One thing I’m super excited about is going to Russia this summer. You can read about why I’m going to Russia in this blog post.
Without a doubt, the hardest part of going to Russia is getting your visa approved.
Yep, U.S. citizens are required to get a Visa to get into the country.
By the way, here’s a fun fact…Cubans don’t need a visa to go to Russia!
Anyways, the entire visa process is super annoying and requires a lot of paperwork.
But then again, so is applying to get a visa in the U.S. So I suppose the Russian process isn’t really that bad after all in comparison!
Now there are a lot of guides out there for getting a Russian Visa as an American. But many of them are super confusing.
Since I recently got approved for my Russian visa I wanted to create a simple guide on how to obtain a Russian Visa as an American.
Russian Visa Basics (Where, When, & How Long)
First off, it will take between 2 – 3 weeks for the Russian Consulate to process your visa request – so plan your trip accordingly.
It can be done faster in person, but there is not a consulate in every city.
Russia holds consulates in the following cities:
- Washington D.C. (obviously)
- Seattle
- Houston
- San Francisco (for some reason, Russians love the bay area)
- New York
You can request expedited processing with the consulate, but I WOULD NOT recommend doing that as they will start to ask a lot more questions.
Okay, so first off let’s go over the visa you want to get.
P.S. this post will be focused solely on getting the tourist visa, since I have no experience applying for the business visa.
The Coveted 3 Year Russian Visa
Despite the tensions between the U.S. and Russia, U.S. citizens are the ONLY people who can apply to get a 3 year multiple entry Russian tourist visa.
Pretty cool, right?
I recommend applying for the 3 year visa instead of the standard 30 day visa because the process is exactly the same and you don’t need to pay additional fees.
The 3 year multiple entry tourist visa allows you to stay in the country for up to 180 days per calendar year.
And you have multiple entry privileges too – which means you can enter and leave the country as many times as you can.
This can be useful if you want to visit former soviet republics or visit Mongolia or China along the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Step 1: Get Your Visa Invitation Letter
Before you can apply to get a Russian Visa, you need to get a letter of invitation.
This is basically an invitation from a Russian business to get a tourist visa. If you’re staying at a hotel, they will issue one for you.
If you haven’t booked a hotel yet, there are companies who will issue them to you for a fee (typically between $30 and $50 bucks).
I got my visa invitation letter from East West Link, one of the larger tour operators in Russia (and they have offices in the U.K. as well).
You can buy their visa invitation letter from this site.
I paid $30 for mine.
In your invitation, it’ll ask when you are going to Russia and about the purpose of your visit (tourism vs. business).
Make sure you keep that information in handy as you’ll need to fill out the exact same thing on the visa application form.
The invitation letter will also ask which cities you are staying in and what hotels/hostels as well.
For that information, I just filled them out with the cheapest options and booked rooms on Expedia.
And once I got my Visa application approved, I canceled those reservations.
Once you get your Visa, they don’t care where you stay in the country. It’s really just a formality.
Step 2: Fill Out The Russian Visa Application Form
After you get your invitation letter, the next thing you need to do is fill out the visa application form.
The form was actually pretty simple to fill out.
I was a little bit worried about filling it out wrong and getting my visa application rejected, but I got approved on my first time.
The visa application is about 4 – 5 pages and should take about 1 hour to fill.
Here are a few important things to know for your application…
Starting & End Dates
The first is filling out your date of entry and date of exit.
The starting date you should enter should match the date on your visa invitation letter (from step 1).
If you are applying for the 3 year visa, the end date should not be 30 days (as specified in the visa invitation letter), but in 3 years.
For example, if your entry date is 4/28/19, your exit date should be 4/27/22 (just subtract one day from 3 years).
Medical Insurance
Another one of the questions on the visa application form is whether or not you have a medical insurance policy valid in Russia (such as travel insurance).
Travel insurance IS NOT REQUIRED for American travelers. But for some European travelers, it is required.
Hotels
Also, the application will ask you where you are staying in Russia.
They never checked the hostels I booked (and subsequently cancelled when my application was approved), so I think it’s just a formality. They did not ask me to send proof that I booked those places.
Work & Education
Another ones of the questions they’ll ask you is your education and work experience. Again, they never contacted any of the institutions that I studied or worked at.
But then again, they probably would if I was flagged as a higher risk.
Visited Countries
The application will also ask you about is all of the countries you have visited over the past 10 years.
Based on my research, they really only care about the countries you have stamped in your passport, so be sure to include those. It’s more of a process rather than something they fact check.
After you are done with the visa application form, you’ll need to compile everything that needs to be sent to the Russian Consulate.
Step #3: Obtain A Passport Photo
With your application, you need to include a recent photo of yourself. What they really want is a passport sized photo.
You can get this at any drug store or at Costco (the cheapest option). Just go there and ask them to take your passport photo.
The whole process should be a 15 – 20 minute errand.
Once you have your photo, just attach it to the visa application.
Step #4: Compile All The Documents
Okay, once you have completed steps 1 – 3, you will need to compile all of the documents you need.
Here are the exact forms you will need:
- The visa invitation letter
- Your completed visa application form AND be sure to sign it or it can cause delays
- A passport photo attached to the application form
- Your passport (they need to put the visa in your passport if you get approved)
- A check for the fees (mainly processing).
And that’s it!
Simple as that, right?
Where To Send Your Russian Visa Application?
Alright, let’s talk about where to send in your visa application. If you can’t go and apply at the Consulate in person, you’ll need to apply by mail.
I’m guessing many of you will have to apply by mail.
Unfortunately, the consulate doesn’t accept applications by mail, so you need t0 go through an approved third party, which is exactly what I did.
Yeah, I know government bureaucracy at its finest.
The main one in the U.S. is ILS.
Here’s a link to their website
They have locations throughout the country, including, NYC, DC, Houston, SF, and Seattle.
Anyways, you just need to mail your application to one of their centers. The ILS will process your application and handle a lot of the paperwork.
After that, they will send it to approval from the consulate. The ISL itself does not have approval power for your visa.
Keep in mind that the D.C. location is typically VERY busy for the summer and delays of 3 – 5 weeks are common. I guess all the politicians want to go to Mother Russia!
Anyways, I would recommend applying to the Houston location as they typically don’t have a lot of Russians there and the processing time seems to be the fastest.
Also, if you are applying by mail, it’ll cost an additional $85 to do so.
All in all, I paid $321 to apply for my Visa, including all of the fees. This was the most expensive (and currently only Visa) I have ever applied for.
A Few Things To Keep In Mind…
Applying for the Russian Visa as an American can be a complicated (and stressful) process.
So here are a few things you should keep in mind.
First, if you are applying for the 3 year visa, make sure that you have enough time on your passport BEFORE it expires.
I renewed my passport right before I applied to make sure this wouldn’t happen.
Don’t forget to sign the visa application! I nearly shipped off my application without signing it, which would have delayed my approval by several days if not a week.
Do NOT purchase your plane tickets before you get your approval. You do not need to show proof of your airline purchase in your application.
Part of the visa application asks which hotels you will be staying at. You do not need to stay at the hotels you specified in the invitation letter or the application form.
As a result, it would be wise to just book a cheap hostel and put that on the application.
When you get approved, you can cancel the bookings and then book the hotel/Airbnb of your choice.
Although rare, the Russian Consulate can come back and ask for more information.
I think this happens mostly for business visas or when they have flagged you as higher risk, but they can ask you to provide a bank statement (to show you can fund your travel) or ask for a STD test.
Final Thoughts: Obtaining A Russian Visa
Overall, the Russian Visa process can be a little stressful and complicated to figure out.
So hopefully this guide will help you to obtain a Russian Visa Application as an American.
It’s pretty much a 4 step process…
Get a visa invitation letter, Fill out your application form, Get your passport photos, and then mail all of your documents (including your passport).
If you have any experiences about your own personal Russian Visa application process, let me know in the comments!