Since the number of travellers to Russia from India for short term purposes has been increasing significantly, the Russian Federation has introduced an e-visa for Indian passport holders. This visa will allow travellers to visit Saint Petersburg, the cultural capital and the Leningrad region.
The scheme has been in effect from the 1st of October and will grant single visas for tourism, business and humanitarian reasons. The processing time compared to the normal Russian visa is much less and the requirements are simple as well.
“We intend to make the journey of the businessmen, tourists and other coming to Russia easier. With the introduction of the E-visa, we have taken a crucial step towards making the visa processes convenient for the people. From now on, the applicants can get their visa online and will not have to visit the embassy or visa application centres,” said Andrey V Fedorov, Senior Counsellor at the Russian Embassy.
The validity of the visa will be of 30 days permitting a stay of 8 days maximum. The applicant will need to fill out the online e-visa form and upload a recent photograph that is not older than 3 months prior to the intended date of arrival.
“The number of Indians travelling to Russia has been growing. The visas issued in the previous year by the Russian Embassy in India were nearly 35,000. Till September 2019, the embassy has issued 46,000 Russian visas for Indians,” he added.
The E-visa has been made free of cost as Russia has been expecting more and more Indian tourists to visit the country. It must be applied for at least 20 days before the date of departure. The processing time required for the issuance is of 4 days. There are 53 countries including India that are allowed to apply for this E-visa to Russia.
