Introduction of e-visa in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region

During the meeting with the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed a decree on introduction of electronic visa regime in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region.

Earlier, Alexander Beglov addressed Putin with a request to introduce an electronic visa regime in the city from the 1st of October. In his opinion, it will contribute to the development of tourism in the region.

“Border and customs checkpoints for rail and road transport are located in the Leningrad Region. In St. Petersburg there is only an airport and a seaport. We expect the growth of tourist flow to about 12 million people per year”, — commented Beglov.

From his side, the President instructed to work on this issue, including from the point of view of safety for the citizens.

Probably, because of the introduction of the electronic visa regime, the tourist flow in Russia will grow by 30–50% per year. As emphasized, today St. Petersburg is very popular among foreign tourists, that’s why electronic visas will contribute to the development of the phenomenon of “city-breaks” — short trips to interesting cities.

It is necessary to remind that since August 2017, citizens of 18 countries have had the right to enter Russia with electronic visas, the law has introduced in the Far East. The electronic visa is valid for 30 days from the moment of its registration with the period of stay in Russia not more than eight days.