Russian e-visa to St. Petersburg and Leningrad region as well as e-visa to Kaliningrad is now available.
By applying for an e-visa using Lähialuematkat service in Finnish or English language, you will receive a visa quickly and without any mistakes. Informing of e-visa is included into our service, so we'll find out, for example, whether your planned destination place is within Leningrad region or not.
What is an e-visa?
E-visa is a single-entry visa which is issued for a business, tourist or humanitarian (culture, sports, science, arts, research) trip and for which one should apply using the electronic service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. E-visa must be presented to Russian border authorities when entering and leaving the country.
E-visa allows its holder to get to St. Petersburg and Leningrad region as well as to Kaliningrad. One can apply for an e-visa 20-4 days before the trip and it becomes effective on the date of issue. E-visa is issued in 1-4 days from the date of application. E-visa is valid for 30 days, during which you can reside in the above-mentioned region maximum of 8 days.
E-visa for travelling to St. Petersburg and Leningrad region by car, plane or ferry E-visa allows its holders travelling from Finland to cross the border of Russian Federation at Nuijamaa, Vaalimaa or Imatra. Travelling by plane with an e-visa you get to the country at Pulkovo airport. Travelling by ferry with an e-visa you get to the Big Port Saint-Petersburg or to the Passenger Port of Saint-Petersburg and to Leningrad region you arrive at Port Vysotsk. Please note, that for travelling by Allegro train you need currently a traditional visa.
When travelling with an e-visa you must stay in the e-visa region during the whole time of your trip. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation’s affirmation statement, you can travel to Russia and go back via different border crossing points.
Russian e-visa quickly and without any troubles from SoloVisa service
It is of paramount importance, that visa application details are correct. It is possible, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation will grant an e-visa with incorrect information, but Russian border authorities will obstruct entrance to the country in case e-visa information does not completely correspond to the traveller’s passport information. Lähialuematkat visa service specialist will apply for an e-visa on your behalf. We’ll fill up an e-application form in accordance with your passport details and other information provided by you, and we’ll make sure that an e-visa without any mistakes will be granted to you.
Place an e-visa order by using Lähialuematkat SoloVisa service or in our offices located in Helsinki, on Vuorimiehenkatu, 3 or at Helsinki Central Railway Station. E-visa service charge is 35 euro and you can pay it conveniently online, in our office or by a link sent to you in advance.
The following is included into Lähialuematkat e-visa service
• Consulting services in Finnish or English language during the whole visa application process • Easy application form, both in Finnish and English • We make sure that all the passport data in electronic visa is correct, as well as other information • We check, if your travel destination is included into e-visa area • If you have a paper photo, we will make it into digital one. Also, we can modify your digital photo to fit the required format • We can take a photo of you in our Vuorimiehenkatu 3 office, if you don’t have a passport-format photo not older than 6 months with you • E-visa can be paid online, using Paytrail service • We will keep you updated on your e-visa status and will notify you when your e-visa is ready • You can also check the status of your application by yourself, using our SoloVisa system • We check the ready visa carefully • We will deliver the ready visa to any chosen destination (shipping fees are not included) • You will be informed if you got a refusal and we will assist you in applying for a traditional visa in this case
300 Eur guarantee from Lähialuematkat
If Russian authorities refuse to issue an e-visa to you because of our mistake in the passport data, we will make an express visa in 1 day (worth 300 Eur) and pay the delivery cost of a new visa.
When e-visa is NOT suitable for you?
• If you travel to Saint-Petersburg, Leningrad area or Kaliningrad often, more than once a month, you will need a traditional visa • If you know that you might have some unexpected urgent trips, it is better to obtain a traditional visa • When you travel outside the e-visa area or if you are planning to enter Russia not through the designated e-visa port of entry – you will need a traditional visa • If you travel with Allegro train, you will need a traditional visa • On an early stage we would still recommend obtaining a traditional visa, especially if you have an important event upcoming
Good to know regarding e-visa
• The 8 days of visa validity starts from the moment of the border crossing. For example, if you crossed the border at 23:00, the same day is already counted as a first day of visa used. So, you will have only 7 days in Russia left
• The border between Russia and Estonia can be crossed through Narva • You can apply for a new e-visa only when the 30 days of validity time of your previous visa have expired
• If Russian authorities do not issue you an e-visa, you can still apply for a traditional one
• You can apply for an e-visa by yourself on the Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs official website, but in this case Lähialuematkat does not provide any consulting services
• The Leningrad region includes Vyborg and the Karelian Isthmus. For example, Valamo and Sortavala in the Republic of Karelia do not belong to the Leningrad region. When applying for an e-visa through Lähialuematkat, we will determine if your destination is within the Leningrad region
• Please note that locations on the Russian side near the Finnish-Russian border require a separate border zone permit. If a customer purchases travel packages (accommodation, transportation) in addition to a visa, we will find out the need for a border zone permit
Visa-free St. Peter Line’s cruises and ferry-hotel travelling to St. Petersburg
One can get a cruise or a ferry-hotel trip from Helsinki to St. Petersburg by St. Peter Line’s Princess Anastasia ferry without any visa at all as normal. When travelling by ferry it is possible to reside in the country for 72 hours without a visa.
