Non-US Citizens: Get your Russia Student visa with the TDS Washington DC Office

Please send TDS your current valid and SIGNED passport. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the expiration of the visa you are applying for, and MUST have at least TWO blank pages that are listed as VISA pages. Foreign Embassies cannot issue a visa on a page not labeled as a Visa page. Amendment and Endorsement pages in the back of the passport cannot be used for issuance of a visa.
A visa cannot be stamped on a page even if only one Small Stamp is on the visa page. If your passport is NOT valid for at least 6 months beyond of the expiration date of your visa, you must renew your passport and then we will secure your visa with the new passport.

Please send 1 recent professional passport-type photograph.
The photograph must have been taken within the last six months.
Digital and non-passport photographs are not acceptable.
Passport Photo Guide - Click Here

Please do not attach the Photo to the visa application, TDS will do this for you.

A Photocopy of Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) or valid U.S. visa and I-94 is required.
Travelers who entered the USA after April 26th 2013 should print the electronic I-94 form from
Department of Homeland Security

Effective August 17th, 2015: The Russian Government has begun a Pilot E-Invitation Program, using the E-Invitation Program means the original invitation will not be required and your invitation will be sent to you via email. 
TDS recommends requesting your invitation using the E-Invitation method. 
Below is a sample of the old original invitation (Sample One) and the new E-Invitation (Sample Two).

Original Invitation: Sample One

E-Invitation: Sample Two

Applicant must submit an ORIGINAL official letter of invitation (Sample One).
Obtained by the school or university you will be attending issued by the Educational Ministry of the Russian Government.
The letter of invitation must bear an official signed seal of the authorized Russian foreign agency/government.
Your visa will be issued according to the dates specified in your letter of invitation.

If your invitation is a Telex sent directly to a consulate, you will need the reference number, the name of the company that requested the invitation, the cities to be visited, the entry and exit dates listed on the Telex request, and the date it will be available at the consulate. 

Rejections due to incorrect Telex details will be subject to additional Submission Fees.

NON-U.S. CITIZENS: Submit proof of medical insurance which provides coverage for your entire stay in Russia. A copy of your medical card is acceptable.

If you are a European Union passport holder, in addition to a copy of your insurance card submit a list (Sample) of hospitals and or clinics with their Full Name, Address and Phone Number you could visit if needed in each city covered under your medical insurance plan.

A HIV test result issued within 3 months of the date of application showing that you have tested negative is required. This may be a copy of either the actual lab results or a written letter (on letter head) from the doctor explaining that you have been tested, letter lab results or letter must include contact information for the lab/doctor.

HIV test must be conducted via a blood sample an oral test will not be accepted, your test result must clearly state the test was conducted by a Blood Sample. Test results must be on letterhead contain the name, address and phone number of the hospital, laboratory or clinic where the test was taken and must be signed by the doctor.

When applying for a visa it is necessary to provide documentation that you no longer possess Russian Citizenship, such as:

Copy of USSR passport with a stamp stating you left for permanent residence abroad, dated prior to February 6th 1992.

Copy of a Visa to Israel issued prior to February 6th 1992.

Copy of a Certificate of Naturalization issued prior to 1996

Document confirming the renunciation of your Russian citizenship.

Copy of the main pages of a passport of a former USSR state, issued after February 1992.

Written statement of explanation in the case that you have no documentation.

In accordance with Russian law, visas can not be issued to Russian citizens with expired passports. We remind you that in accordance to Article 12 of Russian law "On citizenship of the Russian Federation", children born to two parents who are Russian citizens automatically gain Russian citizenship regardless of the place of birth. In this case visas are not issued and they must apply for Russian citizenship or have their information written into the passport of one of their parents or obtain a Russian passport.

If you were born in a state of the former Soviet Republic or Ukraine you must supply a copy of your Soviet or Ukrainian passport along with a letter stating when you immigrated to the US.

Complete and Sign One Online Application Form.

The online Russian Application functions only with Internet Explorer Versions 7.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox Versions 3.6 and above. Browsers such as Chrome and Safari are not compatible with the online Russian Application.

Please Note: The application must be printed on TWO sheets of paper, the Embassy/Consulate will NOT except applications on a single sheet printed back to back.

As part of the visa application process you will be asked to create a Application ID and answer a Security Question, you MUST save the Application ID and Security Question as you will need it should you need to access your application again online to make any changes or corrections your online visa application.

****Please print and send your Application ID and Password along with your completed and signed Russian visa application to Travel Document Systems.****

A Common Error to Avoid

The very first question on the electronic application site asks “Country (select the country where you will be applying for your visa)”. Be sure that you select “UNITED STATES" from the dropdown menu.

At the end of the online Russian visa application, you will be asked to select the visa issuing office. You MUST select "Russia Visa Center WASHINGTON", "Russia Visa Center NEW YORK", or "Russia Visa Center HOUSTON" depending on which Travel Document Systems location will process your visa.

If you select the city without "Russia Visa Center" the application will not be accepted.