A senior official in the Russian government has confirmed that a Russian electronic visa for 53 nationalities will launch next year, greatly simplifying the process of applying for a visa for the country. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov announced that the new electronic visa system will come into effect on January 1st, 2021, and
17 February 2023
| Post byRussian authorities have announced the decision to restart the electronic visa system. The government will confirm a date for its reintroduction by June 1, 2023.
The Russian E-Visa program was activated in 2020. The online system allowed citizens of eligible countries to obtain a visa for their trip to Russia completely online.
The new visa was suspended shortly after its release date in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which seriously affected international travel. Many countries chose to temporarily shut down their E-Visa programs to help control the number of foreign arrivals.
Now that COVID-19 has become more manageable, the Russian Government has decided to ease its visa policy to encourage visitors once again.
In addition to the reinstated online visa, authorities have also announced they will extend visa-free travel to more countries and simplify entry requirements for others.
Who Will Be Eligible for the Russia E-Visa?
Originally, EU passport holders plus 27 other nationalities were eligible to apply for the Russian online visa. The list was as follows:
- European Union citizens
- Bahrain
- China
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Japan
- Kuwait
- Liechtenstein
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Monaco
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Philippines
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia[a]
- Singapore
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Vatican City
The future list of eligible countries for the Russia E-Visa has not yet been finalized, however the government have stated that it will be inaccessible to citizens of most Western countries.
Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, was quoted as saying:
“I don’t believe there will be any issues for friendly states.”
Additional Changes to Russia’s Visa Policy
Russian authorities have also announced they will introduce visa-free entry for 11 new nations. The exact states are yet to be confirmed.
The Russian visa requirements for 6 other countries will also be eased. These states include India and Indonesia.
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