Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree according to which travelers can visit St. Petersburg and the rest of Leningrad Oblast with an electronic visa beginning Oct. 1.

Electronic visa applications must be submitted on the homepage of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs no later than four days prior to the beginning of one's trip. The electronic visa will be valid for a period of 30 calendar days, however visitors will only be allowed to remain in Russia for up to eight days, reported ERR's Russian-language online news portal (link in Russian).

There will be no fee for electronic visas.

Nonetheless, still under discussion is to what countries' citizens electronic visas will be issued.

Since July 1, a similar opportunity has been available for travel to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where the citizens of 53 countries, including Estonia, can enter on an electronic visa.

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