Russian e-visas for Indians from Aug 1

New Delhi, July 30

From August 1, Russia will introduce the electronic visa or e-visa for travellers from India, its Foreign Ministry has announced. India is among the list of 49 countries whose citizens will be eligible to travel on e-visas for tourism, business, visiting family or friends and more.

A Russian e-visa will also give applicants access to the whole country unlike earlier where certain regions required separate e-visas. Even Schengen visa holders can apply for an e-visa to Russia.

An e-visa does away with the lengthy and cumbersome process of applying for a visa in person through a Russian embassy with the ministry promising just four working days to process an application.

The visa fee is estimated to be around Rs 3,300 and an e-visa will be valid for 60 days on a single entry. However, travellers can only stay up to 16 days at a time in Russia.

However, Indians can get a six-month-long tourist visa approved on the basis of their hotel reservation.

Travellers from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Mexico, North Korea, Iran, Kuwait and some European countries are also eligible for an e-visa.