Transit Visa

Standard single-entry transit visas are issued to citizens of France, other countries or stateless persons entering the Russian Federation for the purposes of transiting through the territory of the Russian Federation. This may be for a period of up to 10 days (by road or rail), or for a period of up to 3 days (by air), on the basis of valid tickets for departure from the Russian Federation and possession of a valid visa for entry into the next state en route, or a visa for the final port of call, or passport for that country.

Foreign citizens passing through the Russian Federation to the country of their destination in a motor car or heavy goods vehicle, are issued with a transit visa for the period of time required in order to complete the journey by the shortest routes (but in no case for a period longer than 10 days). The period of validity of the visa in such cases shall be calculated based on a theoretical average daily distance being equal to 500 km.

The period of validity of double-entry transit visas must not exceed one month. In cases when foreign nationals need to pass through Russian in transit on their way to a third country, then come back through Russia more than a month later, they must apply for a single-entry transit visa and obtain a second transit visa at the Russian Embassy/Consulate in the country which was the foreign national's initial destination.

The following applicants do not require a transit visa:

• Foreign nationals flying over the territory of the Russian Federation without changing flights in the country
• Foreign nationals flying with an international airline and changing flights in the Russian Federation, at the same airport on both the outward journey and the inbound journey (on condition that this airport has a transit area), in possession of properly completed documents confirming their right to enter the destination country, and an airline ticket with a confirmed departure date from the airport in Russia where they changed flights, no more than 24 hours after their arrival date.

Please be reminded that a visa can be accepted, modified or refused by the Embassy of the Russian Federation or may be subject to additional verifications.

Please note that each visa application needs to be accompanied by a visa fee for the amount applicable to particular visa type. Visa fees vary depending on the nationality of the applicant, visa type, number of entries and processing time.

Please note that in addition to the visa fee applicants are required to pay the Russia Visa Application Centre Service Charge of EUR 30 (including VAT) for each visa application. An additional EUR 30 (including VAT) will be charged for provision of Express Visa Services.

The Russian Visa Application Centre accepts payments for visa fees, mandatory VFS Service Charge and optional Value Added Services, which the applicant may choose to purchase.

Payments can be made at the Russian Visa Application Centre in Euros by cash or by major Credit or Debit Cards.

Please note that all payments made are non-refundable.

Visa fees for citizens of France and citizens of European Union*

According to the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Community on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the Russian Federation and the European Union, in some cases, depending on the category of applicant and the purpose of travel, you can be exempted from paying the consular fee for the processing of humanitarian visa.

Note - If you are a stateless person or not a citizen of France, please find out about your visa fees by contacting our Call-Centre operators at the Russian Visa Application Centre.

Visa fees and processing time for citizens of other countries and stateless persons are calculated according to the ”Tariff for consular fees, charged by Consular institutions of the Russian Federation”.

Transfer and re-issue of a valid visa

Note – before submitting your documents, please contact our call centre to verify the document requirements and processing time for your visa.

Kindly print the check list which corresponds with the visa category you wish to apply for and attach it with your application. It must be filled in and signed. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Print Transit Visa Checklist

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:

• 3,5 x 4,5 cm 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.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in France processes visa applications and decide whether or not to issue a visa within the processing times service standards (usually between 4 and 10 working days). This is subject to a complete set of documents being provided and consular fees paid.

The processing times may vary according to the decision of the Consular establishment.

In emergency cases an urgent visa application may be submitted. In such cases the processing time can be shortened to just 3 working days or less, if an order to that effect has been given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the Federal Migration Service of Russia or the Ambassador or Consul General of the Russian Federation.

In addition, some applications may take 30 days if deemed necessary by the Consulate.

To complete the online visa application form, please go Here.