To foreigners will expand the validity of an electronic visas in the Far East

On Tuesday during a plenary meeting the State Duma approved a bill about an extending of simplified procedure for entry of foreigners into the Russian Federation with e-visas at automobile, river and mixed checkpoints in the Far Eastern Federal Area.

“The amendments proposed by the bill will create additional favorable conditions to attract foreign tourists to the regions of the Far East, which will help to create and further develop the necessary tourist and other social infrastructure in them, to increase investment attractiveness and budget revenues”, the government said.

The list of indicated checkpoints will be determined by the Russian government.

This initiative on e-visas does not apply to railway and sea checkpoints.

“There is no technical possibility to check electronic visas at railway checkpoints”, the government said. “The seaports located in the Far Eastern Federal Area are not in demand by foreign citizens”.

Foreign citizens can obtain e-visas for this purpose arriving through checkpoints located in the territories of free port in Vladivostok and special economic zone in the Kaliningrad region.

Earlier, the Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the introduction of e-visas in St. Petersburg and in the Leningrad region from 1 October, 2019. It is currently emphasized that e-visa system will work from 2021 throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.