To receive a tourist invitation to Russia, please indicate your citizenship. You will be provided with a registration form. Fill in all the fields carefully, then proceed to the next step to confirm and pay for your invitation.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Russian Visa Invitation in Hong Kong?
A Russian tourist visa invitation for applicants in Hong Kong is issued after payment and data checks when ordered online: fill in a short form, pay from $19, and the PDF voucher arrives by email. Holders of an HKSAR passport can visit Russia visa-free for up to 14 days, so the invitation matters mainly for longer stays, BN(O) passport holders, and foreign residents of Hong Kong, who apply for a visa at the Russian Consulate General in Wan Chai.
Need a tourist invitation for a regular Russian visa? Order only after checking that this is the correct route for your trip.
Order a Tourist Invitation — from $19Official tour operator (PTO 015681) · PDF by email · Verify the current filing rules for your location
Who in Hong Kong actually needs an invitation
Hong Kong is a special case among Asian jurisdictions. Since 2009, holders of the HKSAR passport enjoy visa-free entry to Russia for stays of up to 14 days — no visa, and therefore no invitation, is required for a short holiday to Moscow or St Petersburg. The invitation becomes relevant in three situations: when the trip is longer than 14 days, when the traveller holds a passport that does not qualify for the visa-free regime (most notably the British National (Overseas) passport, which is treated as a UK document), and for the large community of foreign nationals living in Hong Kong on work or dependant visas who apply with their home-country passports.
For all of these groups the entry document chain is the standard one: obtain a visa support document (tourist invitation), then lodge the visa application at the Russian Consulate General in Hong Kong at 2106 Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. The invitation is the quick part of that chain — it is issued electronically in minutes.
Exact timelines by invitation type (2026)
The table below shows current issue times for applicants ordering from Hong Kong. Tourist invitations are generated electronically and arrive by email as a PDF, which the Hong Kong consulate accepts in printed form.
| Invitation type | Issue time | Price | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourist invitation (single entry, up to 30 days) | after payment and data checks | from $19 | PDF by email |
| Tourist invitation (double entry) | after payment and data checks | from $29 | PDF by email |
| Express tourist invitation (priority queue) | after payment and data checks | $39 | PDF by email |
Need a tourist invitation for a regular Russian visa? Order only after checking that this is the correct route for your trip.
Order a Tourist Invitation — from $19Official tour operator (PTO 015681) · PDF by email · Verify the current filing rules for your location
Hong Kong-specific practicalities
Time-zone arithmetic works in Hong Kong's favour. Electronic tourist invitations are issued automatically around the clock, so an order placed on a Saturday evening in Hong Kong is processed just as fast as one placed on a Monday morning — there is no waiting for a European office to open. Visa processing at the consulate is the slower step: standard handling takes 5-10 working days, so the invitation should never be the item you leave until last, but it also should never be your bottleneck.
Applicants using a BN(O) passport should order the invitation against that exact passport. An invitation lists the passport number, and the consulate matches it against the document you submit — an invitation issued for your HKSAR passport cannot support a visa application made on a BN(O) or other passport. Expatriate residents should likewise use the passport they will travel on, and check that it remains valid for at least six months after the planned departure date from Russia.
One more nuance for long-stay planners: the 14-day visa-free allowance for HKSAR passports cannot be extended inside Russia. If your itinerary is 15 days or more, you need a visa from the start — which means ordering the invitation with dates that cover the whole trip.
Recommended schedule for applying from Hong Kong
Working backwards from departure: allow 5-10 working days for consulate processing in Wan Chai, one day to prepare the application form and book a consular appointment, and after payment and data checks for the tourist invitation. In practice, three weeks before departure is a comfortable margin for a standard application from Hong Kong; two weeks is achievable if the consulate's appointment calendar cooperates. The invitation itself is valid for the dates stated on it, so ordering two or three months ahead is also perfectly safe.
Around Chinese New Year and the summer holiday peak, consular appointment slots in Hong Kong fill up faster than usual — add a few buffer days in those seasons.
Frequently asked questions
Do HKSAR passport holders need a Russian visa invitation?
Not for short trips: HKSAR passport holders can enter Russia visa-free for up to 14 days. An invitation is needed only for stays longer than 14 days or purposes not covered by the visa-free regime.
How fast is the invitation issued for Hong Kong applicants?
A tourist invitation is issued after payment and data checks online, at any time of day. The PDF arrives by email and is accepted in printed form by the Russian Consulate General in Hong Kong.
I hold a BN(O) passport — can I use the visa-free regime?
No. The 14-day visa-free arrangement applies to the HKSAR passport only. BN(O) holders apply for a regular Russian visa and need an invitation, issued against the BN(O) passport details.
Where do Hong Kong residents apply for the Russian visa?
At the Russian Consulate General in Hong Kong, 2106 Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. Standard visa processing takes 5-10 working days after submission.
Can foreign residents of Hong Kong order the invitation?
Yes. Expatriates living in Hong Kong order the invitation against their home-country passport and apply at the Hong Kong consulate as residents of the consular district.
What if my trip is exactly 14 days?
A 14-day stay fits the visa-free allowance for HKSAR passports. If there is any chance the trip stretches to 15 days or more, apply for a visa with an invitation covering the full period — the visa-free stay cannot be extended in Russia.
Need a tourist invitation for a regular Russian visa? Order only after checking that this is the correct route for your trip.
Order a Tourist Invitation — from $19Official tour operator (PTO 015681) · PDF by email · Verify the current filing rules for your location
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Last updated: 2026-07-23. Information verified against consular requirements current at the date of update.