Russia launches e-visas for Indians.

Russia launched electronic visas for Indian passport holders on August 1, 2023. The visa will help the individual to enter the Russian Federation on a guest, business, or tourist visit and participate in events.

The term for issuing a single entry visa would be, at most, four calendar days, and the consular fee would be around $40. This move comes after enhancing bilateral ties and promoting tourism between the two nations. In February, the Russian PM signed a decree approving a facilitated visa regime for citizens of 19 countries, including India.

Per the reports, the visa is issued with a 60-day validity, and tourists can stay up to 16 days in Russia. Citizens of some specified countries might get a tourist visa for up to six months if they have a hotel reservation, the decree published on the government portal.

The countries include India, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, and the Philippines, as per the data from the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation foreign tourist flow to the country reduced by 96.1% in 2022. From 2016 to 2019, tourist traffic from India to Moscow had grown from 61,000 annual tourists to over a lakh. In 2021, traffic recovered to 40% of the pre-pandemic level. Interestingly, it was also observed that of Indians who visited Moscow in 2021, 48% went there twice that year.

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