Visa requirements for Russian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Russia. Russian citizens in other countries also can benefit from the mobility rights arrangements within the Commonwealth of Independent States and the rules of the single market of the Eurasian Economic Union. As of 2024, Russian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 120 countries and territories, ranking the Russian passport 45th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.

History

Visa requirements for Russian citizens were lifted as the Soviet Union by the following countries/territories: Micronesia (18 December 1980);. Mexico has introduced Electronic Authorization for Russian citizens from 1 November 2010. Visas on arrival were introduced by Iran (July 2005), Zimbabwe (20 November 2007), Bahrain (November 2008), Guinea-Bissau (April 2012), Mozambique (resumed in February 2017), Gabon (12 October 2017), Rwanda (1 January 2018), Benin (15 March 2018), Taiwan (6 September 2018), Sierra Leone (5 September 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Myanmar (1 October 2019), Iraq (15 March 2021). Russian citizens were made eligible for eVisas by Singapore (December 2009), Sri Lanka (January 2012), Montserrat (September 2012), São Tomé and Príncipe (2012), Myanmar (1 September 2014), India made Russian citizens eligible for the e-Visa (27 November 2014), Kenya (2 July 2015), Gabon (15 June 2015), Australia (Electronic Visitor visa from 1 October 2015), Uganda (1 July 2016). Lesotho (1 May 2017), Saint Helena (2018), Djibouti (18 February 2018), Oman (7 May 2018), Tanzania (26 November 2018), Papua New Guinea (17 June 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Guinea (October 2019), Malawi (November 2019), South Sudan (29 September 2020), Anguilla (January 2021), Equatorial Guinea (July 2023). The following countries / territories have reinstated visa requirements for Russian citizens: Estonia (1 July 1992), Latvia (20 March 1993), Lithuania (1 November 1993), North Korea (22 May 1997), Turkmenistan (June 1999), Slovenia (December 1999),* Czech Republic (29 May 2000),* Slovakia (1 January 2001),* Hungary (14 June 2001),* Bulgaria (October 2001),* Poland (1 October 2003),* Cyprus (1 January 2004),* Romania (October 2004),* Croatia (1 April 2013),* Kosovo (1 July 2013), Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (3 October 2019), North Macedonia (21 March 2022), Ukraine (1 July 2022) and Taiwan (31 July 2022).

• • Visa policy has been synchronized with the visa policy of the EU because of accession of these countries to the European Union. The provision of visas on arrival to Russian citizens were discontinued by Mali (9 March 2015).

Visa requirements map

The Russian passport is the highest ranking passports whose holders require a visa for travelling to the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

[Visa requirements for Russian citizens holding ordinary passports

{{legend|#002377|Russia}} {{legend|#1191E5|Unlimited}} {{legend|#24B14C|Visa not required}} {{legend|#B5E61D|Visa on arrival}} {{legend|#61C7A1|eVisa}} {{legend|#79D343|Visa available both on arrival or online}} {{legend|#A8DE7C|Visa-free for group tourists}} {{legend|#C0C0C0|Visa required}} {{legend|#555555|Admission generally refused|undefined | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Visa///requirements///for///Russian///citizens.svg]

Visa requirements

Visa requirements for holders of ordinary passports traveling for tourist purposes:

Dependent, disputed, or restricted territories

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.

Non-ordinary passports

Holders of Russian diplomatic or official / service passports may enter the following countries without a visa for 90 days (unless otherwise stated): D - Diplomatic passports only. O - Official passports only. 1 - Unlimited 2 - 3 months 3 - 90 days within any 365-day period. 4 - 90 days within any 180-day period. 5 - 60 days 6 - 30 days 7 - 14 days 8 - Applies only to employees of official institutions operating in the territory of a contracting parties and their families. 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, Montenegro, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, El Salvador, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. Holders of diplomatic and service Russian passports do not have visa-free access to Israel.

[Visa requirements for Russian citizens holding diplomatic or official / service passports based on bilateral agreements

{{legend|#002377|Russia}} {{legend|#22B14C|Visa-free for holders of both diplomatic and service passports}} {{legend|#79D343|Visa-free for holders of official passports only}} {{legend|#B5E61D|Visa-free for holders of diplomatic passports only|undefined | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Visa///requirements///for///Russian///diplomatic///and///service///passport///holders.png]

APEC Business Travel Card

Holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) travelling on business do not require a visa to the following countries: 1 - Up to 180 days 2 - Up to 90 days 3 - Up to 60 days The card must be used in conjunction with a passport and has the following advantages:

{{legend|lime|Transitional members (United States, Canada)}} | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/APEC///Business///Travel///Card///Member///States.svg]

Limitations on passport use

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.

Foreign travel statistics

References and notes