

If you intend to stay in Russia over 7 working days you’ll also need to get yourself a Registration. Hotels will provide it for you. If you stay at a private accommodation, ask the owner to get it at the local post/police office department within the 7 days after your arrival. Carry it with you during your stay. It looks like this:

This is what we wanted to share with you. Hope our simple guide will facilitate for you the visa application process. If you have any questions, our team we’ll be glad to help! Write us an email and get a free consultation.

Have a wonderful journey to Russia!