Visiting Moscow on Stopover [closed]

Traveling to Moscow Aeroflot 21 hour layover, 4:30 p.m. leaving 2:20 next day. Sight seeing, staying over at hotel. Leaving from same airport. Do we need travel Visa?

Best Answer

Since you are leaving the airport and do not only stay in airside transit, you will need a visa even though you're staying less than 24h - unless you're from one of the countries whose citizens are allowed visa free travel, see this wikipedia article for a list of countries.

If you were staying airside in international transit and you're staying for less than 24h, you would not need a visa according to this:

Direct airside transit

Passengers travelling through international airports do not need a visa for a transit of less than 24 hours, provided a confirmed onward ticket is held and the traveller remains in the international transit area (without clearing passport control).

Only five Russian airports have an international transit area:

Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) - terminals D, E and F

Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport (DME)

Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) - terminal A

Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport (LED) - new terminal 1

Yekaterinburg's Koltsovo International Airport (SVX) - international terminal.

In addition to that, the website of Novosibirsk Tolmachevo (OVB) states:

Transit of transfer passengers from an international flight to an international flight (IAL-IAL) occurs with the passage of all departure procedures for boarding a connecting IAL flight at the airport of IAL (Terminal B).

No Russian visa is required for a transit of transfer passengers from an IAL to an IAL of the connecting time of a flight is less than 4 hours and a passenger does not leave the airport. Arriving passengers are accommodated in the transfer hall in the sterile area on the second floor of the airport of an IAL (Terminal B).

For transit of transfer passengers from an IAL flight to an IAL flight, in case if the connecting time exceeds 4 hours, the arrived transfer passengers shall go into the arrival hall on the first floor of the airport of an IAL (Terminal B) for passage of border control, baggage handling and customs control thereafter.

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Can I visit Moscow on a layover?

Depending on your nationality, a six-hour layover may not give you enough time to explore Moscow. Citizens of many countries around the world require a visa to visit Russia, and if you don't have one, you won't be able to leave the airport.

Is Russia allowing transit passengers?

Transiting in RussiaPassengers entering or transiting the Russian Federation must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken at most 2 days before arrival. The test result must be in English or Russian. A notarized translation to Russian is accepted.

Can US citizens travel to Russia right now?

Do not travel to Russia due to the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment against U.S. citizens by Russian government security officials, the singling out of U.S. citizens in Russia by Russian government security officials including for detention, the ...

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