There is a good news for Indians tourists who are currently planning trip to Russia. Russian government has taken golden decision with which Indian tourists can travel to Russia without any visa. Russia is going to be visa free for India from next year. Since August 2023, Indian travelers have already been eligible for e-visas to Russia. These e-visas typically get ready within a small amount of time which is of only four days. This new decision of no visa will eventually help to further strengthen tourism ties between the […]
Russia To Become A Visa Free Travel For India
There is a good news for Indians tourists who are currently planning trip to Russia. Russian government has taken golden decision with which Indian tourists can travel to Russia without any visa. Russia is going to be visa free for India from next year. Since August 2023, Indian travelers have already been eligible for e-visas to Russia. These e-visas typically get ready within a small amount of time which is of only four days. This new decision of no visa will eventually help to further strengthen tourism ties between the two countries.
Currently, Indian passport holders can easily enjoy a visa-free travel to almost 62 countries. This new rule will eventually take place as early as spring 2025.
During this year May, Nikita Kondratyev, who is director of the Russian Economic Development Ministry’s Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects said, “India is at the final stage of internal state coordination.” The consultations between Moscow and New Delhi had begun regarding a bilateral agreement during June this year to ease visa restrictions. This aims to launch visa-free group tourist exchanges. “Russia and India are set to strengthen their tourism ties as they gear up for the launch of visa-free group tourist exchanges. The first round of consultations between the two nations is scheduled for June. This aims to finalise a bilateral agreement by the end of the year,” the minister was quoted by RT News as saying.
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Russia granted around 9,500 e-visas to Indian visitors during 2023. This makes a total of 6 per cent of total e-visas issued by Moscow. This puts India among the list of top five countries which grants e-visas for an easy travel access by Russia.
During recent years, Moscow has been witnessing an upward tick in visitors from India. As per Evgeny Kozlov, who is a Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee, 28,500 Indian travellers visited Moscow in the first half of 2024. This marks a total of 1.5-fold increase compared to the same period last year. With this visa free decision the bond and ties between Indian and Russian government will eventually grow stronger.
During 2023, India ranked high in terms of travellers coming to Moscow among non-CIS countries, with over 60,000 visitors, a 26 per cent rise compared to 2022,” said Kozlov, according to a report by Business Standards.
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Reports say, most Indians visit to Russia for business or work purpose. “India ranked third among visitors from non-CIS countries for business tourists during the first quarter of this year. Moscow authorities consider India as one of the priority markets due to the strong, time-tested ties between the two countries.” Kozlov added.
As of now, Indian tourists must undergo a rigorous visa application process. The visa verification process depends on reason for their trip. Indian travelers must to apply for various visa categories, including tourist, business, employment, student, and humanitarian visas. This process requires visitors to attend frequent calls for extensive documentation and careful planning. However, with this new initiative procedure of travelling would comparatively become easier.
