General information
A business visa is a document that allows foreign citizens arrive in Russia on business and commercial purposes, such as negotiations, contract conclusion, audit of subsidiary entities, installation, setup, and after-sales service of foreign equipment, or otherwise.
Types of business visas in Russia
By the multiplicity (the number of acceptable border crossings) business visas are divided into:
- Single – allows you to cross the border of the Russian Federation once
- Double – allows you to cross the Russian border twice
- Multiple – allows you to cross the Russian border unlimited number of times during the validity period
The length of stay for a multiple work visa is limited to a period of 90 days for every 180. For instance, a foreigner who has a multiple visa for 1 year cannot stay in Russia continually for the whole year. He/she should leave the Russian Federation in 90 days. The next entry will be allowed only in 90 days.
In order to almost continually stay in Russia, you can obtain a double business visa for 90 days every three months. However, you will have to leave Russia anyway to obtain the visa in your country or in the nearest to Russia foreign country (on condition that your country has a respective agreement with that country). For example, Brazilian citizens may procure the visa in Serbia, and the US citizens can do that in Estonia and Latvia, etc.
By the purpose of entry business visas are divided into:
- Ordinary
- Commercial
- Maintenance visas
An ordinary business visa is procured to attend business meetings, negotiations, symposia, etc.
The commercial purpose of entry means conclusion of transactions, signing of contracts, participation in exhibitions and advertising events. In addition, commercial visas are issued to foreign artists who come to the Russian Federation with tours (for a period not exceeding 30 days).
We should discuss a maintenance visa in more detail. In fact, it allows to work in Russia but only in case when the work is connected to the installation and setup, or after-sales maintenance service of the equipment that has been imported into Russia. To procure a business visa with such purpose of entry you must provide the documents confirming the delivery of the equipment to Russia. The foreign citizens must have labor or civil contracts with the equipment suppliers. The migration service may also request other confirming documents.
Although a lot of confirming documents are required for the procurement of a maintenance visa, it makes the procedure of entry substantially faster and easier for foreign specialists.
Validity period of a business visa to Russia
A business visa may be issued for the period of 30 days, 90 days, 180 days, 365 days, 3 years and 5 years (in special cases, on condition that there is an agreement between Russia and other states).
Procedure of business visa procurement
To apply for a business visa, the party inviting the foreigner must first arrange a business invitation to Russia.
The inviting party (normally a legal entity) applies to the Department of Migration of the Central Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (hereinafter the Department of Migration) for an invitation on a special form or electronically. To procure invitations for foreign citizens, the company must be registered (accredited) with the Department of Migration. This method of obtaining an invitation is efficient and the least risky. Ideally, an invitation for a business visa must be procured by a company or an individual who actually invites a foreign citizen and will provide, when necessary, the material, accommodation and medical security of a foreign citizen during his/her stay in Russia.
It sometimes may be difficult to get an invitation for a business visa to Russia for citizens of the so called ‘migration risk countries’. The time of consideration of the documents and verification of the inviting company may be increased. The invitation may also be declined.
Procurement of a business invitation takes 7 to 16 days (depending on the requested visa validity period).
When the inviting party has obtained the invitation for a business visa, it should be delivered to the foreign citizen by a courier service (such as DHL, UPS, Pony Express, etc.) or otherwise. Upon receipt of the invitation the foreign citizen can apply for a visa in a Russian consulate.
If the business invitation is sent electronically, the applicant receives it by email, prints it out and submits it to the Consulate.
The list of documents that are required for the business visa to Russia is usually available on the websites of the embassies and consulates of the Russian Federation abroad (in the foreign language section).
Documents for a business invitation:
The following documents must be prepared to apply for a business invitation:
- Petition (based on the form approved by the Department of Migration) – 2 original copies
- Letter of guarantee from an inviting party concerning material, accommodation and medical security of the foreign citizen during his/her stay in Russia
- Cover letter by the inviting party (for a multiple visa)
- Power of attorney for the representative of an inviting party
- Copy of a foreign citizen’s passport (pages with the photo and identification details)
- Receipt for payment of state duty for a business invitation in the amount of 800 rubles.
- If a foreigner wants to apply for a visa in a country other than that of his/her citizenship, the document confirming the stay or residence in that country (such as work permit, temporary residence permit, residence permit or otherwise), must also be provided in the form of a copy with notarized translation into Russian
- Inventory of provided documents – 3 original copies
Price for business visa procurement services
The price of our services is relevant and fair. We tell you the final price that is set out in the contract. The price is available in PDF format for your convenience.
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Our company will help you:
- Use your time efficiently instead of wasting it on all the bureaucratic procedures you are not familiar with
- Avoid mistakes in collecting and completing documents
- Avoid queues and stress of dealing with the authorities
- Obtain a visa for a foreign employee at the first try
We are experienced in business visa procurement.
Get rid of red tape – let our specialists take care of your matter!
