E-visas for the Russian Far East helping to develop business in seafood sector and other industries

Since last August, 55,000 e-visas have been issued to foreign citizens willing to visit the Russian Far East. Most applications come from China (42,000 visas issued) and Japan (10,800 visas), according to the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East.

Citizens of 18 countries are eligible to apply for the e-visa on the website four days before the scheduled entry. The e-visa is free, no consular fee is charged.

Nearly 41,000 citizens of 14 counties have visited Russia with this type of visa. Most e-visa holders arrive from China (more than 32,200 visitors) and Japan (around 8,700 visitors). 154 citizens of Singapore, 69 citizens of India, 31 citizens of North Korea, 21 citizens of Saudi Arabia, 18 citizens of Mexico, 12 citizens of Turkey, 9 citizens of Bahrain, 7 citizens of Algeria, 4 citizens of Iran, 4 citizens of Morocco, 3 citizens of UAE and 2 citizens of Kuwait used the same method to come to Russia.

The e-visa allows entry to six Far Eastern regions through the airports in Vladivostok (Knevichi), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Elizovo), Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk (Novy), Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Khomutovo), and Anadyr (Ugolny). Three regions (Primorsky Krai, Kamchatka Krai and Sakhalin Oblast) allow entry through seaports. Primorsky Krai also has several rail border crossings: Pogranichny, Khasan and Makhalino, as well as road borders Poltavka and Turiy Rog.