Coronavirus Travel Restrictions in Russia

There are currently travel restrictions imposed in Russia due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the moment (as of 9 July 2021), you can only travel to Russia if you are a citizen of USA, UK, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, South Korea, China, Turkey, Serbia, Japan, United Saudi Emirate, Egypt, Cuba and some other countries. All you need is a tourist visa (for USA, UK and Swiss nationals, who can obtain it following the standard procedure) and a negative Covid-19 test made not earlier than 48 hours before your arrival to Russia. If you are a national of another country, there are still some ways to travel but they are very limited.

 

Note, that if you are allowed to travel to Russia as a citizen of a certain country, you need to take a direct flight from this country. This is a sure bet to avoid any problems at the passport control. 

 

 

On this page we present the latest coronavirus travel updates for Russia, so you know how to plan your journey better and how to travel to / from Russia if you need to, even while it's locked. In general the level of cases registered in Russia is lower than in the US (per 100000) but slightly higher than in the EU. However, the general mood seems to be pretty calm after a period of initial shock in the end of March. Life is almost back to normal. You can also still catch some transit flights and travel out, but there are restrictions imposed on entry. There are, however, different ways to travel to Russia that are still available. You can find more information below:

 

28/06/2021— a new decree 1745-p now allows the US citizens, as well as the Italian and Belgian citizens to enter Russia (also as tourists)

 

Greek, German, Serbian Citizens and Residents Can Travel to Russia

25/03/2021 — The citizens of Greece, Germany and Serbia can travel to Russia from the 1st of April.  See how to how to travel to Russia during Covid.

 

Students Can Travel to Russia

20/03/2021 — Students can now travel to Russia. They need to contact their university first to get a permission. 

 

Travel Ban for the UK Citizens

25/12/2020 — UK citizens are not allowed to enter to Russia. The current ban is valid until the end of April.

 

14-Day Qurantine Requirement for UK Citizens — 23/12/2020

23/12/2020 — While UK citizens can enter Russia starting from August 2020, they will now have to go on a mandatory 14-day quarantine when they arrive to Russia even if they have a negative test result with them. The quarantine can be held at a booked accommodation or a hotel.

 

Russia Opens Up Flights to Serbia, Cuba and Japan — 13/10/2020

13/10/2020 — Russia now opens flights with Serbia, Cuba and Japan, making it easier for the residents of the neighboring countries to travel to Russia. As the Serbian and Cuban citizens don't need a visa to come to Russia they should also be able to enter Russia now. The good news for the EU citizens (and their partners) is that you can travel between Russia and EU via Serbia. All the direct flights to EU countries are still too expensive.  

 

Russia Opens Up Flights to Brazil, Mexico, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Belarus — 16/09/2020

16/09/2020 — It is now possible to fly to/from Brazil, Mexico, Montenegro, Northen Macedonia and Belarus. Brazilian citizens don't need a visa to come to Russia, so they should be able to enter freely to Russia, however, only from Brazil. 

 

Russia Opens Up to Moldova — 01/09/2020

01/09/2020 — From the 1st of September Russia has opened up its air traffic with Moldova, which is good news, because there are multiple airlines that have direct flights to Moldova to/from Moscow (among them Moldova Air and FlyOne). However, it is still unclear if Russia would let you in if you simply fly from Moldova or if you need to have a Moldovan passport to enter. If you have any experience with that, please, let us know in the comments below or via Twitter: @waytorussia. 

09/08/2020 —As it looks like now the EU - Russia borders will only open when the rate of infections (per 100 000) in Russia will reach that of EU and stays there for at least two weeks. As of now (09/08/2020) it's about 5000 a day in Russia and about 600-800 a day in most EU countries. Considering that there are about 3 times more people living in Russia than in most EU countries, the rate of infections would have to reach something like 2500 a day and stay there for at least 2 weeks for EU to consider opening up its borders. Therefore, at the current trend we estimate that Russia will reach this level by about end of August and if there are no new spikes and the level stays there for about 2 weeks, the earliest date for the borders to open is mid September. Realistically, however, it is likely to happen from October, but only if the level of flu infections in Russia (which usually starts in Autumn) does not start to rise. So at the moment we would only plan on the border opening — optimistically — from the 1st of October and — pessimistically — from the 1st of November.

Note, that if you have a Russian citizen that you would like to travel to EU, they can actually go to UK (the border is opened), stay there in self-quarantine for 2 weeks, and then fly to an EU country that accepts entries from UK (so far, most of EU countries).

 

Switzerland - Russia Flights from 15 August 2020 — 01/08/2020

01/08/2020 — Starting from the 15th of August there will be regular flights between Switzerland and Russia meaning that Swiss citizens should be allowed into Russia and vice versa.

 

24/07/2020 — Starting from the 1st of August UK and Turkish citizens can fly into Russia. In order to enter Russia they will need a negative Coronavirus test made not earlier than 48 hours before the arrival. We also recommend it to be translated to Russian although this is not an official requirement. Regarding the other borders we expect that Russia will open the borders with the US not earlier than October. For EU, it will take at least until mid September for Russia to open the border with EU as the rate of infections is 3 times higher than in the EU and the borders are opened only on the basis of reciprocity. If you are a US or an EU citizen you cannot fly into Russia through UK or Turkey even if you have a negative Coronavirus test. 

 

First Countries that Russia will Open the Borders With 27 July 2020 — 15/07/2020

15/07/2020 — At the moment it looks like the first countries that will open the border with Russia will be Turkey and Croatia. You can already travel to Russia through Turkey or Belarus if you have a good plausible reason to do so (read our report from 09/07/2020). There are also negotiations with Cuba, Mexico, Dominicana, Egypt and Arab Emirates. The first EU countries that will be opened for travel will probably be Italy and Germany, but that is subject to their approval and at the moment it doesn't look like they'll allow flights to/from Russia before August 2020. UK and USA citizens may be allowed to Russia starting from the 1st of August the earliest. We think it is more likely that it'll happen from September 1st. If you need some life hacks on how you travel to Russia before the borders are open, please, read our advice below. Also, if you travel to Russia, don't forget to get the travel insurance.

 

Borders are Set to Open on the 27 July 2020 — 09/07/2020

09/07/2020 — It has been reported today (on the Russian Telegram channel Ну чего, народ, летим домой which tends to post quite reliable rumours) that Russia will finally allow international flights on the 27th of July 2020. Sheremetyavo terminal D (international arrivals) will also be opened on the same date). Therefore, the chances of border opening on the 27th July 2020 are quite high at the moment.

In the meanwhile if you need to travel to Russia before the borders open, the only way to do that is if you are studying there or have a relative who needs to be looked after or if you have a medical reason. The latter can be confirmed by a paper from a local doctor. You would still need to get the visa though and you'd need to check if the Russian consulate in your country (or any other country) is open. We also highly recommend you to get your medical travel insurance.

The easiest way to travel to Russia before the borders open is to take one of the two flights a week by Aeroflot (Thursdays and Saturdays — announced 7 days before) from Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, Paris or Belgrade. There are also occasional flights from New York. There are also indirect flights from major European cities through Moldova (Kishinev) or Turkey (Istanbul). Alternatively, Belavia (Belorussian airlines) flies to most world destinations from Minsk. You can take a flight to Minsk and then drive to Russia with a bus or a car. You might have to change the bus at the border, but we have several reports from people who made this trip and it's a fun adventure :) Also, there is a rumour that there will be direct flights to Minsk to Moscow from the 15th of July 2020. As an EU or USA citizen you don't need a visa to enter Belarus if you arrive through the Minsk airport. However, you will need a valid Russian visa to enter Russia.

 

Foreigners Can't Enter Russia before 31 July 2020 — 01/07/2020

01/07/2020: It has been reported by RBC that the ban on the entry of foreign citizens to Russia is extended until the 31st of July 2020. After that time it may be possible to travel to Russia, but that will be confirmed by a special regulation that should be issued in about 2 weeks. Those foreigners who are traveling to Russia to look after relatives or for medical reasons are able to travel to Russia since June 2020. The easiest way to enter Russia is to take a flight to Minsk, Belarus, and then take a car (~€250) or a bus (~€30) to Moscow.   

 

Planned Removal of Coronavirus-related Travel Restrictions in Russia — 18/06/2020

18/06/2020: It is still not clear when the travel restrictions will be lifted in Russia. However, most likely this is going to happen either on the 1st of July 2020 or on the 15th of July 2020. We will be updating the information here. The quarantine regime is now removed in most Russian regions, most of the public places are opened, however, with some restrictions. If you had 

 

Finland to Open its Border for Transit on the 15th of July — 15/06/2020

15/06/2020: If you want to travel to / from Russia overland via Finland, you'll have to wait until the 15th of July as Finland is currently closed for transit with a very few exceptions. Even if you have a residency of another country in EU, you might not be able to pass that border, so it's better to go through Poland until Finland opens up, which is expected to be on the 15th of July 2020. A good website that tracks all the EU countries' Coronavirus-related restrictions is available on https://reopen.europa.eu/en. If you want to know more about travel to / from Russia by car, check out our overland travel guide.

 

Poland Opens its Border for Transit — 15/06/2020

15/06/2020: It is now possible to travel by car through Poland to/from Russia if you can prove the residency in the country you're traveling to (e.g. Russia, Germany, etc) — provided you stay in Poland not longer than 14 hours. Note, that while it may be possible to enter Belarus (if you have a standard or transit visa) there are no official border controls between Russia and Belarus. However, you need to pass the control to get your Russian visa validated (unless you hold a Russian passport). So at the moment this overland travel is not really an option unless you are a Russian citizen. You can use this route to get back from Russia though. Read more in our guide to traveling by car to / from Russia.

 

Another Extension of Russian Visas due to Coronavirus — 10/06/2020

10/06/2020: If you are currently in Russia and hold a Russian visa that expired after the lockdown started (16/03), your visa can be automatically extended up to 15 September 2020 upon leaving Russia. You should have extended it before (see our announcement on the 19th of March 2020 below) and if you did so it looks like you might not need to do anything extra, just wait until you leave. However, we still advise you to contact the immigration authorities as well as the company that issued your visa support to verify with them.

 

Some Trips are Now Possible To Russia — 30/05/2020

30/05/2020: The permission to enter Russia is now extended to the people who have an urgent reason to travel here — to look after their sick relatives, to work (work visa) or to study. All other foreigners who don't hold a permanent or temporary residency permit (RVP) are not allowed entry.