General 2022+ Update for Russia

This forum was closed for a long time after COVID, then due to its sale by the previous owner. Since 2022, there have been notable changes for Russia. It became possible to travel to Russia as a tourist again after COVID restrictions ended in summer 2022. But before that, in March 2022, the EU and member countries cut air links with Russia, as well as train lines. They also cut Russian banks off from the Euro-American banking network—meaning cards and wire transfers.

EU-based insurers stopped offering policies for Russia. The Green Card for cars in Russia was also discontinued. Then the EU abolished the simplified visa regime agreement with Russia. All in all, a summary of the current practical aspects would be helpful.

I’ve been traveling to Russia regularly for about twenty years, and after the long COVID break, I resumed in autumn 2022.

Visa

The usual paper visa is much more expensive. On one hand, because the previous regime was scrapped, and on the other, because invitations for multi-entry visas are pricier. A single-entry 30-day visa costs 80 €. The multi-entry one is 240 €. To be sure you’ll get a 12-month multi-entry, it’s best to buy a telex invitation from the MID (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), though there are few resellers. Prices vary depending on the seller.

E-visas are now available for Schengen passport holders. A big simplification for trips up to 16 days within a 60-day validity period. You can apply from 40 days up to 5 days before your desired date. Issued in up to four days. The site is https://evisa.kdmid.ru/ Cost: 50 €. Processed through an Emirati bank (United Arab Emirates).

Medical Insurance

Medical insurance with repatriation is required to get a visa. So you’ll need to buy a policy. This brings up payment methods. If you’re already familiar with Russia and have a Russian bank account, you can pay with your Russian card. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy from a site that accepts payments via a Belarusian bank—which means your bank must work with Belarus—or go through https://goingrus.com/fr/insurance

Transport from the EU

Minibus (marshrutka) from Kirkenes (Norway) to Murmansk. Schedules are coordinated with flights from Oslo, which arrive between 11:00 and 12:00. They wait on the right as you exit the airport. Some are chartered by groups and leave directly, but may have space—ask the driver. Otherwise, two companies run the route, with a stop in town at the corner of the Scandic, where they depart around 14:00 or 15:00. Payment in cash (NOK or RUB) to the driver. Main operator: https://borodinbus.com Bus from Tallinn (Estonia) to St. Petersburg. The border crossing is on the Narva River. The Russian road checkpoint has been closed since January 2024 for construction expected to last 2.5 years, so reopening is possible in summer 2026. In the meantime, it’s a two-bus journey: Tallinn-Narva, then walk across the bridge between the Estonian and Russian checkpoints at Ivangorod, followed by another bus. Several companies: Luxexpress, Ecolines, Baltic Shuttle, Anniston, СКСавто. Bus from Riga to Pskov or St. Petersburg (final destination). Departs from Riga’s bus station (behind the train station) daily between 18:00 and 19:00. Arrives in Pskov between 01:00 and 02:00 (Russian time). Company: СКСавто. There’s another bus around 21:00 with Ecolines, but it’s longer, with a long stop at the border. Bus from Gdańsk to Kaliningrad. Several buses per day. From the PKS bus station, behind Gdańsk’s central station, on the other side of the boulevard. From Kaliningrad, a 1-hour flight to St. Petersburg costs around 5000 RUB.

Basically, unless you’re planning to go to Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula—and possibly from Murmansk, flights to Arkhangelsk, then Nenetsia (Naryan-Mar), etc.—the three main crossing points with airports are Tallinn, Riga, and Gdańsk.

The Gdańsk-Kaliningrad bus is the fastest, and the ticket to St. Petersburg is very reasonable.

The Narva-Ivangorod route is the riskiest in terms of potential queues and crossing time. Holiday periods are especially risky. Last mid-June, I took a 14:00 bus from Tallinn. I’d bought a single-berth compartment on the Grand Express St. Petersburg-Moscow train, leaving at 23:00, with the idea of a good night’s rest before a Moscow-Magadan flight. A 7-hour queue at the border meant I arrived at St. Petersburg’s bus station at 23:00—missed the train, had to book a room, and spent time finding a reasonably priced flight to Moscow the next day for the same airport as my Magadan flight.

The Riga-Pskov route is a bit long but relaxed. If you get off in Pskov, you can still get decent sleep between 02:00 and 12:00. The Oktyabrskaya Hotel is cheap. I’ve also stopped in Izborsk. You ask the driver when boarding in Riga. The stop is on the federal highway—cross the road, and the main inn is 200m away. You can explore the medieval site the next morning before taking a bus to Pskov (30 km).

From Pskov, there are fast regional Lastochka trains—three or four per day—to St. Petersburg, taking 3.5 hours. Very comfortable and affordable. Also, two daily flights with Azimuth to Moscow-Vnukovo from 5000 RUB. A one-hour flight. It’s a section of Pskov’s military airfield, just a few kilometers from the city center.

Money

Cash. The EU issued a nonsensical decree: a ban on importing EU currency (euros, zloty, kroner, forints, etc.) except for personal travel use. This doesn’t make sense because as a citizen of a eurozone country, you *have* to have euros—cash or electronic (card). You can’t travel without them. The stipulation about a limit for personal use is absurd because personal use can mean anything from a hostel bed to a luxury hotel room, plus transport (flight tickets, train tickets in Russia), restaurants, etc. Estonian customs officers ask about this at the border when leaving. They ask in Estonian, then Russian, then English, depending. Since I cross with a French passport, I just say, "Sorry, I don’t understand," no matter what. Then they ask with a questioning look, "Euro?" and I shake my head. I haven’t been searched, but they do ask to glance in your bag. Russians with large suitcases often get checked. Cards and phone apps: if you have a Russian bank account.

Telephony and Internet

Roaming works but is pricey. Okay for calls and SMS, but very expensive for data. In that case, use an e-SIM with your home carrier if your phone supports it. Otherwise, look into prepaid rechargeable SIMs in Russia for data only—like SIM cards for mobile modems.

Russian SIM: Since this year (2025), as of March, it’s mandatory to be registered in the EBS (Unified Biometric System) to buy a SIM card. For a non-resident foreigner, this means first registering for a SNILS at an MFC (Multifunctional Center)—also called "My Documents." The SNILS is the pension center, which doesn’t require residency. After getting your SNILS number and certificate, you register on the public services portal, Gosuslugi. Finally, you register in the EBS system (voice sample—you read numbers—and a biometric facial photo).

Personal Car

The Green Card no longer covers Russia, and neither do EU-based insurers. But third-party liability insurance (OSAGO) is mandatory. Since the closure of the Russian checkpoint at Ivangorod for construction and the Finnish border closure, the routes are from Kirkenes in Norway, the Estonia-Pskov route, and—since the Belarus-Russia joint visa this year—the Belarus route, e.g., Poland-Terespol-Brest or Lithuania-Belarus. No OSAGO sales if you cross via Kirkenes. I didn’t see any at Shumilkino, the Russian checkpoint after Estonia toward Pskov. If you have a Russian card, you can buy online, of course. Otherwise, pay in cash on-site at certain company offices (specific forms aren’t available at all agencies) or online by paying to a third-party account outside Russia—with added fees.

Thanks for this info—would Leningrad Oblast be the same?

Definitely, is Leningrad Oblast the same?

Sorry, the same as what?

Same for access restrictions to the region :)

Same for access restrictions to the region :)

Ah. The access rules—i.e., crossing the Russian border—are uniform and identical at all border checkpoints: visa if needed (some countries don’t require one).

Beyond that, here’s an overview of access points from the EU zone since its 2022 sanctions: no direct flights, no trains, Finland’s border closed, and restricted border crossings in the Baltic countries.

If you want to go to Saint Petersburg, the closest border crossing is Narva-Ivangorod, so two buses and crossing from the Estonian checkpoint to the Russian one on foot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHtYozi2eD4

But there can be long queues there.

Taking the bus from Riga via Pskov might be a better option if you don’t want to stand around for hours and/or miss a connection. The Gdansk→Kaliningrad bus then a 1-hour flight from Kaliningrad to Saint Petersburg for 5,000 rubles is another option.

Hello, Great explanations! If you don't mind, I’ll add a few tips. To get to Russia via Kaliningrad, you can also take the bus from Berlin (+/- 10,000 RUB one way). It’s also possible to take the bus from Warsaw. You can also take the bus from Kaunas or Vilnius (I prefer the Vilnius terminus) (Lithuania) – round trip is about +/- 11,500 RUB. Ryanair flies to Kaunas – by plane. For buying bus tickets, you can book a maximum of 3 months in advance. For flights from Kaliningrad to Moscow, it’s best to book your flight ticket at least 6 weeks before departure to get a one-way ticket for around 5,500 rubles (Aeroflot). You also have other airlines that operate these routes, like Ryanair. You can always cross the border at Kaliningrad in your own car and get Russian vehicle insurance at a gas station after the border. Insurance isn’t required at customs—just your vehicle registration documents—and you’ll then need to fill out paperwork for the temporary import of your vehicle (valid for one year). The instructions at customs are in Russian and English. Best regards,

You can also get near St. Petersburg by boat from Kaliningrad. The journey takes about 60 hours. You can bring your vehicle, but even though the number of ships making the trip is increasing, it's best to book in advance.

Hello, Great explanations! If you don’t mind, I’ll add a few tips. To get to Russia via Kaliningrad, you can also take the bus from Berlin (+/- 10,000 RUB one way). It’s also possible to take the bus from Warsaw. You can also take the bus from Kaunas or Vilnius (I prefer the Vilnius terminus) (Lithuania) – round trip +/- 11,500 RUB. Ryanair flies to Kaunas – by plane. For buying bus tickets, you can book a maximum of 3 months in advance. For flights from Kaliningrad to Moscow, it’s best to book your flight ticket at least 6 weeks before departure to get a one-way ticket for around 5,500 rubles (Aeroflot). You also have other airlines operating these routes, like Ryanair. You can always cross the border at Kaliningrad by car and get Russian vehicle insurance at a gas station after the border. Insurance isn’t required at customs—just your vehicle registration documents. After that, you’ll need to fill out paperwork for the temporary import of your vehicle (valid for one year). The customs explanations are in Russian and English. Best regards

Thanks everyone for these details!

Hi, Do you know where we can find the temporary vehicle importation form online? Thanks. Stéphane

Hi there, check this out: http://visalink-russia.com/passenger-customs-declaration-form-russian-customs.html Best, Patrick

Thanks! Do we just fill it out for the driver, or for each passenger too?

Hi there, You fill in the vehicle details with the driver’s name (or the owner of the vehicle). The name must match the one on the vehicle registration card. Best regards, Patrick

A big thank you for this encouraging info about returning to Russia.

Regarding currencies, I was thinking—could we bring currencies accepted in Russia that we can get in Europe, instead of euros? I’m thinking Turkish lira, for example.

I also have another question: what’s the deal with registration these days?

Thanks so much for this encouraging info about returning to Russia.

About currencies, I was wondering if instead of euros, we could bring currencies accepted in Russia that we can get in Europe? Like Turkish lira, for example.

the best: dollars. New bills.

I’m also wondering about the registration question.

Nothing new—same routine as always: you need to register if staying more than 7 business days, which means within the first 10 days including weekends. Spending one night in a hotel is enough.

Thanks for the info. And I’ll keep in mind that dollars are still accepted too.

Thanks for the info. And I’ll keep in mind that dollars are always accepted too.

Euros and dollars are accepted as a priority. The issue with euros isn’t on the Russian side but the EU side. Since spring 2022, the EU has passed regulations banning the export—so they say—of currencies from the entire EU+EEA, mainly the €, to Russia. Except, they say, for personal use. Which makes no sense, because staying in a budget hostel or a luxury palace suite, eating at a Uzbek stall or a Michelin-starred restaurant, is all personal use but with a huge price range. What’s more, in principle this regulation is illegal, because if your home currency is the €, you can’t not have euros, either in cash or digitally. It’s impossible not to have them—it’s like air, impossible not to breathe. But that’s just how it is.

At the Estonian border, customs officers always ask "euro?", and depending on the crossing point and the time, they may or may not conduct a thorough search of your hand luggage, shoulder bag, or small backpack. Not always, but it happened to me 3 out of 4 short trips this year.

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I have a Russian bank account, so the question doesn’t come up for me, but Russian friends returning from abroad with leftover € bills to exchange were refused if the bill was crumpled or had a tiny stain. I bought those bills from them for rubles through my account, and then returning to the eurozone was no problem. In November 2022, I withdrew the maximum allowed in € from an ATM, rolled them up in my pants pocket, and crossed without any issues. No search, but who knows... On the other hand, it’s become almost impossible to get € in large denominations.

Dollars, however, aren’t restricted by the U.S. government, and they’re not under EU jurisdiction, so no issues at EU customs. --

I should write a short, documented thread on the process for opening a bank account and using it when I have a minute. It involves visiting the administration to register for a social security number (SNILS), then creating a profile with it on the central administrative portal (Gosuslugi), also by visiting the administrative center (MFC), and finally registering in the unified biometric database (EBS). This then allows you to get SIM cards, open a bank account, etc. There’s a simplification project involving biometric registration at the border, which would automatically create an administrative profile, allowing you to go straight to opening a bank account and getting SIM cards. But it’s still in the early stages. At the end of June, an app was launched for this purpose, with the idea of creating a SNILS yourself via facial capture on your phone and voice recording. The app is RuID. But we’ll have to see how it works at the moment.

In my case, having had SIM accounts for years and a bank account since 2022, I registered on-site at the MFC fairly easily, then in the EBS, so no transition issues. Just so you know, when I cross the border since 2022, I activate my SIM(s), and for any purchase, I use my MIR card and/or QR app. It’s very important that I can also buy train, bus, or plane tickets in advance, paying with my MIR card.

The administrative step is simple if you’re already familiar with the Russian context. Otherwise, it might seem cumbersome and restrictive (two visits to the administration, one to Sberbank for biometrics). People are very helpful with foreigners, but if you don’t speak at least some Russian, it can be tough.

Hi there, 3 business days with a private visa. 7 business days with a tourist visa. Best regards, Through the hotel, host, post office, or UFMS

Hi there, Actually, finding flight tickets over 100 euros in Europe is tough. I opened an account with VTB last year, and with the residence permit, they just "scanned" me. I have a SNILS, but my wife tells me you need to be Russian for Gosuslugi. It’d be great to have explanations for everyone on how to access it. Getting dollars in some countries is difficult. For your info, Polish zlotys are also accepted. I recommend Energotransbank for currency exchange—they have good rates, and for amounts over 400 euros, you’ll need to show your passport and registration. Also, it’s important to note that when you open a bank account in Russia, you *must* have a Russian SIM card to install the banking app and access your account.

Best regards,