Good news for travelers wanting to visit Russia and Belarus in 2025: as of January 11, the long-awaited agreement on mutual recognition of visas has taken effect. This greatly simplifies travel between both countries with a single visa.
Hello, this is good news to hear.
Does this apply retroactively to visas issued last year? I have tourist visa for Russia valid from 2024-2027. I traveled to Russia last year.
Yes, this agreement does apply retroactively to valid visas issued before it came into force, as long as those visas are still valid.
Key details from the agreement:
In Article 2, Paragraph 1, it states:
Foreign nationals and stateless persons who possess a valid visa issued by one of the States (Russia or Belarus) have the right to enter, exit, stay, and transit through the territory of the other State during the validity period of that visa.
At no point does the agreement restrict its application only to visas issued after the agreement came into effect. The key condition is that the visa must be valid and issued by the competent authorities of one of the two countries.
This is my interpretation, however I recommend that you also ask at the Consulate.
@Irena Thank you. I should clarify I want to travel to Belarus.
I have emailed the Belarus embassy before, but never received any responses in the last month. Is that a better contact you have for them?
@BBowker No, I’m sorry
@Irena
HI Irena,
I’ve spent the last few weeks gathering information about crossing the border from Belarus into Russia, particularly about the migration card needed for registration.
In the past I used to get it at the border in Ivangorod, but now I’m not sure if the migration card issued by Belarus is valid for the Russian Federation or if I need to get a new one at one of the six designated checkpoints for foreigners.
My original plan was to take the Minsk-Moscow train, but I understand that these trains don’t stop at these checkpoints. Do you happen to know if the checks are done on the train instead?
I’d really appreciate any information you could give me on this.
Thanks in advance!
@ferro Info about migration card and border-crossing:
https://gpk.gov.by/en/border-crossing/
When departing from the territory of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation, foreign citizens receive a migration card from the competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus. The migration card is filled in before entering the Russian Federation and is produced to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation during their stay in the Russian Federation.
@Irena Thank you very much!
In a nutshell, I understand this to mean that the Belarusian migration card is also valid for the Russian Federation, allowing me to simply take the train from Brest to Moscow and present this card, which i have received in Belarus, at my hotel in Moscow.
I would really appreciate your thoughts on that.
If I have a single entry tourist visa to Russia, and I stay in Moscow, then travel to Belarus by plane, am I able to return to Moscow? or will i need a double / multiple entry visa to “Re-enter” Russia?
@simonwolf For a long time it was not allowed for a foreign tourist to cross from Russia into Belarus. It sounds like this restriction has been dropped. I would suggest you contact a hotel in Belarus and ask them if it would be possible for you to cross from Russia as a tourist, they should be able to tell you if you can rent a room in Belarus with a Russian Visa and traveling from Russia.
@Bill The way I understand it is that there is no issue travelling to Belarus, I’m just not sure how the single entry visa works, and if going from Belarus back into Russia required a double entry / multiple entry visa use
@simonwolf Different situation to you, but I asked Russian consulate if I could travel by train from Russia to Belarus and back to Russia (with a single-entry e-visa), and I was told that I couldn’t. I also noted that when I asked the question that the train would pass Lithuania, but I thought the train wouldn’t stop anyway given the current situation. Anyway, was told ‘cannot’.
@popcorn Of course you wouldn’t be allowed back. You have had/have a “SINGLE ENTRY” visa. If you enter Russia once, then once you leave, you will need another visa to get back in.
I was wondering what the situation is for traveling from Moscow to Minsk on a Russian E-visa. I hoping to get a bus from Moscow to Minsk then from Minsk to Vilnius.
@Iangrant As of January 11, 2025, Russia and Belarus have implemented a mutual visa recognition agreement, allowing foreign nationals to travel between the two countries using a single visa.
However, it’s important to note that this agreement applies to traditional visas and residence permits issued by either country. Electronic visas (e-visas) are not included in this mutual recognition.
@Irena
The Belarus Visa issued by a consulate allows you to travel on to Russia.
The Belarussian consulate fees are much lower than the Russian ones: 35-60€ for 30days tourist depends on which country your passport is from.
It might be a good idea to enter that way!
In addition it is possible to get a 2-entry Visa, so you can return to Belarus.
I wonder if you could go straight to Russia from a third country with that Belarussian Consulate Visa without entering Belarus before??
Anybody some experience?
Hello Irene, I have a question please. I am going to visit Belarus without a visa under the visa-free entry agreement this summer. I would also like to visit Russia after Belarus using the eVisa for Russia. My question is: how can I activate my Russian eVisa in Moscow if they say there are no border checks between Belarus and Russia? I am planning to fly from Minsk to Sheremetevo.
@simonwolf Now I’m solving the same problem. If you want to go Belarus and then Russia, stay there for a few days and then return via Belarus → a classic single entry visa is enough. But if you want to go first to Russia, then to Belarus for a few days, and return to Russia - you need to have a multiple entry visa. I called the Belarusian consulate, the lady there told me this. But the visa must be valid when entering Belarus! If you want to go to Russia through it. Even though there is visa-free entry in Belarus.
Hello everybody! I’m fron Argentina. Both countries are visa-free for Argentine citizens. How does the agreement apply under these conditions? Can I pass freely with the immigration card?
In November I want to visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and Minsk.
I just crossed into Belarus from Poland via Bus. And with a Russian tourist visa. 2 important pieces of info if you plan to do the same:
- Plan on it taking half a day to cross.
- Americans and Canadians are not allowed to cross back the same way. You will need to cross into Lithuania and then back to Poland.