This type of visa is designed for people who come to Russia for business purposes. This visa gives greater flexibility, longer stays, and more entries than a tourist one, but invitations take longer to get and are more expensive. A business visa can be valid for a period from 1 month to 12 months, and can be either single-, double- or multiple-entry. A 1-year business visa allows for a continious stay in Russia for a period not longer than 90 days every 180 days. If you stay for 3 consecutive months you may only come back to Russia in 3 months.
To obtain a business visa, you need a business invitation. A business invitation is issued by the Federal Migration Department (UFMS). The applicant's data can be submitted to the UFMS either by a business registred with the UFMS or a travel agency. The idea of a business visa is that you travel to Russia as a representative of a company to set up co-operation with a Russian company. The local authorities will require the full details of the company you work for and thus represent in Russia.
If is is not required by the Russian Consulate in your country, a copy of the invitation can be presented to the Consulate in order to get a tourist visa by the applicant for the visa.
Note: When filling in your visa application write exactly the same data as in the invitation:
- the name of the inviting company;
- the dates you want your visa to be valid for;
- the cities you intend to visit;
- the purpose of the trip (this must be ‘business’).
After coming to Russia, you need to register within 72 hours. If you are staying in a hotel, the registration will be done by the hotel for the whole period you stay there; if you are staying in an apartment, the landlord (the owner of the apartment) should fill out a special landlord letter and submit it to the immigration authorities.
