Russia - another "what visa do I need question"

Sorry if this is redundant - I've read existing threads and am still confused.

I'm going to Switzerland for a conference. The fares to MOW right now after fantastic. So, my thought is to get a ticket to MOW, see Red Square, etc., and then head to my conference. I will only be in Moscow for a day or two at most before heading to the conference.

On the way back (4 days later) I will transit again through DME, though I will not leave the airport before my return flight to the US.

Will a transit visa suffice for this type of travel? I will only be "entering" Russia once, though I will be transiting through DME twice in effect. In summation:

JFK-IAD-DME (1-2 days) - ZRH-DME-IAD-JFK

Thanks for your help!

A transit visa gives you three calendar days. You could get a two entry transit visa (price in the U.S. is the same as a single entry) and be fine.

The transit visa is easier, as it only requires you to have plane tickets. A tourist visa would require an invitation.

You could get a two entry transit visa (price in the U.S. is the same as a single entry) and be fine.



Interesting to hear that double entry transit visas are issued in the U.S.

I was once sent away by the Russian consulate in Berlin when I applied for this - they suggested I fly another route :) In the end I got my invitation and got a double entry tourist visa.

But in this case a regular single entry transit visa should be fine - for the return trip no visa is required.

For anybody reading this thread who is not a US or EU citizen many countries have visa-free reciprocity with Russia and new ones are added frequently.

As a frequent traveler to Russia and a Brazilian citizen I was overjoyed last September when Brazil became one of those countries. Probably the EU and US will not be added in the near future, from what they tell me in Moscow.