No Visa Required if:
Transit visas are not required for lay-overs, which last less than 24 hours. You must stay in the international terminal of the airport. You cannot leave this area for any reason. You must be on a direct flight through the territory of Russia or travel by international airline and change flights in the same airport within 24 hours to transit without a visa.
Visa Required:
Travelers who are laying over for more than 24 hours in Moscow or another international airport in Russia and who continuing onward to a final destination will be asked to present a Russian transit visa issued by a Russian Embassy or Consulate. Russian authorities may refuse to allow a traveler to continue on to the final destination if the person is not in possession of a valid Russian transit visa. Travelers who are not allowed to proceed are immediately returned to the point of embarkation at the traveler's sole expense.
Russia transit visas are valid for not more than 72 hours and can be single-entry or double-entry depending on the need. For example a single entry Russian transit visa allows for a traveler to enter Russian once within a 72 hour period. The traveler may exit the airport, stay in a hotel overnight, or explore a city before traveling on to a final destination. A double entry Russian transit visa would allow for the same except you may enter Russia twice within the 72 hour validity.
The 72 hour / 3 day period is date specific and indicated on your Russian Transit visa. For example a Russian transit visa with a validity of June 1 to June 3 would allow a traveler to transit once or twice (depending on the number of entries issued) between June 1 and June 3. The visa is not valid outside of the specified date range.
In order to prevent delay(s) in processing your Russian visa, please include your application password. While not mandatory, having this information will allow us to electronically fix common errors and mistakes often made while completing the visa application. This will prevent you from needing to redo your application from start to finish.
You must send your passport – a copy is not acceptable.
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Your signed passport must have more than 6 months validity remaining to apply for a visa. Visa will not be issued with less than 6 months validity.
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Must contain sufficient blank visa pages. Visas are affixed to the blank "Visa" pages of your passport. "Amendment" pages (clearly marked as such) in the back of your passport are not acceptable for visa issuance.
If your passport does not meet these requirements, you must renew your passport or obtain a new one prior to applying for your visa.
A detailed cover letter specifying your travel itinerary, entry and departure dates and times of your transit through Russia. Please address your letter to the "Embassy of Russia" and be sure to sign the letter.
Former citizens of Russia/Adopted from Russia: submit a Certificate of Renunciation of Citizenship obtained from the Russian Embassy. Adoption papers are not needed. Please contact the Embassy directly to start your Renunciation process.
For former citizens of the USSR:
When applying for a visa it is necessary to provide documentation that you no longer possess Russian citizenship, such as:
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Copy of USSR passport with a stamp stating you left for “permanent residence abroad”, dated prior to February 6, 1992;
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Or a copy of a “Visa to Israel” issued prior to February 6, 1992;
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Or a copy of a Certificate of Naturalization issued prior to 1996;
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Or a document confirming the renunciation of your Russian citizenship;
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Or a copy of the main pages of a passport of a former USSR state, issued after February 1992;
In accordance with Russian law, visas can not be issued to Russian citizens with expired passports.
Article 12 of Russian Law “On citizenship of the Russian Federation”, children born to two parents who are Russian citizens, automatically gain Russian citizenship, regardless of the place of birth. In this case visas are not issued, and they must apply for Russian citizenship, or have their information written into the passport of one of their parents, or obtain a Russian passport.
Please note: The Embassy may require that the applicant make a personal appearance for an interview at the Embassy in Washington, D.C. Personal interviews are not common however they are requested on a case by case basis and as such there is no way to determine if an interview will be required until your visa application has been submitted to the Embassy.
