Getting an invitation to Russia is usually easy for citizens of many countries. However, there are some countries, called “migration risk countries” by the Russian authorities (such as Pakistan, Algeria, Vietnam or Turkmenistan) for which additional documentation is required. In this article I explain what are migration risk countries and how to get an invitation (visa support voucher) for these countries.
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1. What does “migration risk countries” mean?
Many countries limit the entrance to their territory to citizens of certain countries for various reasons: to prevent illegal immigration, to prevent criminal, terrorist or espionage activities, they are countries at war, due to bad diplomatic relations or simply because country X asks my citizens for a visa, I also impose a visa on their nationals.
In Russia, as in other countries, limitations are also imposed on the entry into the territory of citizens of certain countries for the reasons mentioned above.
Thus, with all those countries considered poor, at war, with governments in conflict or with bad diplomatic relations with Russia, the Russian government draws up a list called “migration risk countries”. These are countries where visa rules are violated more often than others.
This list is updated on a regular basis depending on the world situation and it mainly includes African, Asian and some Central American countries.
Obtaining visas for the citizens of these countries is more complicated and the Russian authorities carry out more checks:
- The invitation issued to the citizens of these countries is more expensive.
- To obtain the invitation letter (or visa support) they must provide hotel reservations and confirmation of their payment.
- Some nationalities are required to provide round-trip airline tickets
- In addition, the Consulate is more likely to conduct personal interviews with the citizens of these countries.
2. Which are the “migration risk countries” and which are not?
There are about 50 nationalities that do not require a visa to enter Russia for short stays. These are mainly South American countries, Central American countries, countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Balkan countries, although there are also a few African, Asian and Oceania countries in this list. These are countries with which Russia has signed agreements and with which it maintains good diplomatic relations. On this map you can see in green which are these countries:
For the rest of the nationalities of the world, about 140 (countries in gray on the map), a visa is required, either electronic visa or traditional visa. These countries that are required to have a visa can be classified into two groups:
- Countries without migration risk (about 50), which correspond to European countries, countries in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
- Dangerous countries due to migration risk (93 countries), which correspond mainly to African countries, Asian countries and the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. For these countries, additional documentation is usually required to obtain the invitation and visa to Russia.
A) Countries without migration risk
All authorized Russian tour operators issue invitations to these countries with a price ranging from 15 to 20 dollars, which can be obtained online in 5 minutes. These countries are:
- European countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Vatican City, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Republic of Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom
- America: United States, Canada and Mexico
- Oceania: Australia New Zealand
- Asia: South Korea
As you can see, in the list of countries without migration risk there is no African country and only one Asian country.
In addition, all previous countries can also apply for an electronic visa, except the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
In 2018, Russian authorities issued around 2.8 million visas worldwide, of which 1.8 million (two thirds of the total) were issued to citizens of countries without migration risk: 1.6 million European countries, 126,502 to North American countries, 26,878 to the citizens of Australia and New Zealand, and 5,700 visas to South Koreans.
B) Migration risk countries
There is no official list of migration risk countries, but the Russian Ministry of Interior makes recommendations on these countries.
Based on these recommendations, Russian tourism agencies prepare lists of migration risk countries that are classified on a scale of 1 to 5 according to risk, where category 1 corresponds to countries with low migration risk and category 5 to countries with very high migration risk.
While for categories 1 and 2 most tour operators issue invitations, for categories 3 and 4 there are few agencies that issue invitations. Below I explain how to get the invitation in these cases. For category 5, countries with very high risk of migration, it is very difficult to get an invitation, but not impossible.
Let’s see what these countries are, following the list prepared by Goingrus agency and what conditions are required to obtain an invitation or visa support:
Category 1. Countries with low migration risk
This category includes 3 countries:
- China. In 2018, the Russian authorities issued 406,831 visas to Chinese citizens (both tourist, business and other). China accounts for about 15% of the total visas issued by Russia, being the country with the highest number of visas issued.
- India. In 2018, 67,509 visas were issued.
- Turkey. In 2018, 81,177 visas were issued.
To obtain the invitation letter or visa support document for these countries, the following aspects must be taken into account:
- Additional documentation. These are countries that do not require additional documents to obtain the invitation. It is not necessary to provide hotel reservations or proof of payment or airline tickets, although the Consulate may require them.
- Price. The price of the invitation ranges from 15 to 40 dollars.
- Delivery term. The invitation can be obtained online in 5 minutes. Many Russian tour operators issue invitations to these countries.
Category 2. Countries with medium migration risk
This category includes the following countries:
- Europe: Albania
- Persian Gulf and Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman
- America and the Caribbean: Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago
- Asia: Brunei, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan (province of China), Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan
- Africa: Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Cape Verde.
- Oceania: Fiji and Tonga
To obtain visa support document for these countries, the following aspects must be taken into account:
- Additional documentation. No additional documents are required to obtain visa support or invitation letter, although the Consulate may require them.
- Price. The price of the invitation ranges between 40 and 60 dollars.
- Delivery term. The invitation can be obtained online in 5 minutes. Some Russian tour operators issue invitations to these countries.
Category 3. Countries with medium-high migration risk
This category includes most African countries:
- Africa: Burundi, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Reunion, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo, Timor-Leste, Senegal, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mauritania, Angola, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Gabon, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia.
- Asia: Vietnam, Iran, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh
- Middle East: Lebanon
- Caribbean: Haiti
Aspects to consider:
- Additional documentation. The following documentation is required to obtain the invitation:
- Scanned passport
- Hotel reservations paid and non-cancellable for the entire period of stay in Russia and proof of payment (minimum 1,500 rubles per night)
- Return flight tickets
- Where applicable, a copy of previous Russian visas or work permit / visa in any third country
- Price. The price of the invitation ranges between 50 and 120 dollars, depending on the country.
- Delivery term. The invitation takes 1 business day to issue. Few Russian tour operators issue invitations to these countries.
Category 4. Countries with high migration risk
This category includes the following countries:
- Africa: Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Congo and Burkina Faso.
Aspects to consider:
- Additional documentation. The same documentation is required as for category 3:
- Scanned passport
- Hotel reservations paid and non-cancellable for the entire period of stay in Russia and proof of payment (minimum 1,500 rubles per night)
- Return flight tickets
- Where applicable, a copy of previous Russian visas or work permit / visa in any third country
- Price. The price of the invitation ranges between 75 and 120 dollars, depending on the country.
- Delivery term. The invitation takes 1-2 business days to issue. Very few Russian tour operators issue invitations to these countries.
Category 5. Countries with very high migration risk
This category includes the following countries:
- Africa: Libya, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan and Somalia
- Asia: Afghanistan
- Persian Gulf and Middle East: Yemen, Iraq, Palestine and Syria
It is very difficult and expensive for these countries to get an invitation. For some of these countries, such as Libya or Yemen, no visas were issued in 2018. For the rest of the countries in this category, very few tourist visas were issued in 2018.
3. How to get an invitation for citizens of migration risk countries?
If you are a citizen of a migration risk country you can get the invitation in two ways, through the hotel where you made the reservation or through a Russian agency that issues invitations.
The problem is that most hotels do not issue invitations to migration risk countries, so you have to turn to a Russian agency. I recommend requesting the invitation through Goingrus, following the following steps:
- Enter the application form, and select the nationality, type of visa and number of visitors:
- Fill in your personal information, the dates of your trip and the cities you are going to visit:
- Make the payment by bank transfer, card or Western Union. For some countries, payment via PayPal is also allowed.
- Once the payment is made you will receive a message from Goingrus requesting the required documentation, which may be different depending on your nationality: scanned passport, hotel reservations, round trip airline tickets, etc. You must upload the required documentation.
- The agency will verify that all documentation is correct. After this verification you can download the invitations in PDF format (they will also be sent to your email) and the instructions to fill out the visa application form. If you want, you can also order the delivery of the original invitation from Russia to your country (shipping is done with DHL). Note that many consulates of migration risk countries require the original invitation. I recommend asking your country’s consulate whether or not you need the original invitation since the rules may be different at each consulate.
I hope this article has helped you get your invitation to Russia
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