According to the amendments entered into force on July 12, 2021 to the Federal Law of July 1, 2021 No. 270-FZ “On Amendments to the Federal Law” on the Procedure for Exiting the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation” and Article 5 of the Federal Law “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation” foreign citizens – family members or close relatives of Russian citizens (spouses, children (incl. adopted children), children´s spouses, siblings and half-siblings, grandchildren, grandparents, parents (incl. adoptive parents) – will be issued an entry visa to Russia based on the written visa request form made out to the diplomatic mission or consulate. Citizen of the Russian Federation must be present in person at the time of application submission to sign the visa request form (this must be signed with presence of the Visa Centre officer). Presence of their family members is not required.
If a citizen of the Russian Federation does not have an opportunity to submit the visa request form in person, an original of the application certified by a Russian notary is required to obtain a visa by a family member or a close relative. It must contain the following information: for the inviting party – last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, citizenship, gender, passport number, registration address and address of the actual place of residence of a Russian citizen (in case of residence in the Russian Federation); for the invited party – last name, first name, other names, date of birth, citizenship, gender, passport number, amount of entries, purpose of travel, requested period of entry (within the dates, dates of applied visa), place of expected residence of the applicant and an itinerary.
The applications can be submitted for the issuance of a single entry/double entry private visa effective for up to 3 months. The minimum time for processing such applications is 5 working days. Consular and service fees are charged according the current tariff.
Effective September 1, 2021 multiple entry long-term private visa valid for up to 12 months can be granted for the family members or close relatives of Russian citizens. This visa will allow to stay in Russia for the whole duration of visa. The processing time for such applications is 10 working days. The applications can be submitted for the issuance of a single entry/double entry private visa effective for up to 3 months. The minimum time for processing such applications is 5 working days. Consular and service fees are charged according the current tariff.
Please note that according to the Federal law 38 (30.3.1995) “On Prevention of Spreading in the Russian Federation of Disease Caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV infection)” foreign citizens applying for a visa to enter Russia for more than 3 months need to submit an HIV Test Certificate taken within the last three months. Certificate can be filled out either in English or Russian and shall contain personal details of an applicant. This requirement does not apply to family members (spouses, children (adopted children), parents) of Russian citizens.
Please note that the validity of visa will correspond to the dates specified in the invitation.
Documents required to submit an application:
- A written application sample filled and signed by a Russian citizen (at the time of submission in the visa centre) and addressed to the diplomatic mission or consulate to request entry to a foreign citizen who is a family member or a close relative of a Russian citizen;
- An original and a copy of the valid passport of the Russian citizen – bio-data page;
- An original and a copy (along with an apostille and an official translation into Russian) of the documents confirming kinship of applicants – citizens of the Russian Federation with the foreign citizens specified in the application – members of their families or close relatives. These documents are considered as issued by the authorized bodies of the Russian Federation or the foreign state marriage certificate (for spouses), birth/adoption certificate (for minor children), and birth/adoption certificate etc. Attention! It is required to present the originals of the documents or notarized copies with apostille and translation into Russian where needed.
- An original and a copy of the valid passport and the proof of stay in Finland on the lawful basis of applicants – the valid Finnish visa for the citizens of the Russian Federation should also be enclosed;
- An original and a copy of the valid internal passport of the Russian citizen (with a copy of the page with the registration details) – if available;
- Original passport of a foreign citizen, which must contain at least 2 blank visa pages, and which must be valid for a period of 6 months after the visa expires;
- Online application form completed on the website https://visa.kdmid.ru, printed and signed in person by the applicant. Please choose a visa application centre you are going to submit your application to. Your electronic application form will be directed to the intended visa centre. Attention! In the fields Date of Entry and Date of Exit please enter the dates of the requested visa, and not the dates of the first planned trip;
- One recent photograph as per photo specifications;
- Insurance policy for the whole period of the stay in Russia in case of one- or double-entry visas; and covering a minimum of 90 calendar days when applying for a multiple-entry visa. The policy document should show the name of the policy holder, validity for the duration of the journey as well as indicate the geographical area coverage as worldwide/including Russia, and cover medical expenses and repatriation. The insurance policy should contain a logo and a stamp of the insurance company along with a position and a signature of the insurer. If the policy document does not contain any logo, stamp or signature, the insurance should show the name and the contact details of the insurer. The insurance coverage amount must not be less than 30.000 Euros. The insurance needs to be presented only by the citizens of the Schengen states, Iran, Israel and Ireland on the basis of reciprocity;
- All non-Finish citizens residing in Finland need to provide a confirmation for continuous stay (over 90 days) to apply for a visa to Russia in Finland (residence permit, notice from an employer or an educational institution, or an extract from The Finnish Population Information System). For EU citizens a copy of an extract from the The Finnish Population Information System is required.
The procedure of the migration registration implies informing (notifying) a relevant territorial office of the Federal Migration Service of a foreign citizen’s arrival to the place of sojourn. We would like to remind about the responsibility of the inviting person that this must be carried out in the course of seven working days after arrival of the foreign citizen to the Russian Federation.
