Visa for Russia (for students studying in St. Petersburg, Moscow or Irkutsk)
Virtually all travellers to Russia need an entry visa, which is a document stuck into the applicant's passport. The earliest arrival and the latest departure dates are indicated on the visa and must be observed. Students have to apply for the visa at a dedicated visa center or visa department of a Russian Consulate or Embassy. Liden & Denz provides all students with an official invitation enabling student to apply for the correct visa type.
Maximum duration of study visa for language course is 90 days, regardless of nationality. Please see table below for more information on visa options.
Only higher education institutions' full-time programmes allow longer stays, and participants of such courses are entitled to extendable visas (up to 1 year). Therefore, in Saint Petersburg we have worked out a special joint programme with the Humanitarian Academy, under which students are enrolled in both Liden & Denz and the Academy. The programme itself consists in combining any of our full-time Russian language course with the Academy’s module (https://lidenz.ru/russian-academy/) on the Russian history and culture. Please note that due to the time-taking visa formalities, the booking deadline is 11 weeks.
| Your citizenship |
up to 30 days |
up to 90 days |
| Schengen area |
Tourist Visa |
|
| Study visa under simplified regime |
| Japan, UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Turkey and other non-Schengen countries |
Tourist Visa |
Study visa via Russian Federal Immigration |
| Serbia, Montenegro, Thailand |
Visa-free for up to 30 days but not more than 90 days within half a year |
Study visa via Russian Federal Immigration |
| Latin America (except for Mexico), Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Visa-free for up to 90 days within half a year |
| South Korea |
Visa-free for up to 60 days, but not more than 90 days within half a year |
Study visa via Russian Federal Immigration |
Citizens of Schengen countries traveling for up to 30 days can choose to come with a tourist visa or a student visa under simplified regime. If you opt for a tourist visa, we suggest you use services of our trusted partner Viselio (available for Swiss, Germans and Austrians currently), providing end-to-end visa support. Please contact our booking department for further details.
Every foreigner who travels to Russia must register his/her Russian visa within 7 working days upon arrival. If you are traveling to Russia for more than 7 working days, you will need to register your visa.
- If accommodation is arranged by Liden & Denz (except for hotels), we provide registration service free of charge
- Otherwise, students should register independently with the owner of their accommodation
- In other cases, if needed, we can offer a registration service for EUR 40.
The registration of a Russian visa normally takes two working days. Liden & Denz requires that all students hand in their passports and immigration cards to our front-desk on their first day.
The immigration card is a document filled in at the passport control zone upon arrival. Keep it with you and hand it over to the official stamping your passport when leaving the country.
Study visa under simplified regime
Issued to citizen of Schengen countries only: A short-term study visa for Schengen citizens is valid for one entry and for maximum 90 days. The invitation letter is issued by Liden & Denz and sent to the student by email. The booking deadline is 3 weeks prior to arrival. This visa is issued free of charge and usually a copy of the school’s letter of invitation is sufficient for the visa application (but please double check the policy of your nearest Russian Visa Center or Consulate). Prolongation: this visa type cannot be prolonged! Liden & Denz might allow some extra days for traveling. It is necessary to inform us about your special needs in advance, once the visa is obtained - it can not be amended.
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Study visa via Russian Federal Immigration
A student visa for language courses is issued for 90 days at maximum and is non-extendable. This visa support procedure takes up to four weeks and courier costs apply as an original of the invitation letter is required for visa application. Bookings with all relevant data should reach us at least 11 weeks prior to arrival.
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Tourist visa
For students outside the Schengen area, who wish to study four weeks or less, we will arrange a simple invitation which entitles the student to apply for a tourist visa. This invitation or tourist voucher will be sent by email to the student within 24 hours of a booking. The tourist visa is valid for one entry and for maximum 30 days and can not be prolonged. The booking deadline is 3 weeks prior to arrival.
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Visa for Latvia
Latvia is a Schengen country: most students will travel visa-free. Students requiring a Schengen visa (valid for stays up to 90 days within half a year) or a residence permit (for longer stays), will receive respective support from Liden & Denz. Students are advised to check visa policies and costs in the nearest Latvian consulate.
| Your citizenship |
up to 90 days |
longer than 90 days |
| Schengen area |
Visa-free |
| UK, USA, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Serbia. |
Visa-free for up to 90 days within half a year |
Residence permit |
| Other Countries |
Tourist visa |
Residence permit |
Residence permit
Even participants from countries not needing a visa for short-stays, have to obtain a residence permit for stays longer than 90 days. Liden & Denz will take care of all formalities, but students are obliged to book accommodation and insurance with us. The cost of insurance is EUR 10 / week. Usually we initiate this procedure after arrival (it takes 8-12 weeks), but please be prepared that you will need to disclose your sources of income (proof documents are required in English).
Residence permit
If you plan to book a programme longer than 90 days, our booking deadline is 8 weeks prior to arrival. Students needing a Latvian residence permit are obliged to book accommodation and insurance with Liden & Denz. The cost of the insurance is EUR 10 / week. As procedures vary country by country, please get in touch with us
by email for further details.
Tourist visa
The booking deadline is 8 weeks prior to arrival. Students needing a visa for Latvia are obliged to book accommodation and insurance with Liden & Denz. The cost of the insurance is EUR 10 / week. We will pass your details to the Immigration authorities and prepare a letter of invitation for the tourist visa after receiving a deposit. In order to apply for the visa in your nearest Latvian Embassy or Consulate you will need only its reference number.
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VISA INVITATION LETTER
An invitation letter for this visa is issued by the Federal Migration Office of Russia, which takes 21 business days. Upon this invitation, a visa will be given for 90 days and only one entry. It will be prolonged for the whole period of stay already on spot and after that will become multi entry (the prolongation process usually takes up to 6 weeks).
In order to issue an invitation letter we need the following information:
- Clear passport scan (the passport must remain valid for 1,5 year after the Russian visa expiry date)
- Arrival & departure dates
- Place of birth
- Permanent address
- Place of application for the visa (city, country of a Consulate)
VISA PROLONGATION PROCEDURE
When going to Russia, please make sure you bring the following documents in the original with you:
- Diploma* (original document - APOSTILLED**)
- Passport * (with at least 2 empty page spreads)
- 5 passport size photos
- Medical insurance
* Passport and diploma copies should be translated into Russian and notarized at your expense. From our side we will help you arrange it (for an extra charge of 60 EUR, payable upon arrival)
**An apostille is affixed on the original document or on a separate sheet attached to the document. The procedure is carried out by the competent authorities of the country where the diploma was issued. Here you can find more detailed information about how and where to get documents apostilled in your country: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/specialised-sections/faq1
Please note that the enlisted documents are to be submitted immediately upon arrival. If they are delivered via courier mail, they must arrive no later than two months before the start of the extension procedure. In case they are not provided in time, the visa will not be prolonged, for which Liden & Denz will not be liable.
As a US citizen, you could try another solution: a three-year multi-entry tourist visa allowing one to stay in Russia for 180 days at a time. The only issue with this long-term tourist visa is that it remains at the discretion of a consulate and can be refused if one has never been to Russia before. We recommend you to check the possibilities and related formalities with an experienced visa agent, e.g. Travisa or similar. Please note that if you opt for a tourist visa, you should specify tourism as a purpose of visit in all visa questionnaires and in a migration card on the border.
