Procedure of Formalizing a Visa for Entry into RF

Procedure of Formalizing a Visa for Entry into RFThe ground for obtaining by a foreign citizen of a visa for entry into RF shall be an invitation received by him from a Russian organization or a private individual – an RF citizen.

Invitation shall be issued:

– for the business visa or working  visa – on behalf of the organization accredited with UFMS for any RF territorial entity;

– for the tourist visa – on behalf of the organization entitled by the Russian MID (Ministry of Internal Affairs) to issue tourist invitations;

– for the private visa – from a private individual.

The entry visa shall always have a definite validity term (from 1 month to 3 years) and assume a one-time entry, reiterated or multiple entries into the territory of the Russian Federation.

It shall be necessary to take into consideration the requirement of UFMS related to invitations to enter RF regarding the validity term of the foreign citizen’s passport (this term shall exceed at least by 6 months the validity terms of the requested visa).

The terms for issuing an invitation for an entry visa amount from 2 to 21 business days depending on the type, validity term and number of entries of the requested visa and the issue method (FMS letterhead, MID letterhead or MID telex order).

The invitation (as a rule, the original invitation) shall be submitted by the foreign citizen in set with other documents to the RF Consulate in the country of residence or stay for the visa formalization. The list of documents necessary for submission to the consulate institutions can be downloaded from the website of the related RF consulate.