Visa to Russia
Who needs a visa to enter Russia?
In accordance with the international rules, a visa for entry to Russia is not required for citizens of Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, South Ossetia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, as well as holders of diplomatic visas. Citizens of other countries must obtain a visa prior to their arrival in Russia.
What types of visas are being issued for international citizens in order to visit the HSE?
Depending on the purpose of visit to the Higher School of Economics (studying in educational programs; participating in lectures and seminars; teaching and working), a foreign citizen receives a study, humanitarian or work visa.
What is necessary to know about different types of russian visa?
Study visa
Humanitarian visa
Work visa
How to receive a visa to visit the HSE?
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Step 1: Get a visa invitation from the inviting department of the HSE – Saint Petersburg
You need to contact your inviting department, send a scanned copy of your passport and fill out a form that the manager will provide.
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Step 2: Prepare a set of documents for applying for a visa of the required type
As soon as the invitation is ready, it will be sent to you by email. Carefully check your data specified in the invitation. Contact the consular representation of Russia in your country to clarify the list of required documents for applying for a visa.
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Step 3: Pay a consular fee and apply for a visa
Visa-related expenses include a consular fee and other expenses subject to the type of visa and specific consular requirements: service fee, costs of health insurance, costs of medical examination for obtaining health certificates, costs of translation, notary legalization of documents, documents delivery expenses and others. It usually takes up to 10 working days from the date of your visa application for a Russian Embassy to review an application and issue a visa. Before obtaining a visa, be sure to check the correctness of the data indicated in it. After receiving a visa, send its scanned copy to your inviting department and to migrationspb@hse.ru
Key points:
- All foreign citizens must have medical insurance valid for the entire period of their stay in Russia. It is necessary to purchase medical insurance before arriving to Russia. More details here.
- Some international visitors can enter Russia for a limited period of time without a visa for tourist purpose but will be required to get a visa in case of coming for studying, participating in conferences or working. Please always check with your local Russian Consulate whether you need a visa for your purpose of the visit.
- Foreign citizens who want to receive a visa not in their citizenship country additionally need to provide notarized translation of the residence permit in original. The validity of the residence permit must be at least 90 days from the date of commencement of the validity of the Russian visa. Translation into Russian must be notarized either in Russia by a Russian notary or at the Consulate of the Russian Federation in the country of residence and certified with a consular seal.
- Should you have a valid tourist, private, business visa or a valid student visa issued by another institution, you will have to cancel it and apply for a new student visa with an HSE invitation. In some cases, students under a work visa can be enrolled to HSE.
- HSE cannot sponsor or directly reimburse any of visa-related expenses of our international visitors due to national fiscal legislation constraints.
- Carefully read the Immigration & Visa Guideline for International Students of HSE University – Saint Petersburg
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