In Russia, electronic visas for foreign tourists will be launched in 2023, and the payment problem will be solved by creating special cards for them. This was announced by the head of the tourism development department of the Ministry of Economic Development Tatyana Sharshavitskaya on Saturday, March 11, at the Fifth Congress of Travel Agencies.
“Electronic visas do not work yet. But we are working with this, and we have an understanding that this year e-visas will work,” Sharshavitskaya said.
She also pointed out that the factor holding back the arrival of foreign tourists in Russia is the lack of payment instruments due to the withdrawal of Visa and MasterCard systems from the Russian Federation.
“Now we are solving the problem of payments at the final stage. The so-called “Tourist Card” will work,” said the head of the tourism development department.
According to her, in the spring session, the State Duma will consider a bill on the remote identification of a citizen.
“If this initiative is adopted, a foreign citizen planning a trip to the Russian Federation will be able to receive a card at the place of his main residence. To book a room from your country and, when arriving in Russia, use it as a payment instrument,” Sharshavitskaya said.
She added that Russia is interested in attracting tourists, in particular, from the countries of the Persian Gulf and China.
“We are interested in tourists from the Persian Gulf countries. We hope that Chinese tourists will also be able to enter both with electronic visas and within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement,” she summed up.
Earlier, on February 20, Russian Cabinet Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree approving a list of 19 countries whose citizens can expect to receive a Russian tourist visa based on a hotel reservation. According to the published document, the list of countries includes Bahrain, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Iran, Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey and the Philippines .
The provided tourist visa will be valid for six months.
Prior to that, on February 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia plans to introduce a visa-free regime with 11 countries. Lavrov recalled that work is ongoing to “remove restrictions on the issuance of electronic visas”, in the list of about 70 countries, with the exception of unfriendly ones.
On December 28, 2022, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the “Tourist Card” for non-cash payments of foreign citizens may begin to be issued in the Russian Federation in the coming months. According to him, the Central Bank is actively dealing with this issue and “this will be done in the near future.”
The Deputy Prime Minister also noted that over 7.5 million foreign citizens entered Russia in the first nine months of 2022.
The law on electronic visas for foreigners was adopted by the State Duma in 2020, it was planned to launch the system from 2021.
To obtain such a visa, an invitation, hotel reservation or other documents confirming the purpose of travel are not required. The visa is valid for 60 days from the date of receipt. You can stay on it in Russia for no more than 16 days.
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