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Here’s How Filipinos Can Get E-Visas To St. Petersburg, Russia
We’ve all heard the news; the Philippines was included in Russia’s list of qualified countries for their e-visa to Saint Petersburg and its surrounding regions.
What does this mean for Filipinos?
It will add more countries in our passport’s list of easy to enter countries. It isn’t exactly visa-free entry for Filipinos, however, the e-visa basically removes the painstaking process required for a regular visa and most of all it’s free of consular fees!
While the Philippine has long been granted an e-visa entry last July into some parts of Russia, specifically the Kaliningrad Oblast, this region, however, isn’t directly connected to the rest of the Russian Federation.
What is e-visa?
According to the definition from the World Economic Forum: the Electronic Visa (e-Visa) has emerged as one of the most innovative services implemented in the area of freedom of movement and people-to-people contacts.
E-Visa allows the management of the visa application process to take place entirely in a virtual environment. Everything is done with the help of the Internet: the visa application and supporting documents are submitted online, the payment is made online and the decision on the application is communicated online
In a nutshell, visa application for a country that requires it is done completely remotely, making the process a lot faster and to a certain extent easier! This isn’t a common visa process for Filipino passport holders and the Government of the Russian Federation is probably the first Western nation to offer this to Filipinos.
With the e-visa, gaining a permit to enter a non-visa-free country (for this case the Russian Federation) is easier, as it eliminates certain requirements such as invitations, hotel booking confirmations or any other documents that confirm the purpose of your journey.
Apparently, it’s a lot easier now to visit Russia than it used to be!
How many days can you stay in Russia?
The MFA Russia Consular Department’s website states that the e-visa is a single-entry visa and issued for 30 calendar days from the date of its issuance. The permitted stay in the Russian Federation with an e-visa is up to 8 days starting from the date of entry, within its validity period.
For your information
The period of stay in the Russian Federation always starts at midnight on the day of arrival through passport control upon entry regardless of the actual time of arrival. If you entered Russia at 8 PM on October 1, you are expected to leave by October 8 until 11:59 PM.
When should you apply for the e-visa?
The Russian e-visa must be applied only within 20 days to 4 days before your scheduled trip to Russia, regardless of the day of the week (whether it’s the weekend or a public holiday).
What are the requirements for e-visa to Russia?
The e-visa eliminates certain tourist visa requirements such as invitations, hotel booking confirmations or any other documents that confirm the purpose of your journey and the tremendous visa fees you pay for those regular visas.
The only requirements that you need to be eligible to apply for an e-visa is a passport with at least a 6-month validity and a recent (less than 6 months old) passport photo with an aspect ratio of 35×45 and must be in jpeg format and only up to 35kb in size.
Make sure you have this!
Visa documents aside, another must-have upon entry in Russia is medical insurance to coverage of at least €35,000. You have to present the original copy of your medical insurance at the airport.
How to apply for a Russian e-visa
- Visit the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
- On the home page of the website, click the dropdown box and choose your nationality and visit area (There will be two options for Filipinos by October first: St Petersburg and Kaliningrad Oblast).
- Once done, scroll down to the bottom and tick the 3 boxes (term and conditions) then click the “Fill Out New Application Form” button.
- You will be taken to a different page where you will be asked to sign up with your email address and create a password for your account.
- After creating your account, you will be taken to a series of pages that you need to fill up. There are 7 pages overall and each page must be fully filled with the corresponding information.
- Take note of the Application Number found on the upper left side of the screen upon your application process. Once you’re done filling up the first and second page, you can either choose to save your progress, print the page containing the Application ID, and to go to the next page.
- Fill out the necessary details on the succeeding pages.
- Before the last page, you will be required to upload your photo (must meet the criteria mentioned above).
- Once done, confirm your details and hit the “Save and submit” button.
- Within 4 days an email from the Russian Consulate Website will be sent to you containing your e-visa. Print the notice and present it at the airport. Make sure you keep it safe until you arrive in Russia!
Where in Russia can you visit?
The upcoming visa grant from the Russian Federation will give Filipinos the opportunity to visit Russia’s cultural capital – Saint Petersburg. Other regions in Leningrad Oblast are also included.
What’s in St. Petersburg?
St Petersburg is one of Europe’s archaic cultural cities. It’s teeming with remnants of the Renaissance era, transporting you back to the blossoming ages of arts in Europe. There’s a handful of museums, galleries, and theatres that will offer visitors an almost never-ending opportunity to discover not just Russian traditions but also some of history’s finest international artworks and architecture in the world.
Here are some of the most amazing places that you can visit in St Petersburg:
- The State Hermitage Museum
- St Isaac’s Cathedral
- Nevsky Prospect
- Faberge Museum
- Catherine Palace
- Palace Square
- Alexandrisky Theater
- Peter and Paul Fortress
- Yusupov Palace (Moika Palace)
- Peterhof Palace and Gardens
- Palace Embakment
- Their underground Metro System
Whether you’re an art enthusiast or just a casual traveler, it’s hard to be not inspired by the architectural and cultural wonders of St Petersburg. As Russia becomes one of the easy to access countries for Filipinos, it’s now easier for Filipinos to have a taste of Western culture, art, and architecture than ever! (iMoney)
