Visa to Russia for Spanish citizens
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!
Step 1. Select travel dates and decide on the visa type you need.
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 |
Russian Tourist visa for the Spanish
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:
- Sightseeing
- Going on excursions or independent traveling
- Attending health and sports resorts
- Attending festivals, concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events
- Going on trans-siberian railway tour
- Driving/cycling/hiking independently through the country
- Having short medical examinations, consultations (Aim tourism)
- Attending brief business meetings (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)
Inviting party: A Russian tour operator registered in organization of Rostourism. Invitations accepted in copies, can be made in 10 min.
Russian Private Visa for the Spanish
Duration of visit: up to 90 days
Number of entries: single, double
Reasons for traveling:
- Visiting your relatives and friends – citizens of the Russian Federation, or permanent residents of Russia
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)
Russian Business and Humanitarian visa for the Spanish
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:
- Negotiations with Russian partners
- Attending business meetings, fairs, exhibitions and other events
- Signing contracts, agreements, purchasing goods and services for business
- Giving trainings, doing maintenance support work
- Carrying out short-term commercial activities (Commercial sub-purpose)
- Investing into Russian business etc.
- Attending cultural, sports, political, religious, charity events (Humanitarian type)
Inviting party: Either of these:
- Russian organization (in the form of written statement made in 1 day)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian upon request of the Russian host company (in the form of electronic encoded invitation made in 20 working days)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia upon request of the Russian host company (in the form of Telex made in 12 working days)
Russian Student Visa for the Spanish
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:
- Studying at a Russian educational institution
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.
Russian Work visa for the Spanish
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:
- Carrying out paid work under an official employment contract for a Russian hiring company
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.
Russian Transit Visa for the Spanish
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:
- Crossing Russian borders following to another country of destination
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
Russian Electronic Visa for the Spanish
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:
- Visiting Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region, or The Far East and Vladivostok, or Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad Region for touristic purposes – sightseeing, excursions etc.
Inviting party: No invitation required for E-visa.
Step 2. Prepare the required documents for Russian 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:
- National original passport with validity of at least 6 months beyond exit date from Russia, containing minimum 2 blank visa pages
- Invitation from Russia. Read on the inviting authorities in types of visa above.
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
- Completed visa form.
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.
- Color photo 3×4 made not earlier than 6 months prior, on white background, without shades or head coverings, unless it’s required by religious beliefs and the applicant appears wearing them on his/her passport photo. Glue the photo into the marked field in the visa form
- Travel insurance policy. It should cover the period of your stay in full, and be valid on the territory of the Russian Federation. The policy is accepted in copy. It should contain details of the insured person and insuring organization, as well as its individual number.
- For Work visa you’ll also require a certificate stating you are HIV-negative, issued not earlier than 3 months before application. You can get it in any local clinic.
- For Transit visa you’ll need copies of tickets showing your route, or a detailed itinerary, in case you cross the border by road.
Step 3. Apply for your visa and pay visa fees.
With all the documents you’ve collected, you can apply for your visa in one of these places:
- The Russian Consulate in Madrid. Apply in person upon prior appointment
- Consulate General of Russia in Barcelona. Apply in person upon prior appointment
- Licenced Russian Visa center Centraldevisadosrusos in Madrid or Barcelona. Apply in person or via special delivery service provided by the service center. To order delivery contact [email protected]
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:
- Credit card (all but American Express)
- Bank transfer with the invoice issued by 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
Step 4. Get your passport and check visa details
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.
Step 5. Final documents to get while in Russia
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:
- Migration card
- Registration
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!