The following is from an interview with the Director of the Consular Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, A.V. Klimov, to the TASS news agency on August 9, 2025. We find his words to be extremely relevant and timely for all the Russophiles out there who might want to visit Russia and thus we published them. Enjoy!

Question: Is work currently underway to expand the list of countries whose citizens will be able to obtain a single electronic visa to Russia?

Answer: The unified electronic Visa entitles citizens of 64 foreign countries included in the list approved by the Government of the Russian Federation to enter and stay in the Russian Federation.

So, since December 2024, 11 countries have been included in it: Barbados, Bhutan, Zimbabwe, Jordan, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan and Eswatini. In addition, Andorra and Serbia, with which there are existing bilateral agreements on mutual visa-free travel of citizens, were excluded from the list.

The updated list of countries seems optimal at this stage.

At the same time, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that from August 23, a legislative norm will come into force, according to which the validity period of a single electronic visa will increase from 60 to 120 days, as well as the permitted period of stay of a foreign citizen in the Russian Federation from 16 to 30 days.

This visa “innovation” will contribute to an increase in the number of foreign citizens entering our country for tourist, business, humanitarian and guest purposes, while maintaining the proper level of migration control (a single electronic visa will remain single-entry).

Question: How many e-visas have already been issued this year and are there any changes in the leading countries in obtaining online entry permits compared to last year?

Answer: As of mid–July this year, 404 thousand electronic visas were issued in 2025, the largest number – to citizens of China (about 170 thousand), Germany (34.5 thousand), Saudi Arabia (29.7 thousand), Turkey (29.1 thousand), India (24.5 thousand), Estonia (15.4 thousand).

For Further Information about Electronic Visas…

Detailed up-to-date statistical data on the issuance of EEA, broken down by nationality of applicants, are posted on the official website of the Consular Department in the “open data” section: https://www.kdmid.ru/opendata/.
     
The editors of the IRM website would like to remind you that more detailed information about the possibility of obtaining an electronic visa can be found on the electronic visa’s dedicated website:
https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/.