Many of you may know that we were all set for going to Siberia. Next step was to apply for a Russian visa.
We applied and received the passports just today. With this experience in hand we thought of documenting the entire process of how to apply for Russian Visa for Indian citizens, so that it may be helpful to our fellow citizens.
You may also read about the contest by clicking here which won us tickets to Siberia.
For most countries we would require the flight tickets, accommodation bookings and proof of funds as a bare minimum. Here is where Russia differs in its approach and hence this comprehensive article on Russian Visa application. Please note that these steps are mainly for applying for Russian Tourist Visa for Indian Nationals in India.
Document Requirements
There are several types of visas and the documentation requirements also vary accordingly. For tourists, there are three types of visas, Single Entry, Double Entry and Multiple Entry. Of these, Single entry is the easiest to get but is restrictive. The start and the end dates cannot be changed and in all probability will reflect your flight details. It also cannot be more than 30 days.
Out of all the requirements, the single most important document is the “Tourist Voucher”, also called “Visa Supporting Document” or sometimes, the “Visa Invitation”.
This document is normally provided by a Russian Travel Agent, Russian online services or the hotel where you are planning to stay.
- Create a day to day plan including all the cities which you are planning to cover.
Book accommodation using any of the portals. - Go to any of the online Russian Travel Visa Portals and fill up the information, including details of the passport, flight and accommodation.
- Please note that each agency may work differently and charge a nominal fee.
Normally these agencies are quite efficient and you should get your Tourist Voucher the same day or the next. Some of them even claim that they will send the invite in 5 minutes! - Passport, should be valid for 6 months beyond the current date and there must be at least 6 blank pages. I guess this is true for almost all countries.
- Other documents required are, the flight tickets, hotel bookings and travel insurance, along with an application form to be filled up online. (next section) . In our case, they just took the Passport, the application form, the Visa Support Document and the flight tickets and returned all other documents.
- It is not required to furnish bank statement or proof finance or credit car etc.
Russian Visa Online Application form
Online Application form needs to be filled by visiting https://visa.kdmid.ru/. We give below screen by screen details of what needs to be filled in. The form is intuitive and can be completely filled up in about 10 minutes.
Page 1
Select India from Drop Down
Select English for languages
Read the instructions well before continuing with the application form
Then click on “Complete New Application Form”
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Page 2
A application form number will be generated. It is a good idea to note it somewhere.
Click NEXT
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Page 3
Select “Tourism” for purpose of visit and the related fields.
Number of entries must be 1 , 2 or multiple. In most cases it would be 1.
The dates must match the flight tickets and Tourist Voucher
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 4
Read instruction carefully while it up. Keep the passport with you at the time of filling. All the info here is from the passport.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 5
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 6
The institution means the name of the company through which you got your Visa Support Document.
All information on this page must be as per Tourist Voucher or Visa Support Document
Mention all the cities you are planning to visit. Use Add to add more cities.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 7
It is a good idea to save the application frequently. It is also possible to access the partly filled up form by providing the user id and password created earlier.
Scheduling an Appointment
- After that, a copy of the application will be displayed on the screen for verification. Please check for mistakes especially pertaining to passport details and city names etc.
- Once verified click on SUBMIT.
- Save it as a PDF and then print it.
- One photo of your face of the size 3.5cm X 4.5 cm, taken against a light background is required to be pasted on the printed application form. The photo must be recent, not more than 3 months old.
- Stick the photo and sign at the place meant for the same.
Submit the application
On the appointed day, reach the IFS office at the appointed time. It is possible that you may have to wait for sometime before your turn. This is not because of crowd but because of travel agents with many applications. The officers at IFS only look at the completeness of the application and the form. If you have time, go for a normal processing which in Mumbai takes 1 calendar week. Of course by paying double the amount you could get the visa in 3 days.
The officer will give you a collection date and ask you to pay the fee at the cash counter by cash only.
The fee, at the time of writing this article was, INR 1300 for the visa, INR 1180 for IFS service charge for a single entry visa. In case of urgent visa, the cost is INR 2600 instead of INR 1300.
If you want the passports to be delivered by courier, that could be done by paying INR 350 per passport. Otherwise on the appointed day you can go or depute someone, with proper ID, to collect it on your behalf.
All in all, the process for Russian Visa for Indians are one of the simplest and quite inexpensive. One of my friends from US said the Visa fee is much higher for Americans.
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Complete guide to Russian Visa for Indian Citizens
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Last time I came back after visiting Russia I heard some new issues had started with visa and stuff. It was 2 years backs. The rules for visa seems to remain same and no major changes.
I have never left the united states, but I do know that things are changing and it is becoming more and more difficult to come into other countries. Thank you for outlining these points. I’d love to visit Russia one day, it looks to be such a beautiful place.
I am not an Indian, but I’m sure there will be similar requirements for other nationals. I hope to visit Moscow someday. Thanks for this detailed information.
Wow the process looks quite complicated. I would love to visit Russia some day!
One of the reasons we vacation locally is all the stuff you must go through!
So glad they are making this process easier. This info was awesome!
Siberia would be pretty wild to see. So glad you have opportunities like this.
This is great information for people looking for a visa. I have had to do this a few time and having screen shots is very helpful.
Getting a Russian visa is quite a process anywhere in the world but it seems even more complicated in India. Do you really require proof of funds to get a visa to most countries? I wonder why Russia doesn’t require it…
I guess I’m a bit spoiled, either I’m just lucky to have a US Passport or have not traveled anywhere truly’complicated’ yet. Your post makes it all sound easy, but I think my head would spin having to provide all those documents so I would be generously ‘allowed’ to go spend money in a particular country. I cringed watching an Indian family trying to get a US Visa from a US Embassy in ‘Southeast Asia’. I wanted to shake them and tell them not to bother. (in that case I thought the embassy worker was quite rude to them also). At any rate, glad you made it to Siberia without a lot of hassles. Excellent info too, btw!
I haven’t been to Wales yet. Tenby looks so colorful, love it! Of the budget options, No: 1 The Esplanade Guest Accommodation would be my pick and I bookmarked it! Love the location, views and breakfast
I am wanting to visit Russia next year and keep putting off looking into the Visa process. I was encouraged that your process was simple. I’m from USA and of course the fees are much higher. Congrats on the trip!!!
When we visited Russia, we did it by cruise ship. So they took care of all of the visa requirements. We would love to go back so these steps were helpful to review. I am sure many of them are the same for Canadians. The need for a tourist voucher seems to be the trickiest until you have all your planning done. Thanks for sharing this.
Wow this is extremely thorough with so much great info. Thanks for sharing!
I love getting Russian visas, one of the hardest for us Brits at the moment. But once granted, Russia is a fantastic place to visit and I could do numerous trip to this amazing country.
You must really, really want to visit Russia with all that paperwork and appointments. I’ve been blessed with a passport that allows me to visit many places in the world easily but don’t blame countries, like Brazil, that do something similar to your experience before you get your visa. The hardest part was relinquishing my visa and waiting for it to be returned with the visa stamp!!
I know the Russian visa process is notoriously rigorous, these tips are great for anyone going through it! Despite how tough it is, Russia is still on my list!
Wow, that was such a detailed write up! I am from the USA and have always wanted to visit Russia. In fact, I almost went there this year for the World Cup. Sounds like there is quite a bit of paperwork for you to get a visa as citizen of India. I wonder if it would apply to us in the USA as well?
I love your pictures and how well you document the process. This is by far the best Visa application instructions I have seen for any country anywhere.
This is way easier than most western visas. And the price… Quite low. The process too see very convenient. Glad you shared it… I have been thinking of heading here and this just added a point to the destination
Nice Artical sir This is very helpfull.
This is a great detailed post on the process and pricing. Even though, I am not an Indian national, it’s good to know about the different types of visas and the information required. I look forward to visiting Russia someday soon, and this step by step process is helpful. Well documented.
IFS centres are in what all cities? No need to attach invitation letters? Hope to visit some day
Hi Shrinidhi, How are you? IFS centers are in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. For a tourist visa, Tourist Voucher, is the most important document, which can be obtained through a Russian Travel Agent or the many hotels who are authorised to provide the same. If you want I can send you the relevant sites by eMail.