Visa requirements for Russian citizens

Visa requirements for Russian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Russia.

Russian citizens in other countries also can benefit from the mobility rights arrangements within the Commonwealth of Independent States and the rules of the single market of the Eurasian Economic Union.

As of 2026, Russian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 113 countries and territories, ranking the Russian passport 44th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.

The Russian passport along with the Turkish passport are the highest ranking passports whose holders are still required visas for their travels to the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

History

Visa requirements for Russian citizens were lifted as the Soviet Union by the following countries/territories: Micronesia (18 December 1980);. Mexico has introduced Electronic Authorization for Russian citizens from 1 November 2010.

Visas on arrival were introduced by Iran (July 2005), Zimbabwe (20 November 2007), Bahrain (November 2008), Guinea-Bissau (April 2012), Mozambique (resumed in February 2017), Gabon (12 October 2017), Rwanda (1 January 2018), Benin (15 March 2018), Taiwan (6 September 2018), Sierra Leone (5 September 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Myanmar (1 October 2019), Iraq (15 March 2021).

Russian citizens were made eligible for eVisas by Singapore (December 2009), Sri Lanka (January 2012), Montserrat (September 2012), São Tomé and Príncipe (2012), Myanmar (1 September 2014), India made Russian citizens eligible for the e-Visa (27 November 2014), Kenya (2 July 2015), Gabon (15 June 2015), Australia (Electronic Visitor visa from 1 October 2015), Uganda (1 July 2016). Lesotho (1 May 2017), Saint Helena (2018), Djibouti (18 February 2018), Oman (7 May 2018), Tanzania (26 November 2018), Papua New Guinea (17 June 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Guinea (October 2019), Malawi (November 2019), South Sudan (29 September 2020), Anguilla (January 2021), Equatorial Guinea (July 2023).

The following countries / territories have reinstated visa requirements for Russian citizens: Estonia (1 July 1992), Latvia (20 March 1993), Lithuania (1 November 1993), North Korea (22 May 1997), Turkmenistan (June 1999), Slovenia (December 1999),^* Czech Republic (29 May 2000),^* Slovakia (1 January 2001),^* Hungary (14 June 2001),^* Bulgaria (October 2001),^* Poland (1 October 2003),^* Cyprus (1 January 2004),^* Romania (October 2004),^* Croatia (1 April 2013),^* Kosovo (1 July 2013), Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (3 October 2019), North Macedonia (21 March 2022), Ukraine (1 July 2022) and Taiwan (31 July 2022).

<small>* Visa policy has been synchronized with the visa policy of the EU because of accession of these countries to the European Union.</small>

The provision of visas on arrival to Russian citizens were discontinued by Mali (9 March 2015).

Visa requirements map

Visa requirements

Visa requirements for holders of ordinary passports traveling for tourist purposes:

Dependent, disputed, or restricted territories

Unrecognized or partially recognized countries

Dependent and autonomous territories

Other territories

• . Ashmore and Cartier Islands - Special authorisation required.
• . Hainan - Visa-free for 30 days. Available at Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport.
• . Tibet Autonomous Region - Tibet Travel Permit required (USD 10).
• . San Andrés and Leticia - Visitors arriving at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport and Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport must buy tourist cards on arrival.
• . Galápagos - 60 days; Visitors must pre-register to receive a 20 USD Transit Control Card (TCT).
• outside Asmara - To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).
• . Lau Province - Special permission required.
• . Mount Athos - Special permit required (4 days: EUR 25 for Orthodox visitors, EUR 35 for non-Orthodox visitors, EUR 18 for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.
• . Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for whole states of Nagaland and Sikkim and parts of states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Restricted Area Permit (RAP) required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year.
• . Kish Island - Visa not required.
• . Kurdistan - You can apply for an e-Visa (30 days) to visit the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
• . Closed cities - Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.
• outside Pyongyang - Special permit required. People are not allowed to leave the capital city, tourists can only leave the capital with a governmental tourist guide (no independent moving).
• . Sabah and Sarawak - Visa not required. These states have their own immigration authorities and passport is required to travel to them, however the same visa applies.
• Mecca and Medina - Special access required. Non-Muslims and those following the Ahmadiyya religious movement are strictly prohibited from entry.
• . Darfur - Separate travel permit is required.
• outside Khartoum - All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
• . Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province - OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.
• . Closed cities - A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.
• . Closed city of Mercury, Nevada, United States - Special authorization is required for entry into Mercury.
• . United States Minor Outlying Islands - Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.
• . Margarita Island - Visa not required. All visitors are fingerprinted.
• . Phú Quốc - Visa not required for 30 days.
• outside Sana'a or Aden - Special permission needed for travel outside Sana'a or Aden.
• UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus - Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
• Korean Demilitarized Zone - Restricted area.
• UNDOF Zone and Ghajar - Restricted area.

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.

• Albania, Andorra, Cyprus, Gibraltar (only persons holding EU residence permit as a family member of an EU national), North Macedonia - Visa exempt for holders of a multiple entry visa type С or D or a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State.
• 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 Russian diplomatic or official / service passports may enter the following countries without a visa for 90 days (unless otherwise stated):

_{D - Diplomatic passports only.}<br/> _{O - Official passports only.}<br/> _{1 - Unlimited}<br/> _{2 - 3 months}<br/> _{3 - 90 days within any 365-day period.}<br/> _{4 - 90 days within any 180-day period.}<br/> _{5 - 60 days}<br/> _{6 - 30 days}<br/> _{7 - 14 days}<br/> _{8 - Applies only to employees of official institutions operating in the territory of a contracting parties and their families.}

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

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

Economic integration and international treaties

Special travel conditions and exceptions to the usual rules, including special migration rules for Russian citizens, their family members and conditions for the provision of medical care are provided through international agreements and treaties to Russian citizens. The conditions for citizens in a specific country should be clarified in advance because not all countries are parties to all agreements.

• Union State of Russia and Belarus (Belarus)
• The rules of the Single Economic Space of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)
• Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States (present and former countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, including de jure Ukraine and Georgia, but not Turkmenistan)

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 180 days}<br/> _{2 - Up to 90 days}<br/> _{3 - Up to 60 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

Limitations on passport use

• - As a result of the Arab League boycott of Israel, many Arab League countries refuse entry to travelers whose passport shows evidence of entry into Israel or even hold an unused Israeli visa.
• - Admission is refused for holders of passports containing an Israeli visa/stamp in the last 12 months.
• - As part of the anti-Armenian policies of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan refuses entry to individuals of Armenian descent, including those who hold Russian Federation or other passports. 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

See also

• Visa policy of Russia
• Russian passport
• List of diplomatic missions in Russia
• Visa history of Russia

References and notes

Notes

References

External links

• List of countries with visa-free entry to Russia (in Russian), 1 March 2018