Visa requirements for Russian citizens

A Russian passport (for travelling abroad)

Visa requirements for Russian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Russia. In 2015, Russian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 102 countries and territories ranking the Russian passport 49th in the world (tied with the Turkish passport) according to the Visa Restrictions Index.

Visa requirements map

Countries and territories with visa-free or visa-on-arrival entries for holders of regular Russian passports

  Russia

  Visa free

  Visa issued upon arrival

  Electronic authorization or eVisa

  Visa required prior to arrival

Recent

Recently visa requirements for Russian citizens were lifted (unilaterally or bilaterally) by Morocco (June 2005), Guyana (February 2006), Botswana (December 2006), Swaziland (June 2007), Laos (September 2008), Montenegro (November 2008), Vietnam (January 2009), Venezuela (March 2009), Honduras (March 2009), El Salvador (March 2009), Serbia (June 2009), Brazil (June 2010), Nicaragua (July 2010), Mexico (November 2010), Chile (January 2011), Colombia (March 2011), Peru (June 2011), Uruguay (December 2011), Guatemala (February 2012), Mauritius (November 2012), Jamaica (March 2013), South Korea (November 2013), Costa Rica (April 2014), Panama (April 2014), Mongolia (November 2014), Tunisia (December 2014), Gambia (January 2015), Nauru (May 2015) and Indonesia (June 2015).

Visa requirements

Country	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Afghanistan	Visa required
Albania	Visa required
Algeria	Visa required
Andorra	Visa required
Angola	Visa required
Antigua and Barbuda	Visa not required
Argentina	Visa not required	90 days within 180 days
Armenia	Visa not required
Australia	Online Visitor e600 visa	May apply online.
Austria	Visa required
Azerbaijan	Visa not required	90 days
Bahamas	Visa not required	3 months
Bahrain	Visa on arrival	14 days
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival	30 days
Barbados	Visa not required	28 days
Belarus	Freedom of movement	Use of internal passport allowed
Belgium	Visa required
Belize	Visa required
Benin	Visa required
Bhutan	Visa required	If a visa clearance is obtained, it can be picked up on arrival.
Bolivia	Visa on arrival	90 days
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa not required	30 days
Botswana	Visa not required	90 days
Brazil	Visa not required	90 days
Brunei	Visa required
Bulgaria	Visa required
Burkina Faso	Visa required
Burundi	Visa on arrival	3 months
Cambodia	Visa on arrival	30 days
Cameroon	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Canada	Visa required
Cape Verde	Visa on arrival
Central African Republic	Visa required
Chad	Visa required
Chile	Visa not required	90 days
China	Visa required	Visa not required for 30 days for travelling as part of an accredited tour group. 72-hours visa free visit when in transit at Beijing, Guangzhou, Guilin, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Shenyang and Xi'an. May visit Suifenhe without a visa for up to 15 days if travelling with at least one companion. Residents of Amur Oblast may visit Heihe without a visa for a day.
Colombia	Visa not required	180 days
Comoros	Visa on arrival
Republic of the Congo	Visa required
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Visa required
Costa Rica	Visa not required	90 days
Côte d'Ivoire	eVisa	3 months; eVisa holders must arrive via Port Bouet Airport.
Croatia	Visa required	No visa required for holders of valid Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Schengen visas.
Cuba	Visa not required	30 days
Cyprus	Visa required	Pro-Visa issued online free of charge valid for 90 per 180 days in a year.
Czech Republic	Visa required
Denmark	Visa required
Djibouti	Visa on arrival
Dominica	Visa not required	21 days
Dominican Republic	Visa not required	90 days (10 USD Tourist Card valid for 30 days must be purchased upon arrival)
Ecuador	Visa not required	90 days
Egypt	Visa on arrival
El Salvador	Visa not required	3 months
Equatorial Guinea	Visa required
Eritrea	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Estonia	Visa required
Ethiopia	Visa on arrival
Fiji	Visa not required	4 months
Finland	Visa required
France	Visa required
Gabon	eVisa	Electronic visa holders must arrive via Libreville International Airport.
Gambia	Visa not required	56 days
Georgia	Visa not required	1 year
Germany	Visa required
Ghana	Visa required	Pre-arranged emergency visa can be picked up on arrival.
Greece	Visa required	Visa-free access to Chios, Kastellorizo, Kos, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos and Symi during the summer when arriving on ferries from adjacent Turkish ports.
Grenada	Visa not required	3 months
Guatemala	Visa not required	90 days
Guinea	Visa required
Guinea-Bissau	e-Visa	30 days
Guyana	Visa not required	3 months
Haiti	Visa not required	3 months
Honduras	Visa not required	3 months
Hungary	Visa required
Iceland	Visa required
India	e-Tourist Visa	30 days
Indonesia	Visa not required	30 days
Iran	Visa on arrival	30 days
Iraq	Visa required
Ireland	Visa required	Visa waiver for UK 'C' visa holders until October 2016. Entry permitted only if first point of entry to the Common Travel Area is in the UK.
Israel	Visa not required	3 months
Italy	Visa required
Jamaica	Visa not required	30 days
Japan	Visa required
Jordan	Visa on arrival
Kazakhstan	Visa not required	90 days, use of internal passport allowed
Kenya	eVisa	3 months; visa on arrival until 1 September 2015
Kiribati	Visa required
North Korea	Visa required
South Korea	Visa not required	60 days, visa not required for 90 days for Jeju Island.
Kuwait	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Kyrgyzstan	Visa not required	Use of internal passport allowed
Laos	Visa not required	15 days
Latvia	Visa required
Lebanon	Visa on arrival	1 month extendable for 2 additional months; granted free of charge at Beirut International Airport or any other port of entry if there is no Israeli visa or seal, holding a telephone number, an address in Lebanon, and a non refundable return or circle trip ticket.
Lesotho	Visa required
Liberia	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Libya	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Liechtenstein	Visa required
Lithuania	Visa required
Luxembourg	Visa required
Macedonia	Visa not required	90 days within 6 month. Without a voucher and invitation/letter of guarantee until 15 March 2016.
Madagascar	Visa on arrival	30 days free of charge
Malawi	Visa required
Malaysia	Visa not required	30 days
Maldives	Visa on arrival	30 days
Mali	Visa required
Malta	Visa required
Marshall Islands	Visa on arrival	90 days
Mauritania	Visa on arrival
Mauritius	Visa not required	90 days
Mexico	Electronic Authorization	180 days. No Electronic Authorization System required for holders of valid US visa.
Micronesia	Visa not required	30 days
Moldova	Visa not required	90 days
Monaco	Visa required
Mongolia	Visa not required	30 days
Montenegro	Visa not required	30 days
Morocco	Visa not required	3 months
Mozambique	Visa required	Visa on arrival is no longer available to citizens of countries that host an embassy of Mozambique.
Myanmar	eVisa	28 days. eVisa holders must arrive via Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw or Mandalay airports.
Namibia	Visa not required	3 months
Nauru	Free visa on arrival	14 days
Nepal	Visa on arrival	90 days
Netherlands	Visa required
New Zealand	Visa required
Nicaragua	Visa not required	90 days
Niger	Visa required
Nigeria	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Norway	Visa required
Oman	Visa required
Pakistan	Visa required	Visa on arrival when travelling on business valid for 30 days. Conditions apply.
Palau	Visa on arrival	30 days
Panama	Visa not required	180 days
Papua New Guinea	Visa required
Paraguay	Visa not required	90 days
Peru	Visa not required	183 days
Philippines	Visa not required	30 days
Poland	Visa required	Residents of Kaliningrad Oblast do not require a visa.
Portugal	Visa required
Qatar	Visa required
Romania	Visa required
Rwanda	eVisa	90 days
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Visa not required	3 months
Saint Lucia	Visa not required	6 weeks
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa not required	1 month
Samoa	Entry Permit on arrival	60 days
San Marino	Visa required
São Tomé and Príncipe	eVisa	Holders of a visa issued by the United States or a Schengen area member state do not require a visa for stays up to 15 days.
Saudi Arabia	Visa required
Senegal	Visa required
Serbia	Visa not required	30 days; 90 days for valid Schengen or US visa holders and residents
Seychelles	Visa not required	30 days
Sierra Leone	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Singapore	eVisa	Some provisions for 96 hours visa-free transit.
Slovakia	Visa required
Slovenia	Visa required
Solomon Islands	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Somalia	Visa on arrival	30 days, provided an invitation letter issued by the sponsor has been submitted to the Airport Immigration Department at least 2 days before arrival.
South Africa	Visa required
South Sudan	Visa required
Spain	Visa required
Sri Lanka	Electronic Travel Authorization	30 days
Sudan	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Suriname	Visa required
Swaziland	Visa not required	30 days
Sweden	Visa required
Switzerland	Visa required
Syria	Visa required
Tajikistan	Visa not required	Use of internal passport allowed
Tanzania	Visa on arrival
Thailand	Visa not required	30 days
Timor-Leste	Visa on arrival	30 days
Togo	Visa on arrival	7 days
Tonga	Visa on arrival	31 days
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa not required	90 days
Tunisia	Visa not required	3 months
Turkey	Visa not required	60 days
Turkmenistan	Visa required	Pre-arranged visa can be picked up on arrival.
Tuvalu	Visa on arrival	1 month
Uganda	Visa on arrival
Ukraine	Visa not required	90 days within 180 days
United Arab Emirates	Visa required	96 -hour transit visa fee on arrival by plane
United Kingdom	Visa required	24-hours visa-free visit: 1) when in transit to/from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or USA, or 2) if holder of residence permit issued by Australia, Canada, New Zealand or USA, or 3) if holder of certain EEA or Switzerland visas, or 4) if holder of certain Irish visas
United States	Visa required
Uruguay	Visa not required	3 month
Uzbekistan	Visa not required
Vanuatu	Visa not required	30 days
Vatican City	Visa required
Venezuela	Visa not required	90 days
Vietnam	Visa not required	15 days; 30 day visa free on Phú Quốc
Yemen	Visa required
Zambia	Visa on arrival	90 days; also eligible for a universal visa allowing access to Zimbabwe; also eligible for e-Visa.
Zimbabwe	Visa on arrival	3 months; also eligible for a universal visa allowing access to Zambia; also eligible for e-Visa.

Dependent, Disputed, or Restricted territories

Visa requirements for Russian citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas, partially recognized countries and restricted zones:

Europe
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Abkhazia	Visa not required	90 days
Mount Athos	Special permit required	Special permit required (4 days: 25 euro for Orthodox visitors, 35 euro for non-Orthodox visitors, 18 euro for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus	Visa not required	90 days
UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus	Access Permit required	Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
Faroe Islands	Visa required
Gibraltar	Visa required	Visa not required if holding a Schengen multiple entry visa with a minimum remaining validity of 7 days or visiting on a day trip as part of an organised tour arranged through a Gibraltar-based tour operator.
Guernsey	Visa required
Isle of Man	Visa required
Jan Mayen	Permit required	Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.
Jersey	Visa required
Kosovo	Visa required
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic	Visa not required
South Ossetia	Visa not required
Transnistria	Visa not required	Registration required after 24h.
Africa
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
British Indian Ocean Territory	Special permit required	Special permit required.
Eritrea outside Asmara	Travel permit required	To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).
Mayotte	Visa required
Réunion	Visa required
Ascension Island	Entry Permit required	Entry Permit must be obtained minimum 28 days in advance (3 months for 20/30 pounds sterling, single/double entry).
Saint Helena	Visitor's Pass required	Visitor's Pass granted on arrival valid for 4/10/21/60/90 days for 12/14/16/20/25 pound sterling.
Tristan da Cunha	Permission required	Permission to land required for 15/30 pounds sterling (yacht/ship passenger) for Tristan da Cunha Island or 20 pounds sterling for Gough Island, Inaccessible Island or Nightingale Islands.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		Undefined visa regime in the Western Sahara controlled territory.
Somaliland	Visa on arrival	30 days for 30 US dollars, payable on arrival.
Sudan outside Khartoum	Travel permit required	All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
Darfur	Travel permit required	Separate travel permit is required.
Asia
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Hainan	Visa not required	14 days
Hong Kong	Visa not required	14 days
India PAP/RAP	PAP/RAP required	Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for whole states of Nagaland and Sikkim and parts of states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Restricted Area Permit (RAP) required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year.
Kazakhstan closed cities	Special permission required	Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.
Kish Island	Visa not required	Visitors to Kish Island do not require a visa.
Macao	Visa not required	30 days
Sabah and Sarawak	Visa not required	These states have their own immigration authorities and passport is required to travel to them, however the same visa applies.
Maldives outside resorts	Permission required	With the exception of the capital Malé, tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.
Palestine	Visa not required	Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed.
Taiwan	Visa required
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province	OIVR permit required	OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.
Tibet Autonomous Region	TTP required	Tibet Travel Permit required (10 US Dollars).
Turkmenistan closed cities	Special permit required	A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.
Korean Demilitarized Zone	Restricted zone.
UNDOF Zone and Ghajar	Restricted zone.
Yemen outside Sana’a or Aden	Special permission required	Special permission needed for travel outside Sana’a or Aden.
Caribbean and North Atlantic
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Anguilla	Visa required
Aruba	Visa required
Bermuda	Visa required
Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba	Visa required
British Virgin Islands	Visa required
San Andrés and Leticia	Tourist Card on arrival	Visitors arriving at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport and Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport must buy tourist cards on arrival.
Cayman Islands	Visa required
Curacao	Visa required
French Guiana	Visa required
French West Indies	Visa required	French West Indies refers to Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy.
Greenland	Visa required
Margarita Island	Visa not required	All visitors are fingerprinted.
Montserrat	Electronic visa	1 year
Puerto Rico	Visa required
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Visa required
Sint Maarten	Visa required
Turks and Caicos Islands	Visa not required	90 days
U.S. Virgin Islands	Visa required
Oceania
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
American Samoa	Entry permit required
Ashmore and Cartier Islands	Special authorisation required	Special authorisation required.
Clipperton Island	Special permit required	Special permit required.
Cook Islands	Visa not required	31 days
Lau Province	Special permission required	Special permission required.
French Polynesia	Visa required
Guam	Visa not required	45 days
New Caledonia	Visa required
Niue	Visa not required	30 days
Northern Mariana Islands	Visa not required	45 days
Pitcairn Islands	Visa not required	14 days visa free and landing fee 35 USD or tax of 5 USD if not going ashore.
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Special permits required	Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.
Wallis and Futuna	Visa required
South America
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
22x20px Galápagos	Pre-registration required	Online pre-registration is required. Transit Control Card must also be obtained at the airport prior to departure.
South Atlantic and Antarctica
Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Falkland Islands	Visa required
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Permit required	Pre-arrival permit from the Commissioner required (72 hours/1 month for 110/160 pounds sterling).
Antarctica		Special permits required for British Antarctic Territory, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Argentine Antarctica, Australian Antarctic Territory, Chilean Antarctic Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land, Ross Dependency.

Visa replacement

Certain countries waive the visa requirement if the visitor is in the possession of a valid visa or residence card of another country.

• Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania, Albania, Andorra, Gibraltar - Visa exempt for holders of a visa issued by a Schengen Member State.
• Ireland - holders of valid visa for the United Kingdom do not require a visa.
• Mexico - Permanent residents of Canada, EU or USA; or holders of a valid USA visa do not require a visa.

Diplomatic and service passports

Holders of diplomatic or service Russian passports have visa-free access to the following countries:

D — Diplomatic passports only

Abkhazia 90 days Albania 90 days Angola 90 days Andorra D 90 days Argentina 3 months Armenia Austria D 90 days within 180 Azerbaijan Bahamas 90 days Bahrain visa on arrival Bangladesh 30 days Barbados 28 days Belarus Belgium D 90 days within 180 Benin 90 days Bolivia 3 months Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 days Botswana 90 days Brazil 90 days Brunei 14 days Bulgaria 90 days within 180 Burkina Faso 90 days Cambodia 90 days Cape Verde 90 days Czech Republic D 90 days within 180 Chile 3 months China 30 days Colombia 90 days Congo 90 days Costa Rica 3 months Croatia 90 days within 6 months Cuba 30 days Cyprus 90 days within 180 Denmark D 90 days within 180 Dominican Republic 90 days Ecuador 90 days within year Egypt 90 days El Salvador 90 days Estonia D 90 days within 180 Ethiopia 90 days Fiji 90 days Finland D 90 days within 180 France D 90 days within 180

Gabon 90 days Georgia 90 days within 180 Germany D 90 days within 180 Greece D 90 days within 180 Grenada 90 days Guatemala 3 months Guinea 90 days Guyana 90 days Honduras 90 days Hungary 90 days within 180 Hong Kong 14 days Iceland D 90 days within 180 India 90 days Indonesia 14 days Iran 30 days Italy D 90 days within 180 Jamaica 90 days Jordan D Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos 30 days Latvia D 90 days within 180 Lebanon D visa on arrival Liechtenstein D 90 days within 180 Lithuania D 90 days within 180 Luxembourg D 90 days within 180 Macau 30 days Macedonia 90 days Malawi on duty for 90 days Malaysia 30 days Mali 90 days Malta D 90 days within 180 Mauritania D Mexico 90 days Moldova Mongolia 30 days Montenegro 90 days Morocco 90 days Mozambique 30 days Myanmar 90 days Nauru 14 days Nepal 90 days Netherlands D 90 days within 180

Nicaragua 90 days North Korea 90 days Norway D 90 days within 180 Pakistan 90 days Panama 90 days Paraguay 3 months Peru 90 days Philippines 90 days Poland D 90 days within 180 Portugal D 90 days within 180 Romania 90 days within 180 Saint Lucia 6 weeks Senegal D 90 days Serbia 90 days Seychelles 30 days Singapore 90 days Slovakia 90 days within 180 Slovenia D 90 days within 180 South Africa 90 days South Korea 90 days South Ossetia 90 days South Sudan visa on arrival Spain D 90 days within 180 Sri Lanka 30 days Sweden D 90 days within 180 Switzerland D 90 days within 180 Syria 90 days Tajikistan Yes Thailand 90 days Tunisia 90 days within 180 Turkey 30 days Turkmenistan 30 days Uganda on arrivle for 3 months Ukraine 90 days United Arab Emirates D 90 days Uruguay 3 months Uzbekistan Venezuela 90 days Vietnam 90 days Zambia visa on arrival Zimbabwe 90 days

Longer period of stay or more beneficial terms than that for ordinary passport holders is provided by Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, South Korea, Macedonia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, El Salvador, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Holders of diplomatic and service Russian passports do not have visa-free access to Israel.

Limitations on passport use

• Arab League and Iran: As a result of the Arab League boycott of Israel, many Arab League countries and Iran refuse entry to travelers whose passport shows evidence of entry into Israel or hold an unused Israeli visa.

• Azerbaijan: As a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Azerbaijan refuses entry to passport-holders of the Russian Federation and any other country of Armenian descent. It also strictly refuses entry to foreigners in general whose passport shows evidence of entry into the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, declaring them a so-called personae non gratae.

Developments

European Union

An agreement between the European Community and Russia on the facilitation of the issuance of visas has been in force since June 1, 2007. It has unified the cost of visas, and made it easier to obtain visas for close relatives, journalists, official delegations, transport crew members and some other groups of visitors. Similar agreements have been signed and ratified between Russia and Denmark on 1 October 2009 as well as Russia and Norway on 19 October 2011. Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, and later Alexander Stubb, the Foreign Minister of Finland have started public discussions on the future possibility for visa-free travel between the EU countries and Russia.

On May 4, 2010, the EU and Russian Federation raised the prospect of beginning negotiations on a visa-free regime between their territories. However it was announced by the Council of Ministers of the EU that the EU is not completely ready to open up the borders due to high risk of increase in human trafficking and drug imports into Europe and because of the loose borders of Russia with Kazakhstan. They will instead work towards providing Russia with a "roadmap for visa-free travel." While this does not legally bind the EU to providing visa-free access to the Schengen zone for Russian citizens at any specific date in the future, it does greatly improve the chances of a new regime being established and obliges the EU to actively consider the notion, should the terms of the roadmap be met. Russia on the other hand has agreed that should the roadmap be established, it will ease access for EU citizens for whom access is not visa-free at this point, largely as a result of Russian foreign policy which states that "visa free travel must be reciprocal between states." Both the EU and Russia acknowledge, however, that there are many problems to be solved before visa-free travel is introduced.

Talks were suspended by the EU in March 2014 during the 2014 Crimean crisis.

Visa facilitation talks with the United Kingdom, an EU member state that does not belong to the Schengen zone and thus determines its visa policy independently, were suspended by the British government in 2007 following the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

United States

In March 2009, U.S Consul General Kurt Amend stated that the US and Russia were having talks on abolishing the visa regime between the two countries.

During a meeting in Moscow on March 10, 2011, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed the introduction of reciprocal visa-free travel to US Vice President Joe Biden, saying, "it would be a historical step in the development of Russian-U.S. relations" and would create "an absolutely new atmosphere between our countries." The Vice President's immediate reaction was cordial, but non-committal. According to Biden's national security advisor Anthony Blinken, visa liberalization had been discussed prior to the meeting, but he added, "The Russians know full well, as do the Americans, that there are legal requirements set by Congress to be met for visa liberalization that the Russians have not yet achieved." Among the requirements was that the refusal rate for Russians seeking visas to the United States fall below 3 percent. Blinken said visa free travel could happen "...next year, [or] it could be in 10 years." However Dimitri V. Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, considered Putin's proposal to be merely a political tactic in his public exchange with Biden, calling it, "...a way to attract attention...as a way to knock someone off course, maybe it also worked."

Since January 15, 2012, special arrangements exist for the entry of Russian citizens into two US territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Despite not being included in the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, as part of a parole arrangement, Russian citizens in possession of a machine-readable passport, a completed Form I-736 (Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Information form) and Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) and a non-refundable and non-transferable return ticket can visit both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands visa-free for up to 45 days.

Vaccination

Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia require all incoming passengers to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination. Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area.

Passport validity

Many countries require passport validity of no less than 6 months and one or two blank pages.

Visitor statistics

According to the Federal Security Service and the Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Method of calculation - the first country of arrival after departure from Russia. In the table top-50 for 2014, 2013, 2012. For 2011 the top isn't full. Departure of Russian citizens abroad:

In the table there is no Belarus due to the lack of border and border control between Russia and Belarus crossing count is not conducted.

Country	Total
	2014	2013	2012	2011
Abkhazia	3,285,377	3,359,453	3,367,243
Armenia	359,213	280,739	262,807
Austria	348,347	396,860	320,537	289,236
Azerbaijan	779,190	912,394	879,756
Belgium	76,349	73,350	72,500
Bulgaria	586,309	587,622	469,122	405,689
China	1,923,473	2,057,810	2,312,199	2,432,615
Croatia	88,795	102,618	134,518	135,144
Cuba			74,972	67,812
Cyprus	708,336	668,185	477,106	380,231
Czech Republic	540,743	620,293	505,163	462,092
Denmark	74,688		57,018	49,785
Dominican Republic	171,383	184,474	157,399
Egypt	2,994,984	2,212,662	2,246,440	1,659,611
Estonia	1,844,472	2,252,676	1,825,923	1,678,374
Finland	4,799,142	5,525,064	5,118,780	4,416,283
France	557,899	575,356	457,083	410,574
Georgia	546,927	497,313	234,887
Germany	1,535,410	1,575,714	1,385,363	1,325,452
Greece	1,214,863	1,388,708	834,355	710,304
Hungary	124,040	71,850		62,309
Hong Kong		83,440
India	217,625	213,481	136,649
Israel	386,600	395,324	339,029	335,933
Italy	1,056,144	1,038,820	794,323	734,210
Japan	89,371	87,952	79,099	67,563
Kazakhstan	3,560,089	3,689,195	3,438,937
Kyrgyzstan	279,258	255,757	230,896
Latvia	445,616	418,986	371,351	325,839
Lithuania	904,143	1,000,819	910,511	755,926
Mexico		80,808
Moldova	166,289	83,385	78,738
Mongolia	73,810	74,868	123,496
Montenegro	275,444	273,535	217,694
Norway	178,302	178,630	154,272	126,435
Netherlands	200,752	172,147	162,484	161,712
Poland	1,633,730	1,647,854	1,014,622	684,428
Qatar			58,607
Serbia	84,747
South Korea	235,332	211,258	187,536	161,893
South Ossetia	502,108	500,683	511,715
Spain	1,195,968	1,270,408	990,637	785,866
Sweden	90,531	83,392	64,055	83,673
Switzerland	299,157	293,872	265,747	231,714
Tajikistan	157,858	145,575	130,798
Thailand	1,305,982	1,452,922	1,112,253	917,848
Tunisia	269,391	303,696	226,193	153,694
Turkey	4,380,558	4,108,196	3,334,727	3,260,138
Ukraine	2,675,832	9,985,145	9,464,215
United Arab Emirates	754,502	803,096	649,428	457,736
United Kingdom	343,317	351,701	295,708	289,675|
United States	344,742	333,700	276,354	242,098
Uzbekistan	127,694	158,662	144,852
Vietnam	368,781	284,032	188,951

Country	Purpose — Tourism
	2014	2013	2012	2011
Armenia	53,492	48,178	40,509	no data
Austria	229,028	272,564	219,408	190,840
Azerbaijan	49,269	43,921	35,831	no data
Belgium	47,536	43,847	43,475
Bulgaria	497,661	498,622	389,424	339,643
China	766,306	1,067,542	1,328,850	1,502,344
Croatia	70,609	82,057	108,715	106,447
Cuba	44,202	46,166	62,162	57,008
Cyprus	549,177	579,702	404,741	323,631
Czech Republic	413,273	473,587	379,723	367,461
Denmark	41,486	32,597	25,933	24,700
Dominican Republic	152,899	165,570	141,177	109,000
Egypt	2,565,726	1,909,240	1,906,637	1,452,813
Estonia	31,358	32,219	30,337	25,079
Finland	379,242	904,730	512,547	912,105
France	361,732	374,878	299,313	267,167
Germany	820,096	830,907	713,096	702,346
Georgia	28,766			no data
Greece	1,016,083	1,175,629	690,412	612,464
Hong Kong	51,462	66,971	40,927	18,300
Hungary	59,223	38,419	33,423	43,905
India	176,982	172,486	109,338	95,500
Indonesia			29,647	34,000
Israel	221,380	234,512	219,019	225,976
Italy	747,379	725,841	570,764	571,603
Japan	37,255	33,414	24,778	13,096
Kazakhstan	52,243	27,978	43,411	no data
Latvia	99,232	99,893	92,185	89,645
Lithuania			33,458	47,192
Maldives	27,863	42,777	39,153	40,200
Malta	24,028	31,336		20,131
Mexico	39,988	54,071	43,407	15,100
Moldova	48,241	28,792	29,437
Montenegro	250,416	248,705	192,382	165,400
Morocco		31,038		12,000
Netherlands	128,919	104,187	93,208	89,496
Norway		24,036	30,703	25,581
Poland	39,247	44,344	48,855	48,895
Portugal	31,223	29,691	29,902	23,100
Qatar	46,267	52,136	53,906
Serbia	60,142	38,425	25,746	33,700
South Korea	126,239	107,055	92,417	74,960
Spain	982,256	1,012,811	792,084	645,303
Sri Lanka	22,881
Sweden	44,052	39,136	28,978	50,359
Switzerland	209,162	203,137	177,508	148,694
Thailand	933,759	1,034,977	885,113	780,234
Tunisia	242,895	282,523	207,545	145,359
Turkey	3,278,405	3,078,563	2,516,136	2,681,662
Ukraine	96,569	400,388	315,843	263,900
United Arab Emirates	597,373	653,384	549,382	394,581
United Kingdom	182,245	187,074	163,964	153,996
United States	151,463	146,688	134,536	112,213
Vietnam	276,703	212,828	149,711	77,800

In the first year after visa abolition, visit of Israel grew by 37%, visit to South Korea for 11%. After Croatia denounced the agreement on visa abolition, entry into the country of owners of the Russian passports fell to 13%.

See also

• Visa policy of Russia
• Russian passport
• List of diplomatic missions in Russia

External links

• List of countries with visa-free entry to Russia (in Russian) 18 March 2015
• Timatic. Visa & Passport Information (a web page with access to official information maintained and used by IATA)