Russia considers visa-free entry for Indian tourists

Russia may introduce a visa-free regime for Indian tourist groups, said Alina Arutyunova, deputy chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee, who was in Mumbai on Tuesday. For the time being, Russia also intends to introduce electronic visa for Indian tourists in the near future.

"The President of the Russian Federation has supported the initiative to introduce a visa-free regime for group tourists. Such an order was already in place for Iran on Tuesday. There may be a similar mandate for India soon," she said.

Arutyunova noted that Turkey, Germany and India are among the top three non-CIS countries from which the largest number of tourists come to Moscow. Trinity Mirror, a partner of the TV BRICS network, writes about this.

"In 2020, a decree was passed to introduce e-visas for 52 countries, including India. Due to restrictions related to COVID-19, the resolution has not yet entered into force, but we very much expect that the project will be launched soon and the electronic visa will simplify the process of arrival of foreign tourists," Arutyunova said.

"Even in the case of global uncertainty, tourism is a bridge between peoples and cultures. This year, in the first six months, Moscow has welcomed 13,300 Indians. The pre-pandemic targets are expected to be reached by the end of 2023," she added.

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