The rules for extending visas to study in the Russian Federation have been simplified for foreign students

Citizens of many countries need a visa to enter Russia. Let's look at how to get a visa to Russia. The process of obtaining a visa to Russia begins after a foreign citizen applies to a Russian consular office. At the same time, he must submit a completed visa application form to the consular office and present an invitation to Russia, issued and sent by the inviting party. Sometimes the consular office may require other documents, such as medical insurance, a letter of guarantee from the inviting party, confirmation of a hotel reservation and others.

Main questions:

How to obtain a visa to Russia for a foreigner?
What are the next steps after issuing an invitation?
How to extend a visa to Russia?

How to obtain a visa to Russia for a foreigner?

A complete list of documents that you will need to obtain a visa to Russia can be found on the website of the consulate where you plan to apply for a visa, or on the website itself. Depending on the consulate, the list of documents may vary, but the main document is an invitation to Russia , which confirms the purpose of the trip and the presence of the inviting party. Therefore, before applying for a visa to Russia, a foreigner must receive an invitation, which will indicate the purpose of his trip, the number of entries of the visa and the duration of the trip, on the basis of which the visa will be issued.

Read more: Obtaining a Russian visa in practice

There are several possibilities for receiving an invitation to Russia

Tourist invitation

If a foreigner is going to visit Russia for tourism purposes, then he needs a tourist invitation. You can receive such an invitation in 1 day, since it is printed on the travel agency’s letterhead, and in this case the travel agency does not carry out any checks. If you want to go to Russia to visit friends, then we also recommend choosing a tourist visa, as this will save you from unnecessary hassle!

Read more: Tourist visa to Russia for foreigners

If there is a simplified visa regime between the country of which the foreigner is a citizen and Russia, then an invitation to Russia can be issued on the letterhead of the inviting organization (such countries include the USA and EU countries). You can receive such an invitation within 1 day.

Our company is an accredited tour operator in Russia and has the right to invite foreign tourists.

Proceed to submit an invitation

Business invitation

If a foreigner intends to visit Russia for commercial purposes, for example, to participate in an exhibition, conclude contracts, or carry out maintenance under an agreement with a foreign company, then a business visa is required. To obtain a business visa, a business invitation is required. Usually the same companies that deal with tourist invitations also deal with business invitations.

Read more: Business visa to Russia for foreigners

As with a tourist invitation, if a simplified regime is in effect, it is possible to receive an invitation in one day, online. The simplified regime applies to the countries of the EU, USA, Japan, and China.

Proceed to submit an invitation

Private invitation

An invitation to Russia is issued on the territory of the Russian Federation at the request of the inviting party, which can be adult citizens of Russia or foreigners permanently residing in the country, as well as a legal entity - a Russian organization that has been accredited by the Federal Migration Service or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. In order to issue an invitation, the inviting party must submit a package of documents to the FMS office and pay the state fee, which is charged for consideration of the application.

If the inviting party is an individual, then when submitting an application for issuing an invitation to the FMS office, you must also present:

passport of the inviting person;
a copy of the foreigner's passport;
a letter of guarantee, in which the inviting party undertakes to provide the invited foreigner with housing and medical care, and, if necessary, the costs of deporting the foreigner from Russia;
a certificate of your income;
document confirming payment of the state duty.

With an invitation to Russia issued in this way, an individual can receive a private visa valid for up to 90 days.

Read more: Private visa to Russia for foreigners

Attention! We do not recommend using a private visa! Why? Read more: Why you shouldn’t use a private visa?

If the inviting party is a legal entity, then its representative must submit to the FMS office an application for a visa, a copy of the passport of the invited foreigner, information about the inviting organization, indicate the duration of the trip and the frequency of the invitation. With an invitation to Russia issued by a legal entity, you can obtain a visa valid for up to 1 year.

What to do if your visa is lost?

If such an unpleasant situation occurs as the loss of a permit document, you need to contact the migration authority or visa center as quickly as possible. The longer a citizen of a foreign state lives in Russia without a permit, the harsher the punitive measures from migration control authorities will be.

All work with visa documentation performed by government agencies is provided in accordance with Federal Law No. 114 “On the procedure for exit and entry into the Russian Federation” dated August 15, 1996.

First, you should go to the nearest police station and write a statement about the loss of the document. The police officer will issue a ticket indicating that the application has been registered and accepted for consideration. With this coupon, you must contact the Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, submitting an application requesting a duplicate. After checking the documentation, the person will be given the required document.

What are the next steps after issuing an invitation?

Some time after submitting an application for a visa, during which it is checked whether the foreigner has violated the laws of the Russian Federation in his previous visits, an invitation to Russia is issued to the inviting person or a representative of the inviting company. After this, the original invitation must be sent to the invited foreigner by mail. If a foreigner violated the laws of the Russian Federation in previous visits or did not leave the country before the expiration of the visa and was deported, then an invitation will be refused.

Read more: Obtaining a Russian visa in practice

Our company’s specialists can help you in arranging an invitation to Russia. To do this you will need:

fill out the form;
provide a copy of the passport of the foreigner for whom you need to issue an invitation;
provide a copy of his previous Russian visa (if possible).

You can clarify the deadlines for issuing an invitation and find out the cost of services by talking with our managers.

Issue an invitation to Russia

Proceed to submit an invitation

How to extend a visa to Russia?

Extending a Russian visa is generally impossible, but in some exceptional cases it can be done.

A temporary visa with a validity period of 4 months is issued to a citizen of a foreign state who is allowed to enter the Russian Federation. Such a visa can be extended by the territorial body of the Federal Migration Service at the address where the citizen is registered for migration registration.

Provided that a foreign citizen stays in Russia for no more than 90 days during each period of 180 days , the validity of a temporary visa can be extended for up to 10 days.

An existing visa can also be extended if there is a need for treatment of the foreign citizen himself or the death of a close relative of a foreign citizen living in Russia. This rule also applies to emergency situations. In this case, the temporary visa is extended for a period equal to the time necessary to take measures due to the prevailing circumstances and leave Russia.

A foreign citizen who is on the territory of Russia on an annual multiple-entry work or study visa can continuously stay in the Russian Federation for the entire period of their validity.

To extend the period of stay on the territory of Russia, a citizen of a foreign state must apply for a visa extension to the migration service authorities. In addition to the application to the specified authorities, it is also required to provide a petition drawn up by the inviting party, two photographs (3 cm x 4 cm), a detachable part of the notification form and a receipt for payment of the state fee.

Depending on the type of visa, the fee for extending the validity of a visa currently ranges from 300 to 400 rubles, while on the basis of existing international treaties, some categories of foreign citizens do not pay this fee. In particular, citizens of the European Union are exempt from paying the fee.

Applications for visa extensions are processed within 20 days.

Applying for permission to leave the Russian Federation

Free exit from Russia applies only to citizens of the Russian Federation. Foreigners and stateless persons are required to obtain an exit visa. Most often it is issued to holders of a temporary residence permit or temporary residence permit. The document is valid for up to 3 years. There are practically no limits on exit and entry.

What is an exit visa for a foreigner with an expired visa? This is official permission from the authorities to leave the territory of the Russian Federation for a certain period. In our case, for the process of extending the validity of the main document. Citizens of Italy, Serbia, Germany, Croatia and some other states will not need an exit permit (provisions of Federal Law No. 111-FZ of 06/07/2017).

What to do if tourist entry has expired?

An unpleasant event for a tourist is an expired visa document. Russia's migration laws are strict and demanding. It is better not to violate the basic rules. There is a relatively simple way to avoid punishment if you are overdue for departure by up to 3 days.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

the foreigner is obliged to take measures to return home as soon as possible;
when passing through customs control, you must submit an application to leave;
this document will avoid potential problems with border control;
the lack of an exit permit may result in the detention of a foreigner.

For tourists, deportation is rarely used, limiting itself to fines. But troubles will lead to difficulties with subsequent applications for a Russian visa. It is important to find out whether it is possible to extend a tourist visa to Russia in your case and carry out the actions legally, without violating the rules and laws.