Frequently Asked Questions

If you will be arriving by cruise ship, you will still require a Russian visa to visit the mainland.

In most cases, a covering letter will not be required. Most Russian Embassies will ask for one on their website, but they rarely tend to ask for one in practice.

Russian passengers will often bring their own food and drink with them for rail journeys.

In addition, most trains have a restaurant wagon that serves simple Russian meals, along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. These are usually busy until the early hours of the morning.

Each carriage also has a hot water boiler that passengers use to make tea, coffee, and instant meals such as noodles. Your carriage attendant will normally sell small snacks such as potato chips and cookies.

On the longer routes, such as the Trans-Siberian Railway, you can purchase local produce from vendors at train station when the train makes stops, such as fish, home-made pies.

Although Russian consulates are entitled to ask to see an original copy of your visa invitation, in most cases they will accept a faxed or emailed copy. If you do encounter problems when submitting a faxed or emailed copy, then we can arrange for the original copy of the invitation to be sent to you. Please note, however, that a courier delivery fee will be charged for this, so it is always better to apply for your visa using the faxed or emailed copy before requesting an original copy.

Your hotel or hostel should be able to register your visa for the period of your stay in that accommodation. There may be a fee for this of up to $30, while more expensive hotels may do this for free.

If you are not staying in a hotel (for instance, if you are staying with friends or family in Russia), or if you will be visiting a number of locations and do not want to register separately at each hotel you stay in, you can take advantage of our registration service. We can register your visa at our offices in Moscow. This service can be ordered as an extra when you order your visa invitation online through our site.

It is not essential to know your exact dates of entry into, and departure from, Russia when applying for your Russian visa invitation. You can provide the earliest date of entry and latest date of exit from Russia. You are then free to enter and leave the country at any time within those dates.

You must make sure that the dates are no more than 30 days apart, though, as a tourist visa cannot be valid for more than 30 days.

If you did not obtain your Russina visa invitation from us, but would like to take advantage of our visa registration service, we can still help.

If you would like to register through our office, you will need to pay this in advance through our website. There may be a small surcharge (around $10) because your visa support was not issued by us, which is payable in the office when you come to register.

Tourist visas can normally be registered in a few hours through our offices in Moscow or St. Petersburg if you are using our registration service. Hotels may require longer than this to complete your registration.

If you will be staying in Russia for more than 72 hours (not including weekends and holidays), then you will need to register your visa. If you do not, you are likely to be prevented from leaving the country, and will face a heavy fine from the immigration authorities,

However, if you are in Russia for less than 72 hours, or over a weekend, you will not be required to register your visa.

You can read more about registration on this site, in our guide to visa registration. We also offer a visa registration service, which can be ordered at the same time as you order your Russian visa invitation, and entitles you to register at our office in Moscow (either in person or by email).

A migration card is a form that you will be given when you arrive in Russia. It must be completed at the border, and it must be handed in at the end of your trip.

Some Russian consulates, particularly those in France, will ask you to provide a faxed copy of the invitation. You can obtain this easily when ordering your Russian visa invitation through our site. Simply choose delivery by fax on our order form, and the document will be sent to you by fax within the timeframe requested (immediate or 24 hour delivery).

In case you have already received your invitation, and now require it to be sent to you by fax, please contact us, providing your full fax number, including international dialling code, and we will send this to you within one working day.

Yes, your visa invitation will consist of both your “voucher” and the “confirmation” (or 'podtverzhdenie' in Russian) that you need to obtain your visa.

Most visitors to Russia require a single entry visa. A single entry visa is for people who intend to cross the border into Russia only once during their visit.

People who do wish to leave Russia and re-enter during the 30 days from when they initially arrived (for instance, entering Russia then taking a trip to a neighbouring country such as Ukraine, then re-entering Russia once more to continue the journey) will require a double entry visa.

In either case, you will need to make sure that your final exit date from Russia is no longer than 30 days from your initial date of arrival. For example, if you enter Russia on 1 June, you may wish to exit again on 8 June, and then re-enter on 20 June, but you must finally leave Russia by 30 June.

The process of getting a visa can take as little as a few hours, to as much as a few weeks, depending on how much you pay for your visa and on the particular Russian consulate you apply to (some are more efficient than others).

The first step towards getting a visa is obtaining a visa invitation (also known as visa support). If you order your invitation through GetRussian, you can get this within seconds depending upon the service that you choose.

Once you have the invitation, you can apply for the visa itself. You do this by applying to a Russian Embassy. The length of time it takes for your visa to be processed usually depends on how much you pay the Embassy.

For more information, you should read the following pages on our site:

* Guide to applying for your Russian visa
* Addresses and contact details of Russian Embassies and Consulates worldwide

No, we do not need you to send us any documents to enable us to process your application for a Russian visa invitation. You will need your passport details to hand though when completing our online form, however.

You will require a visa for each person travelling regardless of age. However, if your child is under 16 years old and shares a parent's passport, the Russian consulate may allow you to apply for one visa to cover both parent and child.

You can choose to receive your visa invitation within seconds, or within 24 hours. You can choose between these two options when ordering your Russian visa invitation through our online order form.

You can select up to 5 cities for the invitation, but you are free to visit whichever cities you like once you have your visa.

If you know in advance which cities you will visit, you should enter them into our online order form when purchasing your visa invitation.

You should apply for your visa no more than 90 days before your proposed date of entry into Russia.

Russian Railways do not allow changes to tickets, and all rail ticket purchases are non-refundable. If you need to change your dates of travel after booking your tickets, you should contact us to cancel your ticket, then make a new booking with your correct dates.

No, we do not need to know your flight details when processing your application for a Russian visa invitation. You may, however, be asked to provide evidence of your return journey out of the country when applying to the Russian consulate for your visa. This is, however, very uncommon.

If you are unable to complete your payment through our site, this can sometimes be due to these common problems:

* Incorrect address. Please ensure you enter your billing address, and postal code, exactly as it is written on your bank/credit card statement.
* Incorrect card details. You should ensure that your 16 digit card number, expiry date, and 3 digit CVV code are all entered correctly. Failing to enter any one of these incorrectly is likely to cause your payment to be rejected.
* Payment declined. In case you receive a message telling you that the payment was declined, and you are certain that you entered all address and card details correctly, you should contact your bank directly. It is possible that your bank will not allow your payment because of a lack of funds in your account, or some other reason.

If you are still unable to complete your payment by card, you are welcome to use our PayPal feature to complete your payment. Simply proceed to the checkout and choose PayPal, instead of 'credit/debit card', as your payment method.

The Russian rail network is extremely busy, and availability on most trains sells out well before departure. For instance, tickets on popular Trans-Siberian routes will often sell out within hours of going on sale 45 days before departure.

Booking online through GetRussian allows you to secure tickets in advance on busy routes such as the Trans-Siberian Railway, or Moscow - St. Petersburg.

Each carriage has two bathrooms, one at each end. These bathrooms include just a toilet and a wash basin with taps for hot and cold water. There are no showers on board. Bathrooms have a power outlet (European two-pin style) for electric shavers.

Bathrooms are locked 30-40 minutes before arriving in, and after departing from, stations.

Russian trains are divided into at least 3 categories, and often more. These different classes offer varying levels of comfort and price.

1st class
Total passengers per carriage: 16-18

1st class compartment (2 places)

Known as SV in Russian. 1st class carriages have 9 2-bed compartments, 2 toilets with washing basins, and a 2-bed compartment for the carriage attendants. 1st class offers space and privacy while you travel. Also, because there are fewer passengers in the carriage(16-18 total passengers), toilets and washing facilites are usually cleaner and less busy. The standard of service from your carriage attendant will also be higher, and you may be given special hygiene packs (toothbrush, soap etc) and snacks to eat.

In each compartment:

* 2 sleeping berths
* 1 table
* 2 reading lights
* Door mirror
* Some compartments have a television
* Storage space under each sleeping berth, and above the door
* Air conditioning

Key advantages of 1st class:

* Small number of passengers: there are only 9 passengers per toilet in 1st class, compared to 27 per toilet in 3rd class. 1st class carriages are also quieter and cleaner than 2nd and 3rd class carriages.
* Carriage attendants are generally more attentive and polite in 1st class carriages

2nd class
Total passengers per carriage: 36-38

Known as coupe in Russian. 2nd class carriages have 9 4-bed compartments, 2 toilets, and a 2-bed compartment for the carriage attendant

2nd class compartments are equipped with:

* 2 upper and 2 lower berths
* 1 table
* 4 reading lights (one per berth)
* Door mirror

Key advantages of 2nd class carriages:

* Good balance between privacy and price
* Quieter than 3rd class carriage (see below)
* Security of personal items: each compartment has a lockable door preventing access by strangers.
* Only 18 passengers per toilet, compared to 27 per toilet in a 3rd class carriage.

3rd class
Total passengers per carriage: 54

This is known as platzkart in Russian, and offers a sleeping place in a common carriage that is not divided up into smaller compartments (see photograph). Because there are more passengers in a 3rd class carriage, they can be hot and smelly during long journeys. Toilets are also shared between more passengers, so may be less clean than you would find in a 1st or 2nd class carriage.

However, 3rd class carriages are an excellent place for meeting Russians, and are very safe. They are usually the cheapest tickets available, and may sell out long before departure.

Seated class
Total passengers per carriage: up to 68

Seated class carriages have places for passenger seating, 2 toilets, and a 2-bed compartment for the train attendants.

Overnight travel in seated class carriages is not recommended, as it is difficult to sleep and can be very tiring. However, on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route there are special fast trains (such as the Aurora, train number 160) that offer excellent quality seated carriages and are more comfortable for this short journey than a sleeping compartment.

Russian trains are very safe. Each train has its own police team that ensures security on board, and there are emergency buttons in each carriage.

Each carriage has an attendant who stands by the entrance to the carriage during stops, and nobody is allowed on board trains without a ticket.

Refunds are not currently possible for rail tickets.

For train travel within Russia

We issue e-tickets for train travel within Russia. Using e-tickets is fast and convenient, and allows you to save on the delivery charges that traditional paper tickets usually involve.

This is a new service introduced by Russian Railways that works in the following way:

1. Reserve your ticket online through GetRussian.com. You will receive a voucher by email that includes your unique e-ticket reservation number.

2. When you arrive at the train station for your departure, exchange the voucher at any ticket desk, or at a self-service ticket terminal, for your printed ticket.

3. You are now ready to board the train.

For international rail travel

If you wish to reserve tickets for international routes (for example, Moscow-Beijing), these tickets will be issued as a paper ticket. This means that, once we have received your payment for the tickets, we can either send the ticket to you, or you can collect in one of our partner offices. In some cities, we can arrange for the tickets to be delivered to your hotel.