What you need to enter Russia with a Polish passport

The border crossings that accept the electronic visa: different entry rules

The unified electronic visa is valid for entering and leaving Russia only through the border crossing points on the list approved by the Russian government, and that list is not the same across the country: the crossings for Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, those for the Far East and the one for Kaliningrad are published separately. Turning up with an e-visa at a crossing that is not on the list does not get you in, so check your point of arrival on the consular portal before buying a ticket.

Source: evisa.kdmid.ru, Departamento Consular del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Rusia (comprobado 18/09/2026)

Authorization system

Unified e-Visa (evisa.kdmid.ru)

Single-entry electronic visa, managed directly by the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, available only to nationalities eligible under the official list (not every passport we track is eligible). It allows a stay of up to 30 days from the date of entry within the visa's validity period; both the entry and exit days count as full days. The application must be submitted no less than 4 days and no more than 40 days before the intended entry date.

Visa, e-Visa, or electronic authorization? What's the difference →

Fee

The official evisa.kdmid.ru portal confirms the application has a cost and that the (non-refundable) payment is made by card within the form itself, but doesn't publish the exact figure on its public information pages. Secondary sources consistently cite a USD 40 consular fee (around USD 52 with payment-gateway surcharges), but that figure couldn't be verified against the official text, so it's left unconfirmed. Children under 6 are exempt from the fee.

Processing time

Up to 4 calendar days from the submission of the application, per the official portal (the period includes weekends and public holidays).

Required documents

• Machine-readable valid passport, with at least 6 months of validity from the application date.
• Digital photo of the passport data page, in JPEG format.
• Digital photo of the applicant's face, in JPEG format, with a neutral background and specific framing (the face must take up 70-80% of the frame).
• Travel medical insurance policy valid across Russian territory for the entire stay (except for nationalities exempt on a reciprocity basis, not listed on the official page consulted).

Vaccinations

• No mandatory vaccines for entry: no international certificate of vaccination (yellow fever included) is required under the International Health Regulations.

Health insurance

Mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

Maximum stay of 30 days from the date of entry, within the validity period of the unified e-Visa. The e-Visa is single-entry: it does not allow leaving and re-entering Russia on the same visa.

Customs limits

Cash

Mandatory written declaration, both entering and leaving Russia, if carrying cash and/or traveller's cheques equivalent to USD 10,000 or more (Art. 260, paragraphs 7-8, of the Eurasian Economic Union Customs Code). Below that threshold, declaration is voluntary. Since March 2022, leaving Russia with foreign currency above USD 10,000 has been prohibited (this restriction doesn't apply to the ruble).

Alcohol

3 litres of alcoholic beverages per person over 18 years old, duty-free (EAEU Council Decision No. 107, 20 December 2017).

Tobacco

200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars/cigarillos, or 200 heated-tobacco units ('sticks'), or 250 grams of tobacco, per person over 18 years old, duty-free.

Overstay penalties

Article 18.8 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences (KoAP RF) penalizes a foreign citizen's violation of the stay regime with a fine of between 2,000 and 5,000 rubles, with possible administrative expulsion from Russian territory. In Moscow, St. Petersburg, and their regions (Moscow Oblast and Leningrad Oblast) the fine rises to 5,000-7,000 rubles; for a repeat violation within the same year, the fine can reach 7,000-10,000 rubles in those same regions.

Common reasons for denial

• The details on the e-visa application not matching those in the passport — citizenship, surname, given names, date of birth, sex or passport number: a full or partial mismatch is a ground for refusing entry at the border crossing point.
• Attaching a photograph that is not of the applicant or does not meet the required format: the official source names it expressly as a ground for refusal at the border.
• Presenting yourself at a border crossing point that is not on the list approved by the Russian Government for the unified e-visa: that visa is only valid for entry and exit through those points.
• Any of the circumstances in Federal Law No. 114-FZ of 15 August 1996 arising: being granted the e-visa does not guarantee entry, and refusal can happen at the border check itself.