Question: On June 16, the IV Russian Travel Forum “Travel!” ended, during which a number of initiatives related to changes in Russian visa legislation were announced.
In particular, we are talking about the proposal to issue visas to foreign citizens upon arrival or, in other words, upon entry into the Russian Federation. How do you feel about such an innovation?
Answer: The possibility of establishing a new procedure for issuing visas, providing for the possibility of their registration upon arrival in the Russian Federation, has previously been comprehensively studied and analyzed by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Its implementation will require the opening of full-fledged round-the-clock consular posts located before the checkpoints across the state border. For their full-fledged functioning, it will be necessary to provide funds from the state budget for the remuneration of full-time employees, equipping with automated workplaces, including technical support, modernization and provision of secure communication channels, as well as for the rental of work areas and comfortable waiting areas in the zone of additional regime restrictions of international airports. We are not talking about a one-time allocation of a significant amount, but about the acceptance by the state of long-term obligations aimed at ensuring the interests, first of all, of foreign citizens.
But even if the above-mentioned requirements are met, it is unlikely that it will be possible to evenly distribute the load on consular posts and guarantee to avoid queues of foreign tourists in security zones for obtaining visas due to the lack of opportunity to predict or predict the frequency of arrival and the number of groups of foreign tourists. In practice, the situation will be aggravated by the need for foreigners to comply with all the formalities provided for by Russian law, such as filling out a visa application form with a photo and providing a basis for issuing a visa, as well as a medical insurance policy, taking into account the principle of reciprocity and payment of state duty.
Question: The idea of issuing visas on arrival is not new. This practice is used by some countries. What is the probability that such an order will be used by the Russian Federation?
Answer: I think that colleagues from other interested departments can confirm that a Russian visa is not just a formal permission to enter the Russian Federation for a fee. In the process of its registration, the Russian competent authorities take measures in advance aimed at preventing undesirable persons from entering our country. The introduction of such an order will deprive agencies of the opportunity to receive timely information about such foreigners and carry out appropriate preventive measures in order to ensure national security. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that a foreign citizen included in the list of persons whose entry into the Russian Federation is not allowed will be refused a visa on arrival without explanation. As a result, the foreigner will be forced to return, and all responsibility for his return on the return route, including payment of an administrative fine in the amount of 50 to 100 thousand rubles, in accordance with current legislation, will be assigned to the transport or other organization that delivered him to the Russian Federation. Obviously, in addition to serious image losses, this may cause a refusal to provide transport services to tourists who expect to receive visas upon arrival in the Russian Federation.
Question: Considering that you have been involved in the formation of the Russian visa policy for more than 25 years, have you met similar proposals before?
Answer: In 2018, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yu.P.Trutnev proposed issuing visas to foreign citizens upon arrival in the Russian Federation at checkpoints across the state border of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District. Even then, it was decided to abandon this idea for financial and organizational and technical reasons, and instead conduct an experiment on issuing electronic visas. It was the successful conduct of this experiment on the territory of the Far Eastern Federal District, and then St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions that allowed the practical implementation of the unified electronic visa project to begin throughout the Russian Federation.
Question: It is no secret that in order to attract additional tourists, a number of countries waive their sovereign right to issue visas. I would like to hear your opinion on the possible cancellation of visas by the Russian Federation for citizens of certain countries.
Answer: Proposals for unilateral liberalization of the procedure for entry into the Russian Federation, including the establishment of a visa-free entry regime, for citizens of individual, albeit currently friendly states, or certain categories of foreign citizens are not supported by the Russian Foreign Ministry for a number of reasons.
In particular, such initiatives run counter to the principle of reciprocity, which is fundamental in the field of international relations, which, in our opinion, must continue to be consistently adhered to in such matters. These initiatives would put foreign citizens in a privileged position compared to Russians, which would be a fair reason for complaints from our citizens.
A precedent created once will deprive a foreign state of motivation to conclude an agreement on the mutual cancellation of visas and exclude this possibility in the future, which we have the right to count on.
In addition, the unilateral establishment of a visa-free regime for citizens of even a few foreign countries is a serious decision with irreversible consequences. Such steps are usually practiced by countries of the so-called “beach” tourism, as well as countries that do not play a significant role in the international arena. In the case of Russia, such a decision will cause significant damage to the foreign policy authority of our country, including in the eyes of friendly and neutral states.
Question: Are there any other restrictions on the unilateral granting of visa preferences to foreign citizens, in addition to the obvious arguments you have outlined?
Answer: Of course, one should not forget that the practical implementation of these initiatives is also not possible due to the current moratorium on the unilateral granting of visa–free entry to the Russian Federation or visa benefits to foreign citizens, introduced by a decision of the Security Council of the Russian Federation – approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 12, 2016.
In the context of current trends in the development of the geopolitical situation in the near and medium term, the Russian Foreign Ministry supports the position of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB of Russia that the lifting of the above-mentioned moratorium is premature.
I am sure that the issues of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and the foreign policy positions of our state have an unconditional priority over any possible positive effects for the tourism industry, especially in the context of a special military operation.
Question: And with how many countries have we concluded agreements on mutual visa-free travel of citizens?
Answer: Currently, in accordance with bilateral agreements on the abolition of visa formalities, citizens of more than 65 countries can enter the Russian Federation without visas using ordinary passports. So, in the last 4 years alone, 15 such agreements have been concluded and entered into force.
In addition, negotiations are currently underway with 9 other States to reach similar agreements.
Question: Since August 2021, Russian diplomatic missions and consular offices have been issuing multiple-entry tourist visas to foreign citizens for up to 6 months.
Maybe it is worth increasing the validity period of such visas to two years or at least one and a half years, as suggested by the Forum participants?
Answer: Since 2022, within the framework of the national project “Tourism and the Hospitality Industry”, the Russian Foreign Ministry has been monitoring this issue and annually prepares a report to the Government of the Russian Federation on the expediency of extending the validity period of multiple-entry tourist visas.
The practice and analysis of statistical indicators of the database at our disposal indicate that the share of multiple-entry tourist visas in relation to the total number of tourist visas issued is steadily decreasing from year to year. So in 2022, this figure was 14.2%, in 2023 – 7.5%, and in the period from January 1 to April 1, 2024 – 6.8%.
The main reason for such a low demand for multiple-entry tourist visas is the unwillingness of the tour operator to bear the responsibility provided for by current legislation for the stay of foreign tourists in the Russian Federation after the end of the short-term one-time tours implemented by him (on average up to two weeks). In this regard, tour operators prefer to provide visa support only for the period of the tourist trip they organize.
In addition, providing assistance to a foreigner in obtaining a multiple-entry tourist visa deprives the travel agency of income, which it has the right to expect when preparing a package of tourist services within the framework of a single tour.
The obvious reluctance of tour operators to use the powers granted to them indicates the inexpediency of extending the validity period of a multiple-entry tourist visa to 2 years.
Question: In your opinion, can a decrease in the cost of Russian visas contribute to an increase in inbound tourism?
Answer: We still have to state that at present, the development of inbound tourism to the Russian Federation is hindered, first of all, by complex transport logistics, the high cost of tickets, and limited opportunities for foreigners to pay for goods and services in Russia in non-cash form.
It is these problems that, as a rule, force potential tourists to refuse to travel to Russia at this stage. There are no complaints from foreigners about the allegedly excessive cost of visas. The cost of a Russian visa takes up an absolutely insignificant 3-5% in the structure of the total expenses of a tourist for organizing a trip.
The constant leaders of the tourist attractiveness rating compiled annually by the World Tourism Organization are the United States, Italy, Spain and France, despite the fact that a visa to the United States costs $ 185, and the fee for obtaining a Schengen visa has recently been increased to 90 euros.
In this regard, I would like to cite comments from representatives of our travel industry, including ATOR, according to which there is no decrease in the number of Russians wishing to apply for a Schengen visa against the background of an increase in its cost.
These statistics clearly refute the thesis that the current conditions of entry of foreigners to Russia and the cost of a visa are a significant obstacle to the development of tourism.
For our part, we believe that a more active marketing strategy would contribute to the growth of inbound tourism, which would fully disclose the possibilities of the Russian tourism industry for foreign citizens. We confirm the readiness of the Russian Foreign Ministry to support the efforts of relevant departments and professional associations in this area within the competence of the Ministry.
In conclusion, I would like to note once again that these proposals have repeatedly been comprehensively worked out by the Russian Foreign Ministry with relevant federal executive authorities and have not received support as a result. Currently, the position of the Russian Foreign Ministry remains unchanged.
