Transit visa for Russia

Are you travelling through Russia as a transit country on your way to a destination that requires a visa? You will need a valid transit visa for your stay in the Russian Federation. The transit visa is available for transit by land and air. It is necessary to apply for the entry permit at a Russian consulate before the start of the journey. Applicants receive the visa in their passport and are obliged to present it at the border crossing.

When applying for a transit visa at the Russian embassy or consulate, you need a main visa for the destination country as well as valid tickets or flight tickets for the onward journey. If you plan a transit on the return journey, proof of nationality of the destination country is sufficient.

The Russian Federation is particularly suitable as a transit country for your car or train journey if you are visiting one of the neighboring countries. These include, among others, China, Poland, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Baltic States, and Azerbaijan. For example, if you cross the Russian state by train to reach Mongolia, you need a main visa for Mongolia and a transit visa for Russia.

Please note that a Russian transit visa cannot be issued if you do not require a visa for your destination. For Europeans, for example, there is no visa requirement in Poland. In this case, you are required to apply for a tourist visa for your transit in the Russian Federation.

The validity of the visa for transit stays varies depending on the chosen route of arrival:

Traveling without a transit visa is only possible in the following cases:

• Transit travel through Russia by air without a stopover
• Stay in the airport's transit area and departure within 24 hours of arrival.