Business Visa to Work in Russia

Maximum Stay: up to 1 year.

Number of Entries: 1-2, or multiple.

Important: A Business visa to work in Russia is more expensive than other types of visas. You will need a Business visa and a work permit to work in Russia.

How to Get a Visa: If you want to get a Business visa to work in Russia, you need to have a Russian employer who will be willing to hire you and assist you in getting such a visa for you. Getting such a visa is a long and expensive process, and it mostly depends on how badly the Russian employer wants you. The Russian employer will have to acquire a permit to hire a foreign citizen because every year the government assigns a quota to limit the number of foreigners that come to work in Russia. For each region of Russia this limitation is different. If your employer has such a permit, he/she will be able to send you an invitation, which you will use to get a Russian Business visa in any Russian consulate or embassy. The employer will also have to send a letter in which he/she guarantees that you will leave the country when your Business visa expires.

Some companies can offer you their services in getting a Business visa to Russia for you. They do not actually offer you a job, but rather make it look like you are working for them, while you can use your stay in Russia to find a real job or to travel. They process such business visas much faster and in some cases for less money.

The attitude to foreign workers is complicated in Russia. One the one hand, there is a large number of low-qualified immigrants from Southern vicinities of Russia who enter Russia constantly and take Russian jobs which are not enough even for Russians. On the other hand, highly-qualities western and European specialists are very well-appreciated because they can share their experience and bring new western ideas to the Russian company.