Russian visa for citizens of Slovakia

Slovak citizens may need a trip to Russia for different reasons – to meet up with family and friends, see the sights, do business, study at a Russian university etc. Whatever your purpose, prior to your trip you should make sure that you have all documents in order and are allowed to enter Russia. The question you are probably asking yourself is:

Do Slovak citizens need a visa to enter Russia?

Yes, they do.

Although visa procedures may sound like a lot of headache for you, we can guarantee you – it’s not as complicated. We’ve prepared a simple step-by-step guide to help you get your Russian visa on your own. Read on to find out how to do it.

Step 1. Set the dates of your travel and learn the visa type you need 

Depending on several moments, like duration of your trip, number of entries you are going to make, reasons for your traveling and the inviting Russian party, you can choose a certain type of Russian visa. Below you can see the overview and more detailed description of the main visa types to help you make your choice.

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 Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia: no longer than 30 days

Number of entries: single

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 by cars, motorbikes, bikes (Auto-tourism)
• going on cruises with entrance to Russian ports (Note: tourists traveling as part of organized groups, staying on board the ship can travel up to 72 hours visa free)

Inviting company: Russian tour operator registered in the Uniform Register of Russian Tour Operators (Rosturizm)

Russian Private visa for Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 90 days

Number of entries – single or double

Purpose of trip – visiting friends or relatives living in Russia

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

Russian Business visa for Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 90 days out of each 180. A visa can be issued for up to 5 years (you can apply for multiple entry visas only if you had previous 2 Russian visas in the last year).

Number of entries – single, double or multiple

Purpose of trip:

 – conducting business with Russian partners

– attending meetings, conferences

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

– 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 company, which provides a written invitation on its letterhead, or MIA/ MFA of Russia upon request of the host Russian company

Russian Transit visa for Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – 3 days for air connections, 10 days for road trips for crossing Russian territory

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

Purpose of trip – passing through Russia following to another state of destination.

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

Russian Student visa for Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – 90 days and longer if required by the study course. A visa is issued for 90 days, but can be extended in Russia depending on the duration of studies.

Number of entries – single or multiple

Purpose of trip – studying at a Russian educational institution

Inviting organization – Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia upon request of the Russian School or University

Russian Work visa for Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – 90 days and up, depending on the employment contract terms. For Highly Qualified Specialists 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 – working under a contract for a Russian employer

Inviting organization – MIA of Russia upon request of the Russian Employing company

Russian Electronic visa for Slovak citizens

Duration of stay in Russia – no longer than 8 days. Validity period of e-visa is 30 days in total.

Number of entries – single 

Purpose of trip – tourism and leisure, business or humanitarian visits

Inviting organization – no invitation required, you’ll need to fill the application form at MFA site 4 days before the trip, print it and use as a visa along with your passport.

Step 2. Fill in the application and collect the other documents

Once you’ve decided on which visa you’ll need and when you are planning to travel, you can start preparing the necessary package of documents, which includes:

• Passport, with minimum 2 blank visa pages, valid at least 6 more months beyond the visa expiry date

• Completed 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 on the light background. 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 ensure that it’s completed correctly, order our professional assistance here:  get visa support invitation

• Visa support/ Invitation from Russia

– For tourist visa you’ll need a tour confirmation from a registered Russian travel agency. Get it here in 10 min: get visa support invitation

– For private visa your Russian host should contact the local Ministry of Internal Affairs migration department and solicit the required invitation. It’s made in 20 working days and sent in e-format. If you don’t have time to wait, consider coming on a tourist visa instead and get our tourist support in 10 min.

– 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 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)  of Russia (invitation type – Telex, takes around 12 working days). If your host company can’t provide this, order your Business invitation here: get visa support invitation

– For Student visa your Russian school should solicit official invitation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (takes 1- 1.5 months)

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

• Travel insurance policy. It should cover the entire period of your stay and be valid on the territory of Russia. The cover amount should be minimum 30.000 euro. The policy must have an individual number, be stamped and signed, have details of the insured individual and the insuring company. Copies are accepted.

• For Work and Student visas HIV-certificate is required. Take it at any local clinic via testing your blood sample not earlier than 3 months before the application. The result should be negative.

Step 3. Apply for a Russian visa in your country

When you have collected all the necessary documents, it’s time for you to start the application process. Please, bear in mind, you can apply not earlier than 3 months before your trip to Russia.

Slovak citizens can apply in one of the following ways:

• Directly at the Russian Consulate in Bratislava in person. You’ll need to book an appointment on the website of the consulate
• Through an authorized Russian visa center VHS in person upon prior appointment, which is booked on their website

Now, there can be some benefits of applying directly at the Consulate, e.g. you’ll only pay the Consular fee for your visa. But in general it’s recommendable to apply through the visa center. It’ll be safer, faster and more convenient. Moreover, Consulates don’t much welcome individual applicants, they have basically authorized visa centers to carry out the work of collecting applications for them.

Along with your documents, you’ll need to pay the fees. Currently the Consular fees are:

Visa type	Standard processing in 4-10 working days	Expedited processing in 1-3 days
All short-term visa types	35 EUR	70 EUR
Single entry student/ work visa	70 EUR	141 EUR
Double entry student/work visa	112 EUR	225 EUR
Multiple entry student/work visa	211 EUR	421 EUR

If you opt for application through the VHS visa center, you’ll also need to pay their service fee of 25 EUR. If you want to order extra services, like photocopies, filling your application for you etc. you’ll need to pay extras. An extra fee of 12 EUR is charged for courier delivery of your passport with visa back to you once the process is finished.

Find the contacts of the Russian Consulate and Visa Center here: Russian consulates and embassies

Step 4. Have your passport back and check your visa info

After you have waited the required time and get notified on the completion of the visa procedures, you can get your passport back from the office where you submitted the documents. If you paid for courier delivery in VHS center, just wait until the courier brings it to you – normally they give a phone call before coming to make sure you’ll wait for them.

Check your visa stamp for the following details:

If you find any mistakes in spelling or other information which is incorrect, immediately inform the issuing authority and ask for correction.

In case everything is fine, you can start packing your bags and preparing for your trip.

Don’t forget to take with you the following documents:

• Your passport with visa
• Hotel and other bookings
• Invitation from Russia (a copy will do)
• Insurance policy

Step 5. Pass migration control and get the final documents in Russia

When you are about to land you’ll notice the flight attendant distributing migration cards, take one and fill it in. If you cross Russian borders in another way, you’ll obtain migration card from the officer at control point. After you’ve filled your data in pen, the officer will stamp the card and give you one copy to keep. When leaving Russia you’ll be requested to return it at the border.

In case your trip will last longer than 7 working days, you’ll need to ask your hotel manager to provide you with registration. If you stay at a private apartment, ask your host to have you registered at the local MIA or post office. Registration can also be checked at the border or even out in the streets by the police officers. It proves your location in Russia and states you are staying there legally. 

Now you’ve learnt the way to get your Russian visa. Hope our guide will help you. If you have some questions left, contact us by email.

Happy Traveling!