VisaRussia e-visa: 120-day validity does not permit a 120-day visit
Current guidance explains the separate entry window, 30-day stay ceiling, correction deadlines and address-registration duties for eligible visitors.
Official source date: 2026-10-29
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Separate the entry window from the permitted visit
Travellers considering Russia’s unified electronic visa must distinguish its validity from permission to remain in the country. This current guide checks the rules on 29 October 2026; it does not describe a new announcement today. The Foreign Ministry’s e-visa FAQ dates the longer limits to 23 August 2025, replacing the earlier 60-day validity and 16-day stay.
The current application instructions provide a single entry within a 120-day validity period and a stay of no more than 30 days. Arrival and departure both count towards the stay. A late arrival does not create permission to remain beyond the visa’s expiry. For illustration, someone arriving near the end of the validity window must plan departure against that earlier expiry, rather than assume another full month.
Check nationality, purpose and the actual border crossing
The Foreign Ministry application instructions restrict eligibility to the government’s nationality list and approved border checkpoints. Use both lists before choosing an itinerary. Permitted purposes include tourism, private and business visits, and specified scientific, cultural and sporting activities; a different purpose requires the appropriate ordinary visa. Holding an ordinary valid Russian visa does not require buying an electronic visa, and an e-visa cannot extend that ordinary visa.
The separate official FAQ confirms that an approved entry checkpoint does not authorise departure through an unlisted checkpoint. Check the return journey as carefully as the outward route. It also requires an individual application for each accompanying child, including children recorded in a parent’s passport. Russian citizens cannot use a foreign passport and an e-visa as a substitute for their Russian travel documents.
Prepare the application before the four-day boundary
The application portal accepts submissions no earlier than 86 days and no later than four days before expected entry. Prepare a machine-readable passport valid for at least six months from application, the requested passport scan and photograph. The portal says no invitation or hotel-booking confirmation is required. Its insurance requirement covers the stay, subject to listed reciprocal exemptions; check the applicable nationality provision.
The FAQ adds an important timing qualification: processing excludes the submission day and starts again after corrected details are resubmitted. An incorrect issued visa cannot simply be edited; a new application is necessary. Monitor the personal account as well as email, so an unnoticed correction request does not consume the remaining time before departure.
Resolve payment and passport questions before committing to travel
The FAQ says fees are non-refundable regardless of the outcome and explains that payment invoices may be denominated in dirhams or yuan, with conversion by the cardholder’s bank. It does not support quoting a universal local-currency total. Review the actual invoice and bank charges before paying; a payment attempt alone is not evidence that a visa has been granted.
British travellers should use the UK government’s Russia entry requirements for their separate passport rules. That guidance requires validity extending six months beyond visa expiry, warns against using a visa in an expired passport, and requires relevant British passports to be signed. It also says British visitors need a visa before travelling. General e-visa guidance therefore must not be mistaken for confirmation that a British passport qualifies.
Keep the migration record and arrange registration
The UK entry guide explains that passengers retain part of the immigration card issued at passport control and must present it when departing. Keep it accessible for accommodation formalities. It also describes address registration for stays exceeding seven working days: hotels handle this, while private guests should confirm their host has done so.
The UK government’s separate Living in Russia guide identifies the documents to carry: passport, migration card and registration certificate. A lost or damaged migration card can be replaced free through the local Russian migration department. That guide directs registration questions to the same department and stresses that visitors must extend lawful permission or leave before expiry. These administrative duties remain separate from obtaining the e-visa; an approval email does not complete them.
