Electronic visas for visiting St. Petersburg

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Amazing news for anyone planning to visit Saint Petersburg.

As of 1 october 2019 a simplified procedure for obtaining a Russian visa has become available. The so-called e-visa allows for visiting Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region.

According to the website of the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, nationals of 53 states (including the Netherlands) are eligible for an e-visa for visiting Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region for up to 8 days.

The e-visa service is available for nationals of the following countries:

Austria
Andorra
Bahrain
Belgium
Bulgaria
Vatican
Hungary
Germany
Greece
Denmark
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Iceland
Spain
Italy
Qatar
Cyprus
China (including Taiwan)
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Kuwait
Latvia
Lithuania
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Oman
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
North Macedonia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Turkey
Philippines
Finland
France
Croatia
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Sweden
Estonia
Japan

All you need to do to get hold of an e-visa is fill out an application form on the MFA website not later than 4 days before entry, and attach your digital photo to it. No other documents are needed.

What I find the most surprising in this story is that this servce is free of charge.

Limitations

According to the website of the ministry of foreign affairs:

E-visa can be used for entering and leaving the Russian Federation at the following checkpoints:
Pulkovo international airport;
Naval checkpoints “Vysotsk”, “Big port Saint Petersburg (Marine Station)”, “Passenger port Saint Petersburg”;
Automobile checkpoints “Ivangorod”, “Torfjanovka”, “Brusnitchnoe”, “Svetogorsk”;
Pedestrian checkpoint “Ivangorod”.
It is not possible to enter Saint Petersburg or the Leningrad region using railways.

Important: foreign nationals granted an e-visa are only allowed to travel within the Leningrad region.