Russia: Transit or tourist visa if I transit by train but stay in Moscow for a few days?

[perpetuo]

Hi,

I am planning to take the train from Switzerland to Kyrgyzstan. I am Swiss. So far, I have found out that I need a visa for Belarus and Russia (but none for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). For Belarus, I will get a transit visa. However, I am not so sure about Russia because I plan to stay for 1-2 days in Moscow.

If I apply for a transit visa, then I will not need an invitation letter. However, I am not sure if they accept that I stay in Moscow for 1-2 days (which they will clearly see from the train tickets). So far, I have the impression, that this could cause problems even if I stay in Russia just for just a few days in total.

Does anybody have experience with this?

Also, should I decide to go with the transit visa, what visa application order would you recommend? Belarus or Russia first?

Cheers,
perpetuo

[steven]

From https://caravanistan.com/visa/russia/

Transit visas are given for 1 to 10 days, depending on the distance and your mode of transport. By train, it depends on the length of your journey (eg. Moscow – Vyborg: 1 day, Moscow – Nakhodka: 8 days).

This means you will not be able to stay in Moscow for 2 days on a transit visa, unless there are no trains leaving during this time (unlikely).

You need to get the Russian one first, because for Belarus, you will need to show a visa for your onward destination, in this case Russia.

[perpetuo]

Thank you very much your help.