Introducción de visas electrónicas en el Lejano Oriente desde el 1 de agosto de 2017

According to the press service of the Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East, the government of the Russian Federation approved the procedure for issuing electronic visas to foreign citizens entering the country through the free port of Vladivostok.

As stated the Russian Minister for Development of the Russian Far East Alexandr Galushka, “the rules for obtaining electronic visas have now been approved. To obtain such a visa which is introduced only in the Far East now, a foreign visitor should fill in an application form available on the MFA website, hold a valid passport and buy a ticket to Vladivostok”. The electronic visa will be valid for 30 days from the date of its issue and will allow up to 8-day stay in Russia. It will be issued without charging a consular fee; the application will be reviewed in 4 days. According to the list of countries approved in April 2017, electronic visas will be available to citizens of 18 countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, India, Iran, Qatar, China, North Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, Japan).

The issuing of electronic visas will be introduced step-by-step starting from August 1, 2017. The sea checkpoint in Vladivostok and Knevichi airport will be available to first foreign nationals entering the Russian Federation on electronic visas. Starting from January 1, additional checkpoints in Primorye will operate and it will be possible to use electronic visa to visit Kamchatka and the Sakhalin region.

According to the experts, the introduction of electronic visas will help to increase the investment attractiveness of the Far Eastern Federal District and to expand business contacts for the implementation of projects involving foreign companies, as well as to increase the number of foreign tourists visiting the region.