Do they issue Russian visas on arrival?

Most foreign travellers have to have a Russian visa to be able to enter the country - please check with the Russian consulate in your home country whether you must have a visa. Only citizens of a few CIS countries may enter Russia without a visa. Passport holders form Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine may travel to Russian Federation without a visa.
If you do not belong to any of the above mentioned nationalities, you still might be able to go to Russia without a visa.

Cruise passengers who are going to stay in Russian not longer than 3 days can do so without a visa. But this rule works only for those cruise passengers who booked their tours through agencies which have a license from the Russian government. Such an agency will provide you with a tour ticket called a blanket visa or booking confirmation. It will let you through the customs without any other documents except your valid passport and landing card that you will be given onboard before entering Russia.


The type of Russian visa you will be issued depends on the purpose of your journey. If you are going to Russia for sightseeing, you will need a Russian tourist visa, if your purpose is business meetings, you will have to apply for a Business visa, etc.
All types of visas for Russia require an invitation (visa support) provided by a Russian organisation. The invite is a document issued by the inviting person and authorised by the state, or organisation which invites you to Russia. Every type of visa requires a different type of invitation. The prices of invitations and visas vary.

The price of a visa depends on its type, the required processing time and your nationality. As a rule, the more flexible conditions the visa provides or the faster it’s processed, the more expensive it is.
To apply for any type of visa for Russia you have to fill out an electronic application form on line, print it out, sign and then it will be ready for submission together with your passport, supporting documents and visa fee.
Bear in mind that you must answer all required questions as incomplete application forms are not recognised by the Consulate. If some of your information does not fit in the form, you can provide it as an attachement typed on A4 paper. Electronic form is good because it stores your application in the internet for 30 days and you can change and amend any information within this period.