Russian visa for citizens of Malta

To enter Russia on any purpose, be it tourist, leisure, business or private trips citizens of most countries require a visa.

Do citizens of Malta need a visa to Russia?

Yes, they do!

A Russian visa is a stamp put in your passport by a Russian consular officer. There’s also an electronic visa type available in certain cases. Whichever type it is, it cannot be obtained in Russia, but at your country of residence prior to your trip. 

Now the process of visa application can seem pretty challenging and give you a lot of headache. We are here to help you navigate through it all with our step-by-step guide. Follow on to know how to get your Russian visa in a quick and inexpensive manner.

Step 1. Identify your visa type and set the travel dates. 

Before starting any procedures, you’ll have to understand which visa type will suit your purposes, and also set the dates for your trip. When choosing the most appropriate type of visa, take into consideration the duration of your stay, the number of entries you are going to make during the validity of your visa, the inviting Russian host and his ability to provide you with the required invitation. See below the overview of main Russian visa types. It will help you make up your mind.

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 Maltese citizens

You need it if: 

• You intend to see the Russian sights, take a tour, attend a concert, festival or exhibition etc;

• The duration of your trip will be no longer than 30 days. 

• The number of planned entries to Russia will be: single or double

• You have the visa support document: Tourist confirmation from a registered Russian tour operator.

Russian Business and Humanitarian visa for Maltese citizens

You need it if: 

• You are going to take part in business meetings, conferences and other events, purchase goods and services, invest into business, conduct negotiations and short-time commercial activities; visit political, religious, cultural and other humanitarian events etc.

• Duration of your trip will be no longer than 90 days out of 180. Visas can be issued for up to 1 year

• Number of entries will be: single, double or multiple 

• Your have the visa support document: An official invitation letter from the Russian company, or invitation issued by the MIA or MFA of Russia upon request of the Russian company. 

You can alternatively order it from us here: Get your business invitation

Russian Private visa for Maltese citizens

You need it if: 

• You are going to visit and stay with your Russian relatives or friends

• You will stay no longer than 90 days

• Number of entries will be: single, double

• Your Russian host can provide you with the basis for visa: an official invitation from the MIA Russia. It’s prepared in 20 working days and the host should provide his financial statements and guarantee he’ll take full responsibility for your stay in Russia. If your host can’t supply you with this, consider getting a standard tourist visa instead.

Russian Student visa for Maltese citizens

You need it if: 

• You are going to study or get educational training at a Russian school, college, university or institute

• Your stay can last from 90 days and longer, depending on your study course. This visa is issued for 90 days with possibility to extend it while in Russia, if required by the study course.

• Number of entries will be: single, double, multiple

• Your school or university has provided you with the basis for visa – an official invitation from the MIA of Russia; or a written request and a certificate of enrollment from the Russian university

Russian Work visa for Maltese citizens

You need it if: 

• You are going to work under for a Russian company or legal individual under an official labour contract;

• You will stay from 90 days and over, depending on your contract conditions. A work visa can be issued for 90 days with possibility to extend it while in Russia. If the applicant is invited as a Highly Qualified Specialist he’s granted a 3 years multiple entry work visa at once, with possibility of further extension in Russia.

• Number of entries will be: single, multiple

• You have a visa support document: an official invitation from the MIA of Russia in original, provided to you by your Russian employer

Russian E-Visa for Maltese citizens

You need it if: 

• You are going on a brief tourist, business, humanitarian or private visit, visiting only one of the 3 regions: Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region, Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad Region, the Far East and Vladivostok. You are allowed to enter and leave through the same border point. You cannot leave the region of entry.

• You will stay no longer than 8 days out of 30 days period of your visa validity

• Number of entries – single

• You have filled electronic form on the MFA website. The form should be filled not later than 4 days before your trip completely and without mistakes. If you want to get professional assistance in filling the form, get it here: E-Visa form filling

Traveling on e-visa is still pretty limited, if you feel you want to travel without such limitations, consider applying for a standard tourist visa instead. 

Russian Transit visa for Maltese citizens

You need it if:

• You are going to travel through Russia to another state

• You will need to stay up to 3 days for connections by air, or up to 10 days for crossing Russia by road or railway

• Number of entries will be: single

• You have the tickets of entry and exit from Russia, showing your route

Important: If you make connection and stay at the airport transit zone, without passing passport and immigration control, you don’t need a visa. Otherwise, you require a transit visa.

If you travel to Kazakhstan or Belarus with connection in Russia you need a transit visa.

Step 2. Collect the documents for application

To be able to apply for a Russian entry visa you’ve chosen, you should collect a set of documents including:

• Your passport in original, valid 6 months beyond the exit date from Russia as minimum, containing at least 2 blank visa designated pages

• Invitation you received from Russia. Check the inviting authorities in types of visa above, and contact them to get your visa support document. Nearly all invitations are accepted in copy, except from the one for a work visa

Use our help to get your tourist confirmation to your email in 10 minutes: Get tourist confirmation

Use our help to obtain your business invitation to your email in 1 day here: Get business invitation

• Bought or booked flight tickets to Russia

• Completed application form. 

For regular visas fill the form at visa.kdmid.ru, print it on both sides, sign, and date.

For an E-visa, request professional help to fill the application here: Fill in the E-visa form

Note: E-visa applications must be filled not later than 4 days before your trip.

• Your recent professional color photo 3.5 x 4.5 cm on white background. 

Read more about photo specifications here: Visa photo requirements. Glue the photo into the indicated field in the visa form

• Travel insurance policy in original or copy. Make sure it covers the period of your stay in full, and is valid on the territory of the Russian Federation. The policy should be stamped by the insurance company, and contain details of the insured person and insuring organization, as well as its individual number. The amount of cover shouldn’t be less than 30.000 euro.

• For Work/ Student visa, if you are planning to stay over 90 days, you’ll also require an HIV-negative test certificate, obtained in any local clinic. It’s valid for 3 months and submitted in original.

Step 3. Apply for a visa at the Russian Consulate in Malta

After you have gathered all necessary documents, you can finally apply for your visa. Citizens of Malta can do it at the Russian Consulate department in San Gwann.

You can apply only in person previously booking an appointment. 

Here are the contact details of the consulate:

Address: 25, Antonio Schembri Street, Kappara, San Gwann, SGN 4239 (entrance from the side of Triq ic-Ciefa)

Tel/Fax: 2137-1906

E-mail: [email protected]

Remember that along with the submission of documents you’ll need to pay the visa fee. It amounts to:

•  35 EUR for standard processing in 4-20 days, or
•  70 EUR for urgent processing in 1-3 days. 

After you pay, you’ll be given a receipt, keep it because when you collect your passport back you’ll need to show it.

Step 4. Collect your passport and examine your visa stamp

A visa will be a stamp put into your passport by the Consular officer. Once you get notified that your visa process is finished and collect your passport, you should carefully examine the visa stamp. Pay special attention to the spelling of your names, passport number, dates of validity of visa and the number of entries indicated on it.

If you see any mistakes, contact the consular department to have the corrected.

If everything is fine, start packing your bags. Don’t forget to take your invitation and the insurance policy with you.

Step 5. Obtain migration card and registration in Russia

There are two more documents you’ll need to obtain after you arrive to Russia:

• 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. 

Carry both documents in your passport during your trip.

With the help of this guide, you can choose the type of visa you need, collect the necessary documents and correctly apply for your visa by yourself. It will help you avoid using the services of some sketchy agencies offering their visa support and save your money on a package tour. 

I hope you’ll have a good experience while applying for your Russian visa, and come here to spend some wonderful time!