Russia Eases Travel Norms for India, Visa-Free Travel Expected by 2025

India and Russia are set to implement visa-free travel for Indian citizens to Russia by spring 2025, a move designed to boost tourism between the two countries. This initiative is expected to significantly increase the number of Indian visitors to Russia, especially to Moscow.

Evgeny Kozlov, Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee, emphasized that the agreement, currently being developed, aims to ease travel restrictions and attract more tourists. "The number of travellers from India coming to the Russian capital will significantly increase thanks to this agreement," Kozlov said.

In June 2023, both countries began discussions on a bilateral agreement to ease visa restrictions, focusing on visa-free group tourist exchanges. This move follows the introduction of e-visas for Indian travellers in August 2023, allowing them to apply for a visa online within four days.

India was one of the top five countries for the number of e-visas issued by Russia in 2023, with 9,500 e-visas granted to Indian travellers, accounting for 6% of Russia’s total e-visa issuances. Indians typically visit Russia for business or work-related reasons.

India also ranked among the top countries sending tourists to Moscow, with over 60,000 Indian visitors in 2023, a 26% increase from 2022. In the first quarter of 2024, India was the third-largest source of business tourists to Russia. By January 2024, nearly 1,700 e-visas had been issued to Indian travellers.

Russia has previously launched similar visa-free travel programs with China and Iran and aims to replicate this success with India by 2025.