Obtaining a Visa for Kaliningrad, Russia

Revised 22 December 2024 ~ Russia Kaliningrad Visa Information

Airspace Closures

Russia has closed its airspace to airlines from multiple countries in direct response to airspace closures effecting its airlines, which were introduced by western governments opposing Russia’s military operation to ‘demilitarise and de-Natzify’ Ukraine. Airlines on the banned list are prohibited from landing in or flying over Russian territory. As a result, air travel disruptions are widespread. If you intend to travel in the immediate future, you should contact your airline or travel agent for further information.
Links to Airport/Airlines websites can be found at the end of this guide

Links
Is the Poland-Kaliningrad Border Open?
How to get to Kaliningrad from the UK

Russia Kaliningrad Visa Information

To visit Kaliningrad, you will need to apply for and have been issued with a Russian visa. For those of you who are not sure what one of these is, it is an official document that permits you to legally enter a foreign country, in this case the Russian Federation. The visa is valid for a specific duration of time. It contains the date of entry to the country and the date of exit, as well as your name, travel document (passport) details and the purpose for which you are travelling.

There are various types of visa depending upon the nature of your visit, but, for the sake of this blog, let’s assume that you are visiting Kaliningrad as a tourist.

Russia Kaliningrad Tourist Information: Tourist Visa

A tourist visa will allow you to enter Kaliningrad, and leave, within a specified time-frame of 30 days. This means that the maximum length of stay in Kaliningrad is 30 days and no more. It is important that you leave the country before or on the date of exit. 

Before a tourist visa can be issued, you will need to have confirmation of where you will be staying throughout the duration of your visit.  Two documents are required, commonly referred to as visa support documents, and they consist of: (1) a Voucher; (2) a Booking Confirmation.

If you are staying in a hotel, you will need to ask the hotel to send you a hotel voucher and confirmation of tourist acceptance. Once you have received these, you are then ready to make your application.

To complete your visa application, you will need the following:

1. An original passport, valid for more than 6 months, containing at
least 2 blank pages for your visa and entry/exit stamps

2. An application form

3. One valid passport-type photograph

4. Payment for application

Note: The Russian Service Centre (The Russian National Tourist Office) can assist you with all stages of your application, including visa support documents. You can contact them by telephone on 0207 985 1195; and/or visit this page on their website: https://www.visitrussia.org.uk/visas/getting-a-russian-visa/

Their location and postal address is:

Russian Service Centre
Russian National Tourist Office
202 Kensington Church Street
London W8 4DP

Applications for a Russian Visa are typically handled online now, and all the information and guidance that you need can be obtained by visiting this page: How to obtain a Russian visa in London in 2025 – Visit Russia

However, you will still be required to go in person to the Russian Tourist Office at 202 Kensington Church St, London W8 4DP for biometric scanning . This sounds worse than it is. Biometric scanning means that you need to supply your fingerprints.

You can attend the office to submit your fingerprints Monday to Friday from 9am until 1pm. Click here for a map of the Tourist Office location.

Alternatively, if you don’t mind paying for it, visa officers can come to your office or home anywhere in the UK and take your fingerprints there. Click on this link for more information: https://www.visitrussia.org.uk/visas/getting-a-russian-visa/biometric-data/

The time it takes for you to receive your Russian Visa depends on which service you pay for. Visas can be received within two days of the completion of the application procedure.

Russia Kaliningrad Visa Information: Professional visa support company

To make things easier for you, there are various visa-support companies that you can contact, which will take you through the entire process. My support company of choice is Stress Free Visas, if only because if you do get stressed whilst using them, you can have a good laugh at your own expense! Their website address is www.stressfreevisas.co.uk.

When using their service, you will be asked to fill an application form online. It is as well to know what to expect before you start, since when they start asking you questions, such as what is your inside leg measurement, it will be difficult to do so unless you have a tape measure already at hand. OK, it’s not that bad, not quite, but there is information that you will need that you might inconceivably not have thought of.

To this end, please see the following:

Q: Who is paying for your trip to Russia?
A: [If it is you, put ‘independently’]

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You will be asked ‘information about your financial situation’. You will need to enter your ‘overall monthly income from all sources’ and various other financial details.

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You will need to include your National Insurance number

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You will be asked to enter ‘place of birth’ and ‘date and place of birth’ of your spouse

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You will be asked to provide the following details about your parents:

Name
Date, country & place of birth
Nationality
If deceased, date & place of death

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You will be asked to provide the name of the hotel you will be staying at, plus address and telephone number

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And that, as Bruce Forsyth used to say, “is all there is to it!”

To assist you in all visa-related matters, here again is the web address for Stress Free Visas: www.stressfreevisas.co.uk

Russia Kaliningrad Visa Information

Poland: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/poland/entry-requirements

Lithuania: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/lithuania/entry-requirements

Visa advice pertaining to Russia: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia

Links to Airport/Airline websites

Airlines

Lot Airways
Web: www.lot.com

Aeroflot
Web: www.aeroflot.ru

Wizz Air
Web: www.wizzair.com

Rynair
Web: www.ryanair.com

Airports

Khrabrovo Airport Kaliningrad
Web: https://kgdavia.ru/
Tel : +8 (401) 255 05 50

Luton London Airport
Web: https://www.london-luton.co.uk/
Tel: 01582 405100

Gdansk Airport
Web: https://www.airport.gdansk.pl/
Tel: +48 52 567 35 31  

 Vilnius International Airport
Web: https://www.vilnius-airport.lt/
Tel: +370 612 44442

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