Russian visa for citizens of France

Published by Natalia Goncharenko August 7, 2017

For centuries Russia and France have strong cultural and business connections. However, there is no progress in the establishment of a visa-free regime so citizens of both countries have to observe all the formalities including the visa issuance. In the material below you’ll find the information about visa types and costs.

Russian visa for citizens of France

Visa issuance is quite an exhausting procedure and the key point of it is getting an invitation. Russian consulates in the territory of France are authorized to issue a Russian visa for French.

When applying for a visa you need to bring to the consulate:

  • Filled profile (application) with the indication of purposes, timing, and duration of your visit
  • Receipt confirming that you have paid a consular fee
  • Medical insurance valid for the whole trip
  • Your color photos
  • Invitation from the Russian party

The document verification can take from 4 to 20 days (in special cases a fast-track insurance is allowed).

A properly filled invitation has the key meaning. This paper is arranged by different rules depending on the visa type and purposes of your trip. As a rule, for a short-term visa, it’s enough just to provide an invitation in a form of a copy (but it’s better to have an original form).

To issue a visa, you need to define its type. The migration legislation of the RF distinguishes the following purposes that determine a visa type:

  • Different types of tourism
  • Business contacts, development of business structures
  • Job seeking (in Russian organizations)
  • Private visits to relatives
  • Education

Purposes have to be indicated in an invitation and confirmed in an application.

How much does the visa cost? The size of a consular fee depends on the speed of the issuance:

  • Usual order (4-15 days) – EUR 35
  • Accelerated order (1-3 days) – EUR 70

Visa cost can be enlarged by service fee in case of applying through the Visa Center. It’s necessary to know that consular fee can’t be returned even if you get a denial of issuance. This means that you need to check and double-check all the documentation.

Russian tourist visa for French nationals

Tourism is one of the most common purposes for visiting Russia. The visa issuance can be carried out by the following purposes;

  • Business/medical tourism
  • Traveling in a tourist group
  • Traveling by a personal car
  • Express-tour be the 72-hours program
  • Special types of tourism (such as tourist hunting)

Get tourist visa
invitation for €19

In any case (except for 72-hours program) you need to obtain a visa on the ground of a tourist invitation.

Arrangement of the tourist invitation to Russia for French nationals

In order to open a Russian visa, you need to provide a tourist invitation. This document confirms that you have a place to live in Russia and that for the whole time of trip you will have financial support (and medical support if needed).

This information is contained in such documents as tourist voucher and confirmation, which are two parts of a tourist invitation. If the trip is carried out by a tour company, an invitation will be issued by its employees.

In case you need to obtain an invitation by yourself, you can apply for help to our consultants or to other special companies. We can provide assistance on every stage of the visa procedure.

Get tourist visa
invitation for €19

All you have to present is an information about the purposes of your trip, duration and the alleged route. We guarantee the visa issuance right in the day of your appliance. 

Russian private visa for French nationals

Relatives living in France can also visit their families in Russia by opening a private visa. This type of document can be issued only for a period up to 90 days and it requires a special confirmation of the relationship with a Russian citizen(s). The crucial part of the issuance is the presence of a private invitation.

Arrangement of the private invitation to Russia for French nationals

The procedure of getting an invitation has special characteristics because the first thing you need to do is to prove your relationship with a Russian citizen. Such confirmation will be provided while applying to the migration service of the AFMS as a part of a standard document set:

  • Request for an invitation
  • Documents confirming the relationship
  • Passport collies of both Russian and French parties
  • Documents indicating date of the visit and the alleged route
  • Obligation to provide medical and financial insurance for a foreigner as well as a place to live

Russian visa implies an obligation to register with the local authorities of the AFMS. The only exception is a stop for less than 3 days.

Since visa issuance can bring some troubles, allow our consultants to help you. All you need to do is provide us with the mandatory information about a traveler and we’ll take on the rest of the procedure.

Russian business visa for French nationals

What type of visa do you need to plan a business visit? In cases of participation in business forums, you can use a tourist visa. But mostly you have to obtain a business visa to Russia for French citizens.

This type of visa allows you to make multiple trips within a year. For a one-year visa, there is one rule: a businessman can’t stay in Russia for more than 90 days in every half a year.

In order to obtain a business visa, firstly you need a business invitation

Arrangement of the business invitation to Russia for French nationals in a form of a letter

If you plan to visit Russia often and regularly, your Russian partner can get an accreditation in the authorized service of the MFA of the Russian Federation. In the presence of this visa, a company can arrange an invitation in its own form and the procedure will be completed within minutes.

Get business visa
invitation for €35

A French national receives an invitation in a form of a copy or original. This paper has to be presented among the other documents when applying for a visa.

Arrangement of the business invitation to Russia for French nationals in the form of the AFMS

By the standard procedure, a Russian company should apply to the AFMS, providing the usual complex of documents. The verification is undertaken in ordinary duration. After all, a business invitation is sent to a foreigner in the official form issued by the AFMS.

Arrangement of the business invitation to Russia for French nationals by Telex

Russian visa for French can be issued on the ground of a business invitation sent directly to the consulate by special Telex channel of connection. In this case, the receiving party should apply for an invitation to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Each of three options has its own profits and disadvantages. Our specialists may help you with the choice and the order of issuance. All your visa questions can be decided by our professionals.

Russian work visa for French nationals

The migration legislation and the labor legislation don’t forbid the employment relationship with foreign specialists. However, it can be allowed only after all the strict formalities for getting a work invitation and a work permit.

A long-term work visa can be issued for no longer than one year. In cases of prolongation, an external specialist has to leave Russia and go through the whole procedure again.

Arrangement of the work invitation to Russia for French nationals

A work visa for French can only be issued if the applicant has both work invitation and a permission to work in Russia. These documents can be obtained only by the Russian party during the following process:

  • Request for a quota for external employee(s) to the executive authorities of the RF
  • Notify to the local employment agency about hiring an external specialist
  • Registration in the migration services as an employer hiring foreigners
  • Getting a work permit
  • Appliance to the AFMS for an invitation

A work invitation will be issued in the official form of the AFMS and sent to the French employee with a permission to work. After all this, consulates can give a confirmative answer to your request for a work visa.

We will help you get
a Russian 3-year work visa

The arrangement of a work invitation can be time-consuming and exhausting so we’d like to offer you our complex assistance on all the stages of the procedure. To get it leave your request in the feedback form on our web.

Russian Consulates in France

You can apply for a Russian visa only to Russian consulates presented in the list below:

Embassy of the Russian Federation in the French Republic

Address: 40-50, Boulevard Lannes, 75116 Paris
Phone number: (8-10-33-1) 4504-05-50, 4504-40-30.
Fax: (8-10-331) 4504-17-65.
E-mail: ambrusfrance@mid.ru
Web: ambassade-de-russie.fr

Consular Department of the Embassy

Phone number: (8-10-33-1) 4504-05-01, 4503-04-07.
Fax: (8-10-33-1) 4504-44-09.
E-mail: consulat.russe@gmail.com
Reception hours: Monday till Friday, 9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.

Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Strasbourg

Address: 6, place Sébastien Brant, 67000 Strasbourg
Phone number: (8-10-33-3) 8836-73-15.
Fax: (8-10-33-3) 8835-34-81.
E-mail: rusconsulat@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.strasbourg.mid.ru
Reception hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.

Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Marseille

Address: 3, avenue Ambroise-Paré, 13008 Marseille
Phone number: (8-10-33-4) 9177-15-25, 9176-26-79.
Fax: (8-10-33-4) 9177-34-54.
E-mail: consrusmarseille@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.marseille.mid.ru
Reception hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.