What is the advantage of a business visa over a work visa to Russia?

Before talking about the advantages of one type of visa over another, it is necessary to consider both types of visa, in our specific case, a business visa and a work visa.

1. Russian business visa. It is issued if a foreigner intends to visit the country exclusively for business, scientific, consulting, teaching purposes, and is not planning to get a job in the Russian Federation with the conclusion of an employment contract. Nevertheless, a foreign citizen has the right to carry out work or a specific order within the framework of a signed agreement on a one-time provision of services. For example: the provision of maintenance services, the establishment and development of business relations, consultation or exchange of experience. The deadline for issuing an invitation for the Russian business visa ranges from 1 to 30 business days, while the timing of issuing the visa itself ranges from 3 to 30 business days. The duration of visa processing depends on the country of application, as well as the nationality of the applicant. A business visa is valid for one month to 3 years, however, uninterrupted stay in Russia is limited to 90 days out of every 180 (see how to stay in Russia for the whole year on a business visa in this article). The cost of issuing a business invitation for a business visa starts from $40.
2. Russian work visa. This type of visa is available only for those foreign citizens who are planning to find employment in the Russian Federation with the subsequent signing of an employment contract within the framework of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, if you did not find a company that would be willing to pay high taxes for you, the cost of obtaining the Russian work visa will be quite high (in the amount of 45 to 55 thousand rubles, not including the cost of translating the diploma, as well as the cost of mailing the package of original documents). Obtaining a work visa for a period of 3 years will already cost from 55 to 65 thousand rubles. To get more information regarding the process of applying for a work visa, you can contact the managers of our company by email. A work visa gives a foreign citizen the opportunity to continuously reside in the territory of the Russian Federation throughout the duration of the issued visa (from 1 to 3 years). As a rule, issuing a work invitation takes approximately 1.5 months.   

Let’s sum up:

The process of obtaining a business visa requires much less time, is cheaper in cost. You will also need to submit a small package of documents to the consulate. The only drawback for this visa is the fact of a limited stay in the Russian Federation (90 days out of every 180). Nevertheless, the number of entries into the territory of the Russian Federation is unlimited for all types of business visas that are valid for more than 6 months.

Obtaining a work visa costs a foreign citizen much more, as well as the process itself requires a lot of time and a large package of documents, but it allows you to stay in Russia continuously throughout the duration of this type of visa.