Russia Visa Application Centres Expand Across Europe Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2018

In a move to enhance visa application services for travelers to Russia globally, VFS Global has launched Russia Visa Application Centres in 14 countries and 31 cities, many of them in Eastern and Western Europe, in the last seven months.

The new centres are expected to significantly improve accessibility and conveniences for travellers planning to travel to Russia. The centres are rolled out on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Since June 2016, the company has launched well-appointed Visa Application Centres in Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, Lithuania, Turkey, China, and the UAE. The latest such centre to open is the the Russia Visa Application Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 23.

All the visa centres are centrally located with staff that have multi-lingual (Russian and local language) capabilities to handle queries and applications.

The rollouts come ahead of major sporting events scheduled this year and next, when inbound travel to the country is expected to rise significantly. Russia is preparing to host the Confederations Cup later this year, a prelude to the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

VFS Global has been providing visa processing services for the Government of the Russian Federation since 2009, and currently serves the government in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, Finland, Singapore, and South Korea.