Visa requirements for Russian citizens

Updated on Oct 23, 2023

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Visa requirements for Russian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Russia. As of 1 January 2017, Russian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 106 countries and territories, ranking the Russian passport 51st in terms of travel freedom (tied with Micronesian passport) according to the Henley visa restrictions index.

Changes

Visa requirements for Russian citizens were lifted (unilaterally or bilaterally, for the first time or repeatedly (in this case, the date of the last cancellation of visas) by Cuba (1985), Seychelles (1987), Malaysia (1998), Namibia (August 2001), Morocco (June 2005), Botswana (December 2006), Thailand (March 2007), Swaziland (June 2007), Laos (September 2007), Philippines (September 2007), Israel (September 2008), Vietnam (January 2009), Nicaragua (February 2009), Venezuela (March 2009), Honduras (March 2009), El Salvador (March 2009), Bahamas (April 2009), Guatemala (April 2009), Colombia (April 2009), Argentina (June 2009), Hong Kong (July 2009), Northern Mariana Islands (November 2009), Brazil (June 2010), Guyana (August 2010), Trinidad and Tobago (December 2010), Chile (January 2011), Turkey (April 2011), Saint Lucia (September 2011), Uruguay (December 2011), Guam (January 2012), Georgia (until December 2000, visa-free for Caucasian Regions of Russia from October 2010, resumed in February 2012), Macau (September 2012), Mauritius (November 2012), Jamaica (March 2013), Saint Kitts and Nevis (May 2013), South Korea (January 2014), Costa Rica (until January 2008, resumed in April 2014), Panama (April 2014), Paraguay (October 2014), Mongolia (May 1971 – 1995, resumed in November 2014), Gambia (December 2014), Tunisia (December 2014), Turks and Caicos (2006-September 2011, resumed in April 2015), Nauru (May 2015), Indonesia (June 2015), Bolivia (October 2016), Senegal (resumed December 2016) and South Africa (March 2017).

Visa on arrival were introduced Iran (July 2005), Zimbabwe (November 2007), Bahrain (November 2008), Guinea-Bissau (April 2012), United Arab Emirates (February 2017) and Mozambique (resumed February 2017).

Electronic visas for Russian citizens were introduced Singapore (December 2009), Mexico (November 2010), Sri Lanka (January 2012), Montserrat (September 2012), São Tomé and Príncipe (2012), Myanmar (September 2014), India made Russian citizens eligible for the e-Tourist Visa (November 2014), Kenya (July 2015), Gabon (July 2015) and Australia (Electronic Visitor visa from October 2015).

Following countries/territories have restored visa for Russian citizens: Estonia (July 1992), Latvia (March 1993), Lithuania (November 1993), Turkmenistan (June 1999), Slovenia (December 1999),^* Czech Republic (May 2000),^* Slovakia (January 2001),^* Hungary (June 2001),^* Bulgaria (October 2001),^* Poland (October 2003),^* Cyprus (January 2004),^* Romania (October 2004),^* Croatia (April 2013)^* and Kosovo (July 2013). Provision of visa on arrival was discontinued Oman (2009) and Mali (March 2015).
_* - Visa policy has been synchronized with visa policy of the EU because of accession of these countries to the European Union.

Visa requirements

Visa requirements for holders of normal passports travelling for tourist purposes:

Dependent, Disputed, or Restricted territories

Visa requirements for Russian citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas, partially recognized countries and restricted zones:

Visa replacement

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

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania, Albania, Andorra, Gibraltar - Visa exempt for holders of a visa issued by a Schengen Member State.

Ireland - holders of valid visa for the United Kingdom do not require a visa.

Mexico - Permanent residents of Canada, EU or USA; or holders of a valid USA visa do not require a visa.

Non-ordinary passports

Holders of diplomatic or service Russian passports have visa-free access to the following additional countries (mutual and unilateral):

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, Macedonia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, El Salvador, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela.

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

APEC Business Travel Card

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

_{1 – up to 90 days}
_{2 – up to 60 days}
_{3 – up to 59 days}

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

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

expedited scheduling of visa interview (United States)

Limitations on passport use

Arab League and Iran: As a result of the Arab League boycott of Israel, many Arab League countries and Iran refuse entry to travelers whose passport shows evidence of entry into Israel or hold an unused Israeli visa.

Azerbaijan: As a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Azerbaijan refuses entry to passport-holders of the Russian Federation and any other country of Armenian descent. It also strictly refuses entry to foreigners in general whose passport shows evidence of entry into the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, declaring them a so-called personae non gratae.

Vaccination

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.

Passport validity

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

Foreign travel statistics

According to the national statistics these are the numbers of Russian visitors arriving to various countries per annum in 2015 (unless otherwise noted):