Russian Visa Support Information
The ICLO 2024 Organising Committee provides Visa support to conference participants and their accompanying persons (an accompanying person, for example a spouse, child, relative, friend, etc., is not a conference participant).
Please read carefully the information below about the characteristics of two kinds of visa for foreign visitors entering the Russian Federation (e-Visa and Regular Visa) and the corresponding conditions for applying for each kind of visa, and decide what is suitable for you.
IMPORTANT:
Please check your foreign passport’s expiry date. Foreign visitors entering the Russian Federation must be in possession of a valid foreign passport. The current passport should be valid for a minimum of 6 (six) months after the visa’s expiration date and have at least 2 (two) blank pages (which do not need to be consecutive).
e-Visa
The e-Visa is a single-entry visa and is issued for 60 (sixty) calendar days from the date of its issuance. The duration of the permitted stay in the Russian Federation with an e-Visais up to 16 (sixteen) days starting from and including the date of entry, within its validity period. E-Visa validity and/or the duration of the permitted stay under it cannot be extended. (ATTENTION! The day of arrival and the day of departure are counted as 2 (two) days.)
According to the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/index_en.html), nationals of 55 foreign States may be granted an e-Visa for entering the Russian Federation through specified border crossing points.
The list of foreign States whose nationals can apply for ane-Visa is here: https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/country_en.html
An e-Visa is valid for entry into and exit from the Russian Federation only through the following State border crossing points of the Russian Federation: https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/checkpoint_en.html
The application for an e-Visa in the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation can be made not earlier than 40 days and no later than 4 days before the intended date of entry into the Russian Federation.
If the e-Visa characteristics and conditions described above are suitable for you, then you can apply for an e-Visa in the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation by filling in the application form on-line: https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/index_en.html
In order to apply to an e-Visa, you do not need a Visa Invitation Letter from the ICLO 2024 Organising Committee.
When you fill in the e-Visa application form in the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation you should indicate “Participation in scientific events” as the “Purpose of the trip to the Russian Federation”.
For accompanying persons, when you fill in the e-Visa application form in the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation you should indicate “Tourism” as the “Purpose of the trip to the Russian Federation”.
When you fill in the e-Visa application form in the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation you should also enter the required information about the organization that you are going to visit. Please contact us at
The time required for issuing an e-Visa is not longer than 4 (four) calendar days from the date of submission of the complete application (however, we recommend to start the process beforehand).
Please, carefully pay attention to all the information about the e-Visa in the Consular Portal of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/index_en.html since it is vital for processing your e-Visa application and entry to the Russian Federation. In particular, pay special attention to the allowed period of stay and name spelling required for the visa issuing.
Please, note that any costs associated with issuing the e-Visa are not included in the ICLO conference registration fee.
Regular Visa
If the e-Visa conditions do not apply to you, then you will need a Regular Visa in order to enter the Russian Federation. Please, read carefully the information below.
Foreign visitors to the Russian Federation must satisfy the visa requirements of their local Russian Embassy/Consulate, including an appropriate Visa Invitation Letter. Please, check the requirements of your local Russian Embassy/Consulate.
In order to apply for the Regular Visa, participants must take the Visa Invitation Letter, along with all required travel documents, to their local Russian Embassy/Consulate.
In order to receive a Visa Invitation Letter from the ICLO 2024 Organising Committee first you need to register to the ICLO 2024 website and then provide the information required for issuing the Visa Invitation Letter through your ICLO account.
In your ICLO account you can also require a Visa Invitation Letter for an accompanying person. Please note that a Visa Invitation Letter processing fee of 40 Euro will be charged for any additional Visa Invitation Letter required for an accompanying person (an accompanying person, for example a spouse, child, relative, friend, etc., is not a conference participant).
I. Non-EU citizens (and Ireland)
- The Visa Invitation Letter should be issued by the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS).
- The processing time for the Visa Invitation Letter varies from 4 to 5 weeks, and can be considerably longer if any documents are missing or if further information is required.
- The deadline for the Visa support from the conference organizers (purpose of journey: scientific and technological ties) is April 19, 2024.
II. Citizens of the EU (except Ireland), China, India, Japan, Norway, Switzerland
- Due to agreements between the Russian Federation and the EU (except Ireland), China, India, Japan, Norway, Switzerland about simplification of the process of visa issuing, the Visa Invitation Letter for citizens of these countries can be issued by the Conference organizing services in 5 working days.
- The deadline for the Visa application support from the conference organizers (purposes of journey: scientific and technological ties) is April 19, 2024.
IMPORTANT:
Please check with your local Russian Embassy/Consulate whether the original of the Visa Invitation Letter is required or a scanned copy is sufficient.
The Visa Invitation Letter will only be sent to registered participants to the International Conference Laser Optics ICLO 2024 who submit the necessary information concerning visa support through their ICLO accounts. In order to receive your Visa Invitation Letter please create an account at https://laseroptics.org/, register to the Conference, and submit the necessary information concerning visa support.
Since the Conference takes place during the tourist high season, we recommend participants to start the visa application process as early as possible.
For any questions regarding Visa support,
please contact the ICLO 2024 Organising Committee at
