Visa to Russia

Please carefully read the Visa Guideline for International Students and Visitors to HSE University – Saint Petersburg

Visa Guidelines for HSE SPb International Visitors 2018.pdf

The most important highlights are listed below.

While planning your visit to HSE, please check whether you need a visa to enter Russia.

• The list of countries for which there is no visa requirement can be found on the 'Study in Russia' website
• At the same time, some international visitors can enter Russia for a limited period of time without a visa for tourist purpose but will be required to have a visa for if coming to Russia for another purpose like a conference, academic cooperation, study or work. Please always check with your local Russian Consulate or visa center whether you need a visa for your purpose of the visit!
• International students from visa countries can be enrolled to HSE only under a student visa issued by HSE invitation! 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
• It is possible to participate in a conference or other event at HSE under a Humanitarian visa issued by a third party (not HSE) institution

To apply for a Russian visa you will need to:

• receive an official visa invitation from HSE. Please contact your host party at HSE to request a visa invitation in advance
• prepare your visa application and pay the consular fee
• apply for the Russian visa to the Russian Consulate / Consular section of Russian Embassy / official Russian visa center in your home country (of citizenship). In some cases it is possible to apply for the Russian visa outside of your home country – please always check this option and additional requirements with the Russian Embassy/Consulate in the country where you plan to apply for a visa

Usually, it takes up to 10 working days from the date of your visa application for a Russian Embassy/Consulate to review your application and issue a visa.

Visa-related expenses include a Consular Fee (usually ranged between $70-$200 depending on country of application and visa type; no consular fee applies for student visas) and other expenses subject to the type of visa and specific consular requirements:

• Visa Center service fee, Travel Agency / Visa Advisor service fee 
• Costs of Health Insurance
• Costs of medical examination for obtaining Health Certificate, HIV/AIDS Certificate, Lungs X-Ray Certificate 
• Costs of translation, notary legalization of documents, documents delivery expenses 

NB! HSE cannot sponsor or directly reimburse any of visa-related expenses of our international visitors due to national fiscal legislation constraints. 

Peculiarities of Receiving your Russian visa

• Humanitarian visa is always issued as a single- or rarely double-entry visa for a certain period and a certain number of permitted days of stay as according to the timeline of the event you are going to attend. A Humanitarian visa cannot be extended. Contact your HSE host party regarding the possibility of issuing an invitation for a multi-entry visa
• Ordinary Work visa is always issued as a single-entry 90-days visa first. It is subject to extension to a multi-entry 1-year visa upon your arrival to HSE. If the term of your contract is longer than 1 year, visa extensions shall be performed annually. Please address to your HSE host party and HSE HR regarding the extension procedures. Work visa extension takes up to 30-45 days – please do not plan any trips outside Russia for the first 2-3 Months unless you receive an extended multi-entry visa!
• HQS visa is instantly issued for the whole duration of an HQS contract. Please consult with HSE HQS Support Unit regarding further visa details. 
• Student visa is always issued as a single-entry 90-days visa first. If you are a full-time student or an exchange/free-mover student, it is subject to extension to a 1-year multi-entry visa upon your arrival and enrollment to HSE. Please address HSE International Admissions/Student Exchange Coordinator regarding the extension procedures. Student visa extension takes up to 30-45 days – please do not plan any trips outside Russia for the first 2-3 Months of your stay unless you receive an extended multi-entry visa!
• A single-entry student visa obtained to attend a short-term (max. 90 days) non-degree programme (e.g. Summer School) cannot be extended, even if you decided to apply for a following full-time study or semester exchange period at HSE. You will have to leave the country, receive a new visa invitation, apply for a new student visa and re-enter.

It is highly recommended that you email a scanned copy of your visa to your HSE host party / International Admissions / Student Exchange Coordinator as soon as you receive it!