Russian visa for Mexican citizens

Russia has recently seen a rapid growth in tourism, and is now one of the most popular travel destinations of the world. If you have decided to pay a visit to this country, the first question you may have is:

Do Mexican citizens need a visa to Russia?

• Yes, they do.

But if you think the process of getting a Russian visa is too big a challenge, it isn’t so. In this article you’ll find a simple step-by-step guide on how to get your Russian visa in an efficient and inexpensive way, without the need to pay some agents to do it for you, or buying a package tour with visa support included. Let’s start the process.

Step 1. Determine your visa type and set your travel dates

Before you apply for a visa, you should know how long you are going to stay in Russia, how many times you’ll need to enter during your visa validity, which purpose of trip you will have. All this will help you to determine the type of visa you need. Read about the most common Russian visa type and choose which suits you more.

Russian Tourist visa for Mexican citizens

Duration stay: 30 days. 

Number of entries: single, double

Reasons for traveling: 

• Sightseeing
• Going on tours or traveling independently
• Attending health and sports resorts
• Attending festivals, concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events
• Taking a trans-siberian railway tour
• Driving/cycling/hiking through Russia
• Having short medical examinations, consultations (Aim tourism)
• Attending business meetings for a short period (Aim tourism)
• Traveling to Russian ports on marine cruises (if you go as part of organized group with stay on board the ship and organized visits to the port, you can stay 72 hours without visa, otherwise you’ll need a tourist visa)

Basis for visa: Invitation from a registered Russian tour operator, purchased tickets.

Russian Private visa for Mexican citizens

Duration of stay: up to 90 days

Number of entries: single, double

Reasons for traveling:

• Visiting your Russian relatives or friends 

Basis for visa – official invitation granted by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Department of Migration upon request of the Russian host

Russian Business/ Humanitarian visa for Mexican citizens

Duration of stay: 90 days out of 180. A visa can be issued for 1 year.

Number of entries: single, double, multiple

Reasons for traveling:

• Researching the market
• Negotiating with Russian partners
• Attending business meetings, fairs, exhibitions 
• Signing contracts, agreements, purchasing goods and services for business
• Giving 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: Official invitation granted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia upon request of the inviting Russian company

Russian Student visa for Mexican citizens

Duration of stay: 

90 days and over, depending on the duration of study course. Initially a student visa is issued for 90 days, but can be 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 (Migration Service department), upon request of a Russian educational institution (both original and electronic invitations are valid). 

Russian Work visa for Mexican citizens

Duration of stay:

90 days and over, in correspondence with your employment contract. Initially a visa is issued for 90 days, or for 3 years for Highly Qualified Specialists. Both types can be extended on the territory of Russia if required by the employer.

Number of entries: single, double, multiple

Reasons for traveling: 

• Paid employment for a Russian hiring company

Basis for visa: Official original invitation granted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia upon request of the Russian employing company.

Russian Transit Visa for Mexican citizens

Duration of stay: for air connections up to 3 days, for crossing Russia by road, railroad – up to 10 days

Number of entries: single, double

Reasons for traveling: 

• Entering Russia on the way to another country of destination

Basis for visa: Entry-exit tickets showing your route

Important: Travelers making connections without the need to leave international area and go through passport control 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 Mexican citizens

Duration of stay: 8 days. A visa itself is issued for 30 days but it’s allowed to stay only 8 days within this period.

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 

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 the required documents

In order to apply for a visa you’ll need:

• A valid national passport in original. It should have minimum 2 blank pages for visa and be valid at least 6 months beyond your exit date from Russia. Also, make a copy of the bio page of your passport

• A filled visa application form. It should be completed online at visa.kdmid.ru, printed on both sides, signed and dated. 

For E-visa applicants it’s crucial to correctly and completely fill the visa form.  

Incorrect application can lead to rejection of entry at the border point. To order professional assistance in filling the form contact us here: Contact Visando

• A recent color photo of truly likeness 3.5×4.5 The photo is printed on photographic paper and glued in the marked area of the visa form. See more details on photo specifications here: Russian photo specifications

• Invitation from Russia (Visa support). 

Order your invitations for Tourist and Business visa here: Get Russian Visa Support. The processing of a tourist confirmation takes 10 min and it’s sent to your email in a scan. A business invitation is issued within 9- 20 business days in electronic form.

Important: You need to have purchased tickets for a tourist visa and present them in copy

Obtain your student/ work invitations from your Russian school/ employer. These types of invitations are processed longer in up to 2 months. A work invitation is required in original, make sure to order delivery.

• For work/student visas with stay over 90 days you’ll also need HIV-negative certificate, obtained not earlier than 3 months before application. 

Step 3. Apply for your visa and pay visa fees

Mexican citizens can apply for a Russian visa at the Russian embassy in Mexico city – Consular Department. After you’ve collected the required documents for your visa, make an appointment here: Book appointment

It’s recommended to come 10 minutes prior to your appointment with all documents.

The Consulate is located at: 

Av. José Vasconcelos 204,

Col. Hipódromo Condesa,

Alc. Cuauhtémoc, 06140, Ciudad de México

You’ll need to pay the consular fee for your visa processing in the form of a bank deposit in Mexican pesos. The requisites for payment will be given you by the Consular officer after checking your set of documents for visa. The amount of visa fee is:

Visa type	Standard processing (up to 20 working days)	Urgent (1-3 working days)
Single entry	1600 MXN	3200 MXN
Double entry	2560 MXN	5120 MXN
Multiple entry	4800 MXN	9600 MXN

Step 4. Pick up your passport and check your visa

The Consular department doesn’t offer delivery of documents back to your place, so you’ll have to return to the Consulate to pick up your passport after the processing time passes. You can come Mon-Fri from 9:30 till 12:30. 

Once 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.

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)

Have a safe trip!

Step 5. Get registered upon arrival

There’ll be two more documents to get after you come to Russia:

• Migration card
• Registration

The first is usually distributed to passengers free on board the plane or issued by immigration officer at control. You are required to fill identical parts of the document in Russian or English stating your dates of trip, 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.

Registration is needed 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.

It’s also a good idea to take photo of both your registration and migration card, and store on your smartphone

I hope you will follow the described steps and securely get your Russian visa. 

If you need more information, don’t hesitate and write to our email to get a free consultation. 

Wishing you great travel experiences in Russia!