Visa requirements for Russian citizens

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A Russian passport for international travel

Visa requirements for Russian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Russia.

As of 2024, Russian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 120 countries and territories, ranking the Russian passport 51st in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.[1]

History[edit]

Henley & Partners Passport Index. 2007 – Q1 2018. Russia.

Visa requirements for Russian citizens were lifted as the Soviet Union by the following countries/territories: Micronesia (18 December 1980);[2] as the Russian Federation by

Mexico has introduced Electronic Authorization for Russian citizens from 1 November 2010.

Visas on arrival were introduced by Iran (July 2005), Zimbabwe (20 November 2007), Bahrain (November 2008), Guinea-Bissau (April 2012), Mozambique (resumed in February 2017),[47] Gabon (12 October 2017), Rwanda (1 January 2018),[48] Benin (15 March 2018),[49] Taiwan (6 September 2018), Sierra Leone (5 September 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Myanmar (1 October 2019), Iraq (15 March 2021).[50]

Russian citizens were made eligible for eVisas by Singapore (December 2009), Sri Lanka (January 2012), Montserrat (September 2012), São Tomé and Príncipe (2012), Myanmar (1 September 2014), India made Russian citizens eligible for the e-Visa (27 November 2014), Kenya (2 July 2015), Gabon (15 June 2015), Australia (Electronic Visitor visa from 1 October 2015),[51] Uganda (1 July 2016).[52] Lesotho (1 May 2017), Saint Helena (2018), Djibouti (18 February 2018),[53] Oman (7 May 2018),[54] Tanzania (26 November 2018),[55] Papua New Guinea (17 June 2019),[56] Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Guinea (October 2019), Malawi (November 2019), South Sudan (29 September 2020), Anguilla (January 2021).[57] Equatorial Guinea (July 2023).[58]

The following countries / territories have reinstated visa requirements for Russian citizens: Estonia (1 July 1992),[59] Latvia (20 March 1993),[60] Lithuania (1 November 1993),[61] North Korea (22 May 1997), Turkmenistan (June 1999), Slovenia (December 1999),* Czech Republic (29 May 2000),* Slovakia (1 January 2001),* Hungary (14 June 2001),* Bulgaria (October 2001),* Poland (1 October 2003),* Cyprus (1 January 2004),* Romania (October 2004),* Croatia (1 April 2013),* Kosovo (1 July 2013),[62] Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (3 October 2019), North Macedonia (21 March 2022), Ukraine (1 July 2022)[63] and Taiwan (31 July 2022).[64][65]

* - Visa policy has been synchronized with the visa policy of the EU because of accession of these countries to the European Union.

The provision of visas on arrival to Russian citizens were discontinued by Mali (9 March 2015).

Visa requirements map[edit]

Visa requirements for Russian citizens holding ordinary passports
  Russia
  Unlimited
  Visa not required
  Visa on arrival
  eVisa
  Visa available both on arrival or online
  Visa-free for group tourists
  Visa required
  Admission generally refused

Visa requirements[edit]

Visa requirements for holders of ordinary passports traveling for tourist purposes:

Dependent, disputed, or restricted territories[edit]

Unrecognized or partially recognized countries
Territory Conditions of access Notes
 Abkhazia Visa not required 90 days; internal passport can be used.
 Kosovo Visa required[351] Visa is not required (in theory) for holders of a valid Laissez-Passer issued by United Nations Organizations, NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe or European Union a holder of a valid travel documents issued by EU Member and Schengen States, United States of America, Canada, Australia and Japan based on the 1951 Convention on Refugee Status or the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons, as well as holders of valid travel documents for foreigners (max. 15 days stay).[352]
 Northern Cyprus Visa not required[353]
 Palestine Visa not required[354] Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed.[355]
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Undefined visa regime in the Western Sahara controlled territory.
 Somaliland Visa on arrival 30 days for USD 30, payable on arrival.[356][357]
 South Ossetia Visa not required[358][359] Freedom of movement. Internal passport can be used.
 Taiwan Visa Required[360] Taiwan suspended visa free entry for Russian citizens.
 Transnistria Visa not required[361] Registration required after 24 hours.[362][363]
Dependent and autonomous territories
Other territories

Visa replacement[edit]

Certain countries waive the visa requirement if the visitor is in the possession of a valid visa or residence card of another country.

Non-ordinary passports[edit]

Visa requirements for Russian citizens holding diplomatic or official / service passports based on bilateral agreements
  Russia
  Visa-free for holders of both diplomatic and service passports
  Visa-free for holders of official passports only
  Visa-free for holders of diplomatic passports only

Holders of Russian diplomatic or official / service passports may enter the following countries without a visa for 90 days (unless otherwise stated):

D - Diplomatic passports only.
O - Official passports only.
1 - Unlimited
2 - 3 months
3 - 90 days within any 365-day period.
4 - 90 days within any 180-day period.
5 - 60 days
6 - 30 days
7 - 14 days
8 - Applies only to employees of official institutions operating in the territory of a contracting parties and their families.

Longer period of stay or more beneficial terms than that for ordinary passport holders is provided by Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, South Korea, Montenegro, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, El Salvador, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Holders of diplomatic and service Russian passports do not have visa-free access to Israel.

APEC Business Travel Card[edit]

  Full members of the scheme
  Transitional members (United States, Canada)

Holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) travelling on business do not require a visa to the following countries:[449]

1 - Up to 180 days
2 - Up to 90 days
3 - Up to 60 days

The card must be used in conjunction with a passport and has the following advantages:[450]

  • No need to apply for a visa or entry permit to APEC countries, as the card is treated as such (except by Canada and United States)
  • Undertake legitimate business in participating economies
  • Expedited border crossing in all member economies, including transitional members

Limitations on passport use[edit]

Vaccination[edit]

Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia require all incoming passengers to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination. Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area.[453]

Passport validity[edit]

Many countries require passport validity of no less than 6 months and one or two blank pages.[454]

Foreign travel statistics[edit]

According to the national statistics these are the numbers of Russian visitors arriving to various countries per annum:[455]

Copyright 2020 WikiZero

Foreign travel statistics
Destination Number of visitors from Russia Year
 Abkhazia |  Georgia 4,357,937 2017
 Afghanistan 1,463 2017
 American Samoa[456] 6 2016
 Angola[457] 7,305 2015
 Antarctica[458] 330 2017
 Antigua and Barbuda[459] 372 2017
 Argentina[460] 8,138 2015
 Armenia 410,302 2017
 Aruba[461] 968 2015
 Australia[462] 15,200 2017
 Austria[note 1][463] 272,300 2016
 Azerbaijan[464] 744,125 2016
 Bahamas[465] 1,498 2015
 Bahrain 12,712 2017
 Barbados[note 1][466] 909 2016
 Belgium[467] 60,386 2016
 Belarus[468] 1,230,000 2017
 Bermuda[note 2][469] 101 2015
 Bhutan[470] 243 2016
 Bolivia[471] 1,745 2016
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[472] 5,268 2017
 Botswana[473] 1,065 2015
 Brazil[474] 18,820 2017
 Bulgaria[475] 522,085 2018
 Cambodia[476] 53,164 2016
 Cameroon[note 1][477] 7,151 2014
 Canada[478] 24,401 2017
 Cayman Islands[note 2][479] 65 2017
 Chile[480] 6,003 2017
 China[481][482] 1,976,000 2016
 Colombia[483] 5,157 2015
 Congo[484] 4,023 2012
 Costa Rica[485] 4,657 2017
 Croatia[486] 119,689 2017
 Cuba[468] 75,000 2017
 Cyprus[487] 783,631 2018
 Czech Republic[note 1][488] 551,191 2017
 Denmark 41,002 2017
 Dominica[489] 44 2015
 Dominican Republic[490] 245,346 2017
 Ecuador[491] 7,313 2014
 Egypt[492] 2,338,900 2015
 Estonia 1,803,249[493] / 238,636[note 1][494] 2017
 Finland 3,629,121[493] / 373,701[note 1][495] 2018
 France[496] 620,028 2015
 French Polynesia[497] 287 2017
 Georgia[498] 1,404,757 2018
 Germany[499] 607,422 2016
 Greece[500] 512,789 2015
 Guam[note 2][501] 3,352 2017
 Guatemala[502] 2,576 2014
 Hong Kong[503] 148,098 2017
 Hungary[note 1][504] 138,941 2016
 Iceland[505] 14,282 2018
 India[506] 278,904 2017
 Indonesia[507] 88,520 2016
 Iran 24,336 2017
 Iraq 2,451 2017
 Israel[508] 330,500 2017
 Italy[509] 864,000 2016
 Jamaica[510] 1,018 2017
 Japan[511] 77,200 2017
 Jordan[512] 49,384 2016
 Kazakhstan[513] 1,708,873 2017
 Kyrgyzstan[514] 471,400 2017
 Laos[515] 10,986 2017
 Latvia 424,842[516] / 241,435[note 1][517] 2017
 Lebanon[518] 16,205 2016
 Lithuania 742,333[516] / 150,600[519] 2016
 Luxembourg[note 1][520] 6,659 2016
 Macao[521] 27,037 2017
 Madagascar[522] 264 2015
 Malaysia[523] 67,564 2017
 Maldives[524] 61,931 2017
 Malta[525] 16,370 2016
 Malawi[526] 154 2009
 Mali[527] 444 2014
 Mauritius[524] 11,153 2017
 Mexico[note 2][528]