PREPARE DOCUMENTS FOR A VISA

PREPARE DOCUMENTS FOR A VISA

1. General Information

To apply for a visa you must present the following documents:

1) Passport with at least two clear visa pages valid for at least 6 more months after the expiration date of the requested visa. If the validity condition is not fully met, your visa validity period will be shortened to allow 6 months of passport validity after the visa expiration date.

2) Printed and signed visa application form filled out at http://visa.kdmid.ru. Please closely follow the instructions in section 2 (Filling out a Visa Application).

3) One passport-size (3.5 cm by 4.5 cm) color photo taken no earlier than 6 months before the date of application. The photo must be clear, forward facing and taken against a plain white or light-colored background.

4) Payment. The Consular Division accepts MONEY ORDERS (Pay to: Embassy of the Russian Federation in the U.S.A.). We do not accept cash, credit or debit cards, personal or company checks. Please see VISA FEES page for details.

5) A copy of your passport’s ID page. 

6) Invitation or document confirming the purpose to visit the Russian Federation.

The form of the invitation/confirmation depends on the type of the requested visa. Please see details on the page corresponding to the requested visa type.

Dear Applicants, when applying for a Russian visa please be advised that:

• Applicants who used to be citizens of the USSR or the Russian Federation and emigrated from the USSR or from Russia must submit one of the documents which confirms that they are no longer citizens of the Russian Federation (so called "Visa to Israel" or stamp in their passport saying that they left for "permanent residence abroad" before February 6, 1992 or official document certifying that their Russian citizenship was renounced), otherwise the applications will not be accepted.
• Visa processing starts only after the Consular Division has collected all necessary documents.
• Visa processing fee is not refundable.
• Type of visa or dates of entry/departure can not be changed or extended. If travel plans have changed after the visa issuance an applicant has to reapply for a new visa.
• Any visa applicant may be interviewed by the consular officer, if necessary.
• Processing time, requirements and fees are subject to change without notice.
• In certain cases the Consular Division is entitled to consider visa applications as long as it necessary. Visa can be denied if the Consular Division has serious reasons to believe that an applicant's entry into or stay in the territory of the Russian Federation will not be desirable.
• Please be advised that person can not have two valid visas in one passport. In this case the first visa is to be cancelled.

Medical insurance

Citizens of China (tourist visas only), Iran, Ireland, Israel, EU and Schengen countries must present medical insurance certificates valid in Russia or guarantee of medical coverage from a Russian hosting organization for the whole period of stay. Medical insurance certificates must contain a Russian contact phone number for emergency or assistance.

Information for Turkish citizens

In accordance with the Decree № 583, issued by the President of the Russian Federation on November 28, 2015, the procedure for entering the Russian Federation for citizens of the Republic of Turkey, bearers of a regular Turkish passports, has been revised.

As of January 1, 2016, Turkish citizens bearing said passports will be required to obtain a Russian visa issued by a diplomatic or consular division of the Russian Federation. (For more information, please visit our website http://visa.kdmid.ru).

This does not affect Turkish citizens:

• bearing temporary residency permits or permanent residency cards for the territory of the Russian Federation;
• bearers of special or official passports, traveling to the Russian Federation for less than 30 days;
• bearing special or official passports who are working at diplomatic missions and consulates of the Republic of Turkey on the territory of the Russian Federation, and their family members who hold valid special or official Turkish passports;
• or Turkish citizens who hold a Seaman's Passport, provided they are entering for maritime purposes on ship orders.

2. Filling out a Visa Application

All questions in the application form must be answered. If a question is not applicable, please use “None”. Applications with incomplete or unfilled items such as missing middle names or prior employments will not be accepted.

Information on the visa application must match the applicant’s passport and invitation. The information about your host organization is found in the invitation and must be indicated in the “Host organization” field of the application. Please note that filling out an application online is only one step of your visa application process, the Consular Division does not issue visas online.

In “Date of entry/exit into/from Russia” field please indicate the full period of the requested visa (as found in your invitation), not only the planned dates of your first visit. American citizens applying for a multiple 3-year tourist, private, business or humanitarian visa may indicate a 3-year period starting from the entry date indicated in the invitation.

While filling out the application you can choose to “Save draft” before you are finished. You can then retrieve incomplete or finished applications using your application ID (assigned at the beginning of the process) and your password.

If you need to make changes to an existing application, please select “Get a new draft ID” and then “Next” after accessing a completed application. In this case your previous application is duplicated with a new ID allowing you to make changes before submitting and printing the corrected application.

In the “Destination name” please indicate “Embassy of the Russian Federation in the U.S.A.”. Destination name must match the organization you're in fact applying at.

Please make sure to print out your application, sign and date it in the designated area at the bottom.