Are you feeling a call for traveling to Russia? That’s great! The first question you might have is
Do Spanish citizens need a visa to Russia? Yes, they do.
Even though it sounds like a challenge, you can get your Russian visa by yourself, and I’ll show you how to do it. In this article you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to obtain a Russian visa without the need to pay anyone to do it for you. You’ll learn about different types of visas, required documents and where and how to get them.
Read on to get your Russian visa!
Before you venture on any trip, you should set approximate travel dates. It is not recommended to buy tickets before you get your visa, but you’ll need to decide on the dates of your travel. Also, depending on the duration of your planned trip and its purposes you’ll be able to identify the visa type suitable for you. Let’s have a look at the main types which exist.
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 |
Duration of visit: 30 – 90 days. A visa can be issued for 30 days, or for 180 days with period of stay no longer than 90 days out of 180.
Number of entries: single, double, multiple
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party: A Russian tour operator registered in organization of Rostourism. Invitations accepted in copies, can be made in 10 min.
Duration of visit: up to 90 days
Number of entries: single, double
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party – Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Department of Migration upon request of the Russian host (invitations are issued in electronic form, made in 20 working days)
Duration of visit: 90 days out of 180. A visa can be issued for 1-3-6 months or 1 and more years.
Number of entries: single, double, multiple
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party: Either of these:
Duration of visit:
90 days and over, depending on the duration of study course. A visa is issued for 90 days but can be extended by the educational establishment on the territory of Russia, if it’s required by the course.
Number of entries: single, double.
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian upon request of a Russian educational institution (both original and electronic invitations are valid). Invitations might take some 1-1.5 months to issue.
Duration of visit:
90 days and over, if required by the employment contract. A visa can be issued for 90 days or for 3 years for Highly Qualified Specialists. Both can be extended on the territory of Russia if it’s required by the employment contract conditions.
Number of entries: single, double, multiple
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia upon request of the Russian employing company (invitations accepted only in original). The process of issuing invitation might take a long time up to 2 months.
Duration of visit: for air connections up to 3 days, for crossing Russia by road, railroad – up to 10 days
Number of entries: single
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party: No invitations necessary, make sure to present your tickets and a visa to the country of final destination, if required.
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 with connection in Russia require transit visa
Duration of visit: 8 days. A visa is issued for 30 days but you can stay only 8 days within validity of your E-visa.
Number of entries: Single
Reasons for traveling:
Inviting party: No invitation required for E-visa.
Now that you have decided on which type of visa you need, let’s collect the documents for your visa application. I know that you hate paperwork as much as I do, but there won’t be so many things you’ll need, in fact. The standard set includes:
We’ll help you to:
Get your tourist invitation here in 10 min: Order tourist invitation
Get your business invitation here in 1 to 20 working days: Order business invitation
For regular visas proceed to visa.kdmid.ru, complete the form, print it on both sides, sign, and date.
For E-visa, request professional help with filling the form here: http://visando.com/apply-evisa
E-visa applications must be filled not later than 4 days before your trip.
With all the documents you’ve collected, you can apply for your visa in one of these places:
If you choose to apply directly at the consulate you’ll need to pay the consular fee, which amounts to
Type/ Number of visits | Regular processing(10 days) | Urgent(3 or less days) |
Single entry, up to 90 days(Transit visas, as well) | 35€ | 70€ |
Multiple | 35€ | 70€ |
Important! Urgent processing is available only in exceptional cases, with enough ground to request it. Note, that plane tickets and invitations do not suffice as the reason for expedited processing.
Payment methods accepted in the consulate:
Payments are made only at the time of application in person. Cash is not accepted. Consular fees are non-refundable.
If you choose to apply through the visa center, the visa price will include the service fee and amount to:
Type/ Number of visits | Regular processing(10 days) | Urgent(3 or less days) |
Tourist, transit, private visas | 61€ | 113€ |
Rest of types | upon request at the visa center | upon request at the visa center |
To make a request about the fees, please send it to [email protected]
If you wish to order application with delivery service, it will be surcharge:
Peninsula and Balearic Islands | Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla | |
One way | 20 € | 26 € |
With return delivery | 40 € | 52 € |
Please note, application by mail service will take 2 more days for processing.
At visa centers the payment is effected by bank card. If you order mail application, you make bank transfer to: IBAN: ES98 0081 0640 6500 0150 3551 (Banco Sabadell Atlántico) and pack the receipt along with the rest of documents when submitting them to the courier.
To find contacts of both consulates and visa centers, see here: Russian Consulates and Embassies
After you’ve applied, the only thing to do is wait the stipulated time, until your passport returns with visa in it. Actually, if you applied at the consulate, you’ll have to pick it up by yourself. The same will apply, if you haven’t paid for return delivery at the visa center.
Once you received your passport, take some time to check the details of your visa, especially validity of visa, number of entries, name of inviting company.
Your visa will look like this:
If you applied for E-visa, it’s also advisable to check all the details.
If everything is fine, start packing your bags. Don’t forget to bring along your passport, travel insurance policy, invitation, hotel bookings.
Before you plunge into all sorts of travel entertainments, after arriving to Russia, or start all your business activities, there’ll be two more documents to get:
The first is usually given to you on board the plane or by immigration officer at control. It’s a document with two parts, where you’ll write some details like dates of your trip and place of intended stay. Don’t lose it, and carry along in your passport during your stay in Russia. You’ll need to return it when leaving the country.
The second document is necessary if you plan to stay over 7 working days in Russia. If you are staying in a hotel, the management will take charge of it, and provide you with the required registration for the period of your stay.
If you are staying with your friends or relatives, or book an apartment via airbnb, you’ll need to contact the owner of the apartament to make sure, he’ll provide you with registration. It’s made at the local post or police office.
This document is seldom asked for, still it’s recommended to have it, and carry along in your passport, together with registration, when in Russia.
I hope with the steps described above, you’ll be able to easily and securely get your Russian visa.
If you still feel apprehensive about some moments, write to our email and get a free consultation. I’ll be glad to help you.
Wishing you the most fantastic travel experiences in Russia!