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Transit Visa – russiavisacenter

List of Documents Required for a Transit Visa:

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Transit Visa

Transit Visa

Documents required

Visa Center in New York

List of Documents Required for a Transit Visa:

Transit visas are required in case of:

– traveling to Belarus or Kazakhstan

– staying in the airport’s transfer zone more than 24 (but less than 72) hours

– switching airports or terminals (in case if terminals are not connected) and time between your international flights less than 72 hours.

1. Invitation

To apply for a transit (layover) visa you are required to submit a copy your tickets/flight confirmation for the whole itinerary as well as visas of the destination country (if required by the destination country).

2. Validity period

Single-entry and Double-entry transit visas are as a rule issued for up to 3 days.

3. Signed passport with at least two clear visa pages valid for at least 6 more months after the expiration date of the requested visa. If the validity condition is not fully met, your visa validity period will be shortened to allow 6 months of passport validity after the visa expiration date;

4. Signed and dated visa application filled out at http://visa.kdmid.ru. Please closely follow the instructions on the website while filling out the application;

5. One standard, passport-style photograph 3.5cm x 4.5cm, (colloquially known as 2″ by 2″ in the US), with a light background,no shadows, a clear view of the face, without dark glasses, or head coverings (except for persons whose religious or national traditions require it, in which case the photograph must match the passport photo);

6. Payments can be made at the Russian Visa Application Centre in USD by cash, by major Credit or Debit Cards or by money order to KRSP USA Corporation. Personal checks will not be accepted.

7. Medical insurance

Citizens of China, Iran, Ireland, Israel, as well as citizens of the countries of the European Union and the Schengen zone (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania , Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) are required to provide a photocopy of medical insurance’s cover letter that proves it’s international (for example: “worldwide”, or “for traveling outside of US”, or “for traveling to Russian Federation”) and covers the whole visa duration.

Please click here for more information about insurance.

Information for citizens of the EU and Schengen area countries

According to the Russia-EU Visa Facilitation Agreement as well as bilateral visa agreements citizens of the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

are eligible for the following visa application fees:

– $40 – 4-10 business days;

– $80 – 3 business days.

Please note these provisions do not affect citizens of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

8. Non-US citizens must provide proof of legality of their stay in the United States (US resident alien/permanent residency status (green card), long term non-tourist type of U.S. visa, form I-94 etc.).

Take Note! The Russian Consulate has the right to ask for additional documentation in order to process your visa application, ask you to come in for an interview, or extend the visa processing time of your application.

Additional information:

  • If applying for a minor, please provide a copy of their Birth Certificate and both parents’ copies of passports;
  • If applying for a spouse, please provide a copy of Marriage Certificate;
  • If applying on behalf of another person, please provide a notarized authorization letter;
  • if a company/organization representative is submitting documents on behalf of their employees please provide a letter from company/organization.

Please be advised that a person cannot hold two or more valid Russian visas at the same time. In this case, the older valid (unexpired) visa must be canceled before a new visa is issued.

In accordance with the Russian law, citizens of the Russian Federation regardless of any other citizenship they may have, must travel to Russia on valid Russian documents only.

We remind you that in accordance to 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.

Overview

Apply by post Apply in person

Transit Visas are issued to US citizens, foreign nationals, and stateless persons traveling to another country by way of the Russian Federation. Transit visas are issued for up to 10 days when traveling by car or train, and for 3 days by plane. You must provide a copy of your travel tickets, along with a valid visa or passport of your destination country.

Foreign nationals transiting the territory of the Russian Federation en route to a foreign country by means of a vehicle are issued a transit visa for the shortest time it takes to make the crossing, but not exceeding 10 days. The period of time the visa is granted for is based on covering an average traveling rate of 500km. a day.

Double-entry transit visas are valid for up to one month. In the event of a foreign national transiting through Russian territory on the way to another country, and returning to the country of origin after thirty days of entering Russia, they must apply for a new transit visa at the Russian Consulate of the original country of destination.

Foreign nations flying over Russian territory without changing planes do not require a visa.

International travelers who have paid tickets for flights leaving within 24 hours out of the same airport and not requiring the traveler to leave the transit zone to make their connecting flight, do not require a transit visa .

Please note! Since the Customs Union Agreement between the Russian Federation, Belarus and Kazakhstan came into effect, all flights between these countries are considered domestic flights. Hereby customs and passport control can be cleared only by one of the countries’ authorities. That is the reason why passengers, traveling to Belarus or Kazakhstan with a transit through Russia, are required to obtain a transit visa.

Visa Fees

Please note that the certain visa fee amount is payable for each particular visa type. Visa fees vary depending on the nationality of the applicant, visa type, number of entries, and processing time.

$550 for each applicant (For US citizens)

Payment method

For in person submission: We only accept cash for in person submission.

For postal submission: we accept only money order or cashier’s check payable to Russian Visa Services

Please note!

Consular fees and processing times for foreign nationals and stateless persons are determined by the Consulates of the Russian Federation.

The Consular Fee and the Processing Fees are non-refundable.

Photo specifications

Note : The photographs submitted must meet with these specifications.

Please provide one recent photograph (not more than 6 months old) of yourself. The photographs should be:

  • 3.5cm x 4.5cm, (colloquially known as 2″by 2″ in the US), taken against a light background (white or off-white) so that features are distinguishable and contrast against the background.
  • Clear quality and with the face in focus.
  • Printed on normal photographic paper (camera print).
  • Full face, non-smiling (without sunglasses, a hat/cap or other head covering, unless the applicant wears such items because of their religious belief or ethnic background).
  • Please stick the Photograph on the Visa Application Form.

Note : Please follow these instructions carefully. If photographs presented do not meet these requirements your application will be considered incomplete.

Processing time

Normal applications: 10 business days minimum.

Urgent applications: 3-5 business days minimum.

Important notice: Processing time is a minimum and may vary from case to case. Your visa application processing will start from the day your application was dispatched to the Consulate. Therefore please add few more days to the indicated timings, depending on whether you will apply in person or by post.

We are not involved in the process of assessment of visa applications, or their grant or refusal, and shall not be liable or responsible for any delay by the Consulates or the Embassy of the Russian Federation in USA, in assessing, granting or refusing any visa application.

Download forms

Important notice:

All questions in the visa application form must be answered in full, including the contact details of the applicant (full address with postal code, telephone and e-mail) and other questions that are not marked with a “*”, otherwise you will be asked to fill in these questions after arrival in the visa center.

Please note : If in your online visa application you answered “NO” to questions about previous places of work and educational institutions, you must attach a signed cover letter confirming that you did not really have previous jobs or studied in educational institutions.

Please note that if your application form requires any corrections or if you did not have a possibility to complete an online application form before visiting the Visa Application Centre, our team members will be happy to help. The cost of this service is $ 30 USD (Taxes included).

Please make sure that at the end of the electronic visa application you have chosen the visa application center that you are planning to visit. If you do not, the visa center staff may have to ask you to fill out a new visa application form.

To avoid confusion when choosing a passport category in the application, note that a diplomatic passport is issued to a civil servant who travels internationally for official state affairs. An official passport (service passport, as well as a special passport) is issued to the civil servant for travel related to work, and accompanying dependents. A tourist or ordinary passport is a document issued by the national government for the purpose of international travel, which certifies the identity and citizenship of its owner.

After completing your application form, please print it, sign it and submit it to the Russian Visa Application Center along with all supporting documents, payment and passport. Make sure that the signature on your application form is identical to the signature in your passport. We would like to assure you that we pay special attention to the processing of your personal data. By sending us your visa application, you confirm that you have accepted our Terms and Conditions .

To fill out the electronic visa application form click here .

Apply by post

Visa is an authorisation issued by the representative of the Government of a country permitting a person, not resident in that country, to enter its boundaries.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in USA issues visas for Russia only.

Depending on your purpose of travel, you should log on to the website of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in USA to check whether you are eligible or require a visa.

The Russia Visa Centre USA branch is the preferred outsourced partner to the Embassy of Russian Federation in USA. The Russia Visa Centre USA branch function as collection and processing centres to guarantee a better service in response to the growing demand for Russian visas from applicants residing in USA.

Apply by Person

Useful links

Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York

Embassy of the Russian Federation in the USA

Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston

General Directorate for Migration for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

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