Do Russian passport holders need a visa for India?

By Saurabh Pathare · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated September 1, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

Yes, but the 30-day e-Tourist Visa costs a Russian nothing, and the five-year one costs 120 US dollars where most of the world pays 200. The premium sits somewhere unexpected: the only category where Russia pays above the common rate is medical travel, at 120 against the 80 that 141 of the 176 rows pay.

Quick facts

Travel authorisation

Visa required: Yes, e-Visa before travel
30-day e-Tourist Visa: Free
1-year e-Tourist Visa: USD 40
5-year e-Tourist Visa: USD 120, against a common USD 200
e-Medical Visa: USD 120, against a common USD 80
Days allowed per calendar year: 180, on both the 1-year and 5-year visa

Entry requirements

A passport with at least six months of validity at the time the e-Visa application is made, which is measured from the application rather than from arrival, and at least two blank pages for the immigration officer to stamp.
An e-Visa in the category that matches the trip, applied for at least four days before the expected date of arrival. The 30-day tourist visa is free for Russian applicants, but it still has to be applied for and granted before travel.
A printed copy of the Electronic Travel Authorization carried at the time of travel.
A return or onward ticket and sufficient money for the stay, which the portal states as a condition rather than a suggestion.

Free for a month, cheap for five years, and dear for treatment

India publishes its e-Visa prices country by country and states that the fee is country and territory specific. On the tourist schedule dated 9 July 2026 Russia reads nothing for the 30-day visa in either pricing period, 40 US dollars for one year, and 120 for five years. The common line on that schedule is 10, 25, 40 and 200.

The second schedule, dated 15 April 2026, covers the e-Business, e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant and e-Conference visas. Russia reads 120 in all three of the columns shown. For business that is the ordinary figure. For the two medical categories it is not, and this is the only place on either schedule where a Russian applicant pays more than the common rate.

The free visa is still an application. There is no visa on arrival for Russian nationals, the authorisation has to be granted before you fly, and the portal asks for the application at least four days ahead of the expected arrival date. Costing nothing does not make it instant.

Good to know

Free means free for a month and nothing beyond it, and only four nationalities are in that position. Twenty-six of the 175 rows on the tourist schedule pay nothing for the 30-day visa, and 22 of those pay nothing for any of the four durations. Russia is one of only four charged for the longer visas after getting the short one free, alongside Malaysia, the Philippines and South Africa. So the claim that India is free for Russians is true for thirty days and false for a year.
The five-year visa is the third cheapest rate India charges anybody. Its five-year column holds seven values across the 175 rows: nothing, 25, 120, 160, 200, 220 and 484. Russia holds the 120 alone. Only the 22 rows that pay nothing and the three at 25 come in lower, while 142 rows pay 200 and five pay 484. For a Russian visitor expecting to return, the arithmetic is unusually favourable: three one-year visas cost the same 120 as five years of validity.
Medical travel is the one place Russia is charged above the common rate, and it is alone there. On the business and medical schedule Russia reads 120, 120 and 120. The first of those, for the e-Business Visa, is the ordinary figure that 105 rows pay. The other two are not: 141 of the 176 rows read 80 for the e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant visas. Only eight rows sit above that, and Russia is the sole one at 120, with the five British jurisdictions higher again at 129, the United States at 100 and Ukraine at 85. So Russia is not at the top of this column, but it is well above the rate almost everyone pays: a patient travelling with one attendant pays 240 US dollars where the same pair from almost anywhere else pays 160. The portal grants at most two attendant visas against one medical visa, so the ceiling on that party is 360 dollars against 240.
The free visa is also the one that involves no payment rail, which is worth knowing before you pick a category. The portal takes the fee through SBIePay, which it describes as processing credit and debit cards issued internationally by Visa and MasterCard, and through PayPal; its Axis Bank gateway page lists Visa, MasterCard and Maestro. It also asks that the card support transactions in both INR and USD. The 30-day tourist visa is free for a Russian applicant, so it is granted without any of that happening. Anyone going for the one-year, five-year, business or medical visa needs a card on one of those networks that will settle in dollars.
Medical applications are pinned to a booking window that the tourist ones are not. The portal states that for the e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant visas you may apply at least four days in advance of arrival with a window of 120 days, and it gives its own worked example: apply on 1 September and the arrival date you select must fall between 5 September and 2 January. Treatment dates move, and one that slips past the far end of that window cannot be selected on the application you already hold. The fee is non-refundable whether the authorisation is granted or refused, which for a Russian applicant is the highest medical rate on the schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Do Russian citizens need a visa for India?

Yes. Russia is on India’s e-Visa eligibility list, so the application is made online before travel. There is no visa on arrival for Russian passport holders.

Is the Indian e-Visa really free for Russians?

The 30-day e-Tourist Visa is, in both pricing periods. The one-year visa costs 40 US dollars and the five-year 120, so the free rate covers the short visa only.

How much is the five-year Indian e-Visa for a Russian?

120 US dollars, a figure held by Russia alone. Most of the schedule, 142 of 175 rows, reads 200 in that column, and five rows read 484.

Why does the Indian medical visa cost a Russian more?

India prices the e-Visa by country and territory. Russia reads 120 for the e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant visas where 141 rows read 80, and it is the only row on that schedule above the common rate in those columns.

How far in advance can a medical visa be applied for?

At least four days before arrival, with a window of 120 days. The portal’s own example is that applying on 1 September allows an arrival date between 5 September and 2 January.

How long can a Russian visitor stay in India?

Up to 180 days in a calendar year on the one-year and five-year tourist visas. The 30-day visa is limited to its own 30 days and is non-extendable and non-convertible.

Other passports for India

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 1 September 2026.

Government of India, Bureau of Immigration e-Visa portal, "Country/Territory Wise e-Tourist Visa Fee (in US $)", schedule dated 09-July-2026: 175 rows; Russia (Sl. 131) reads 00 / 00 / 40 / 120 for the 30-day April-June, 30-day July-March, one-year and five-year e-Tourist Visa. 26 rows read 00 in the 30-day columns, of which 22 read 00 across all four durations; the four that do not are Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia and South Africa. The five-year column holds seven distinct values: 200 on 142 rows, 00 on 22, 484 on 5, 25 on 3, and 220, 120 and 160 on one row each, the 120 being Russia. Read 2026-08-31. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Same portal, "Country/Territory Wise e-Visa Fee (e-Business, e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant and e-Conference Visa)", schedule dated 15-April-2026: 176 rows; Russia (Sl. 132) reads 120 / 120 / 120. 105 rows read 120 in the e-Business column, and 141 rows read 80 in each of the e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant columns; eight rows read above 80 in the medical columns: Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and the United Kingdom at 129, Russia at 120, the United States at 100 and Ukraine at 85, so Russia is the sole row at 120 but not the highest. Read 2026-08-31. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Same portal, e-Visa instructions: "For e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant, Applicants of the eligible countries/territories may apply online minimum 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days. Example: If you are applying on 1st Sept then applicant can select arrival date from 5th Sept to 2nd Jan." The fee is non-refundable whether the Electronic Travel Authorization is granted or rejected. Read 2026-08-31. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Same portal, general instructions and payment FAQ: "Only two e-Medical Attendant Visas will be granted against one e-Medical Visa." SBIePay is described as processing credit and debit card transactions for cards issued internationally by Visa and MasterCard and as also facilitating PayPal; the Axis Bank gateway page states that it accepts all Visa, MasterCard and Maestro cards, and asks that the card support transactions in INR and USD. Read 2026-08-31. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Same portal, e-Visa category descriptions and FAQ: "Maximum stay in India during one Calender Year should not exceed 180 days for 1 year and 5 year Tourist Visa"; the One Month e-Tourist Visa is 30 days, multiple entry, non-extendable and non-convertible; the passport must have at least six months validity at the time of making the application and at least two blank pages; a copy of the ETA must be carried at the time of travel; and the visa on arrival facility is only for nationals of Japan, South Korea and the UAE, so it is not open to Russian passport holders. Read 2026-08-31. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

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