Russia plans to extend the period of stay on e-visa for foreign citizens

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is considering the possibility of increasing the period of stay for foreign citizens on electronic visas in 2024.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Yevgeny Ivanov, has expressed his intention to extend the period of stay for foreign citizens on e-visas in the fall of 2024, although specific details of the increase have not yet been determined. He also announced plans to expand the list of countries eligible for Russian e-visas after August 1, 2024.

The increase in the length of stay on e-visas is expected to attract more foreign tourists, which in turn promotes the development of the tourism industry and the formation of a more attractive tourist infrastructure. At the same time, the increase in the period of stay may also have a positive impact on business tourism, allowing foreign entrepreneurs to more quickly resolve issues of cooperation and further development of projects in Russia.

At the moment, the authorized period of stay on a single electronic visa within its validity is no more than 16 days from the moment of entry into the Russian Federation. Electronic visas to Russia began to be issued to citizens of 55 foreign countries from August 1, 2023. In December, the results were summarized: over 170,000 e-visas were issued, mainly to citizens of China, Estonia, Germany, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Iran, Lithuania and Italy. The e-visa for travel to Russia proved to be the most sought-after and popular among Chinese citizens.