Facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the European Union travelling to the Russian Federation as from 1st June 2007

 

On 1 June 2007, the Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation entered into force. The agreement eases the procedures for issuing short-stay visas to citizens of the European Union and of the Russian Federation.

Major visa facilitations under the Agreement are as follows:

• a visa-free regime for holders of valid diplomatic passports provided they stay in the territories of the Contracting Parties for a period not exceeding 90 days per 180 day period;
• a simplified procedure for issuing visas to 11 categories of persons (e.g. business people, drivers, close relatives, members of official delegations, etc.), setting out those documents which are sufficient for justifying the purpose of the journey to the territory of the Contracting Party;
• issuance of multiple-entry visas for 8 categories of persons (e.g. persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities, business people, drivers, etc.) with a term of validity from  a minimum of 2 years to a maximum of 5 years, provided that during the previous two years they have made use of the one year multiple-entry visas in accordance with the laws on entry and stay in the territory of the visited State and that the reasons for requesting a multiple-entry visa are still valid;
• waiver of fees (amounting to 35,00 EUR) for processing the visa application for 9 categories of persons (e.g. close relatives, persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities, etc.).

More detailed information on the documents that need to be presented to justify the purpose of the journey is available at diplomatic and consular representations of the Russian Federation.