Guests will be with us: foreigners will be extended their stay in Russia on an electronic visa

Foreign tourists and businessmen will be allowed to stay in Russia on an electronic visa for up to 30 days. The relevant bill was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. Currently, citizens of 64 countries, including European and a number of African countries, must receive such a visa. The changes should affect the growth in the number of foreigners arriving in Russia for tourist, business, humanitarian and guest purposes, the authors of the amendments note. The initiative is designed not only to expand the number of tourists, but also to increase profits — extending the length of stay can additionally bring from $500 million to $1 billion per year. How the mechanism will work is described in the Izvestia article.

How electronic visas work

Foreign tourists will be able to stay in Russia for up to 30 days. Such amendments were approved on March 31 by the government commission on legislative activity (the document is available to Izvestia), sources of the editorial office in the Cabinet of Ministers reported.

The bill is aimed at increasing the number of foreigners entering Russia for tourist, business, humanitarian and guest purposes, Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association, told Izvestia.

To do this, the validity period of a single electronic visa will be increased from 60 to 120 days, and the allowed time of stay in the country will be increased from 16 to 30 days.

— A single electronic visa gives the right to enter Russia on a guest or business visit, as a tourist, as well as to participate in cultural, political, sports events and to establish contacts and contacts. Such a visa is issued to citizens of more than 60 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Germany, India, Japan and others), the list of which is approved by the government, — said Vladimir Gruzdev.

The deadline for issuing a single electronic visa is no more than four calendar days from the date of application. The bill will help to increase the number of foreigners while maintaining the proper level of migration control and national security requirements, the authors of the amendments note.

The experience of Vladivostok and St. Petersburg became the basis for the mass introduction of electronic visas. In 2017, a law was signed on the introduction of electronic visas for the free port of Vladivostok. By analogy, in 2019, an electronic visa was introduced in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions. And starting in 2023, an electronic visa can be obtained for entry into the entire country.

The stipulated deadline for the entry into force of the law — within 30 days from the date of its publication — is due to the need to finalize the departmental segment of the Ministry of Finance, in particular the state system of migration and registration records, as well as the production, registration and control of the circulation of identity documents, which will take at least 30 days.

The amendments were agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Regional Development and the FSB.

In 2023, about 13 million foreign tourists visited the country, which is significantly lower than pre—pandemic levels - in 2019, this figure was 24.4 million people, said Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult. The main guests come from China, the CIS countries, Turkey, the UAE and Europe. For example, more than 1.2 million people arrived from China in 2023, and about 400 thousand from Turkey.

— Increasing the length of stay on an electronic visa to 30 days is a positive measure for the development of tourism and business activity. Russia is gradually expanding the accessibility of the country for foreigners, and this may lead to an increase in the tourist flow," she said.

How much will Russia earn from foreign tourists

About 90% of foreigners who come for tourist purposes, and 99.9% for business purposes, have been in Russia for less than 16 days, said Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies Association.

The average length of stay of foreign tourists, according to Ekaterina Kosareva, in Russia now is 5-7 days. However, many travelers, especially from distant countries, would like to stay longer in order to visit more cities and regions.

"Extending the e—visa period will allow them to stay in the country longer, which will have a positive impact on their living expenses, excursions, restaurants and other services," she added. — On average, foreign tourists spend about $100 per day in Russia, which means that extending a visa can increase the income of the tourism sector by hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

St. Petersburg is a key destination, especially for Europeans, she added. In 2023, it was visited by about 4 million foreign tourists, making it the second most popular destination after Moscow. In addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi, Baikal and the cities of the Golden Ring are of great interest, where the flow of foreigners may also increase.

— Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange earnings, — the expert emphasized. — In 2023, foreign tourists spent about $10 billion in Russia. The longer foreigners stay, the higher their total expenses, and hence their contribution to the country's economy. The extension of the e-visa period can additionally bring from $500 million to $1 billion per year.

The number of foreigners coming to Russia is still relatively small, Aleksan Mkrtchyan estimated.

— There are countries that are much smaller than Russia, like Turkey. So 40 million foreigners come to Turkey, and 3 million come to us. Our tourist flow now is Chinese, and not rich Chinese at that, but we need Western Europe and America to come. These are people who will bring a lot of currency.

Aleksan Mkrtchyan called for the complete abolition of visas.

— For example, how it is made in Belarus. All of Europe and America can come there without visas. And in a good way, of course, we need to take an example," the expert noted.

At first, according to Aleksan Mkrtchyan, visa—free entry can be limited to five days, for example, for businessmen. And then increase the period to 16 days or more.

So far, Russia is losing the competition for foreign tourists, Aleksan Mkrtchyan noted. There is no visa-free communication with China today.

Although obtaining an electronic visa is relatively simple, there remains a question of service and convenience of stay, Ekaterina Kosareva added. If we simultaneously develop the tourist infrastructure, improve transport accessibility and information support, the increase in the incoming flow may be even more noticeable.