Japan has opened dedicated visa application centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a move that significantly reshapes how Russian travellers obtain permission to visit the country and underscores Tokyo’s bid to capture a growing wave of outbound tourism from Russia. The new Japan Visa Application Centres, operated by outsourcing giant VFS Global, centralise the intake of visa applications that were previously handled by Japan’s embassy and consulate, introducing a more streamlined, appointment-based system as demand hits record levels.
A Structural Shift in How Russians Apply for Japan Visas
The launch of the Japan Visa Application Centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg on 12 February 2026 marks a structural shift in consular services between the two countries. Rather than filing paperwork directly at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow or the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, applicants must now submit their documents through the new centres. Japanese diplomats frame the change as a service upgrade, designed to cope with sharply higher application volumes and to reduce queues and congestion at diplomatic missions.
In Moscow, the centre is located on Olimpiysky Prospekt, a major thoroughfare with strong transport links and established as a hub for international service companies. In St. Petersburg, the Japan Visa Application Centre is housed in the Olympic Plaza business centre on Stremyannaya Street in the city’s central district. Both locations are intended to be accessible to residents across each metropolitan area, including those who rely on public transport for consular visits.
The centres will handle a broad spectrum of short-term visa categories, including tourism, business trips and cultural exchanges, while the embassy and consulate retain responsibility for certain diplomatic, official and emergency humanitarian cases. Officials stress that the basic visa policy has not fundamentally changed, but the route through which applications are submitted is now exclusively through the designated centres.
Behind the Move: Surging Russian Demand for Japan Travel
The new infrastructure is a response to a rapid expansion in Russian travel to Japan. According to figures cited by Japanese and Russian tourism authorities, around 194,900 trips from Russia to Japan were recorded in 2025, nearly double the previous year’s tally and higher than the pre-pandemic peak set in 2019. Travel industry analysts say the trend reflects both pent-up post-pandemic demand and a shift in Russian travellers’ preferences away from traditional Western destinations.
With direct air links to much of Europe curtailed and visa access to many Western countries restricted since 2022, Russian tourists have increasingly turned to destinations in Asia and the Middle East. Japan, with its established reputation for safety, culture and high-quality service, has emerged as one of the primary beneficiaries of this redirection. Tour operators report strong interest in classic itineraries featuring Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, alongside newer demand for regional experiences in Hokkaido, Kyushu and less visited prefectures.
The Russian Union of Travel Industry expects the upward trajectory to continue into 2026. Early-season bookings for the upcoming cherry blossom period in March and April are running markedly ahead of last year, and industry projections suggest overall Russian arrivals in Japan could reach between 230,000 and 260,000 this year if current conditions hold. That would represent another double-digit increase on 2025 and cement Russia’s place as a growth market for Japanese inbound tourism.
Operational Details: Locations, Hours and New Procedures
For travellers and travel agents, the most immediate changes are practical. In Moscow, the Japan Visa Application Centre is situated in the Olimpiysky Prospekt area, at a facility equipped to manage scheduled flows of applicants. In St. Petersburg, the centre in Olympic Plaza, on Stremyannaya Street, replaces the consulate’s visa window as the primary point of contact for the wider northwest region.
Both centres operate on weekdays, typically from 09:00 to 16:00 local time, with applications accepted strictly by prior appointment through a digital booking system. This replaces the largely walk-in format that often led to early-morning queues outside the embassy and consulate buildings. Applicants must arrive with completed forms, photographs and supporting documents, but can expect a more controlled in-office experience, with waiting areas and staff dedicated solely to visa processing.
Japanese authorities emphasise that applications can no longer be filed at the consular counters from the opening date onward, except in narrowly defined situations such as diplomatic and official passports or urgent humanitarian cases. The final day for submission at the St. Petersburg consulate’s visa section was set just before the centres went live, giving a short transition window for pending cases.
Fees, Processing Times and What Travellers Will Pay
The opening of the centres introduces a new cost component for Russian applicants in the form of a service fee collected by VFS Global. The fee is set at 970 rubles per applicant, a modest sum relative to the overall cost of travel to Japan but a notable change from previous practice, when visitors who qualified for fee exemptions could lodge applications without any payment. Japanese tourist visas for Russian citizens remain free of consular charges, and nationals of other Commonwealth of Independent States countries and Georgia also continue to enjoy waivers from the Japanese side.
In effect, the new set-up separates the commercial service fee paid to the outsourcing company from the diplomatic fee structure. While some categories of travellers may still be subject to consular fees depending on nationality and visa type, the majority of Russian tourists will incur only the centre’s service charge. Travel industry representatives predict that the additional cost will have little impact on demand, given that package tours to Japan commonly run into several thousand dollars and airfares remain elevated.
Processing times under the new system are forecast to be broadly in line with recent experience. Official guidance from the embassy and consulate indicates that the minimum processing time for standard applications is about four to five working days. However, authorities recommend that travellers file their documents at least several weeks before their intended departure to account for seasonal peaks, additional document checks or incomplete paperwork that can slow approvals.
Digital Appointments and Service Outsourcing: The VFS Global Role
The operational backbone of the new Japan Visa Application Centres is VFS Global, a long-established player in the outsourced consular services market. The company already manages visa centres for numerous countries in Russia and worldwide, providing front-end services such as document intake, biometric collection and appointment management. Under the new arrangement, VFS staff interface with applicants, but final decisions on visas remain exclusively with Japanese consular officers.
The appointment-based model is designed to address a central pressure point in the old system, where limited consular office space and staff struggled to accommodate surging application volumes. By adopting digital scheduling, Japanese authorities hope to spread footfall throughout the day and minimise waiting times. Applicants select a date and time slot online, receive confirmation, and present themselves at the centre with the required documentation. The centres also offer optional paid services such as SMS updates or courier return of passports, though these are not mandatory.
For Japan, delegating the mechanics of application handling to a specialised provider lets diplomatic posts focus on adjudication and policy, while also giving travellers access to a more standardised customer-service environment. For Russian tour operators, the familiarity of dealing with VFS Global, which already operates numerous other countries’ visa centres in Russia, is expected to ease the learning curve during the transition.
Comparative Context: Japan Bucks the Trend of Western Retreat
The opening of new Japanese visa centres comes against a backdrop of several Western countries scaling back or consolidating their own visa operations in Russia. In recent months, some European and North American states have reduced physical consular representation or closed regional visa offices, citing staffing constraints, security concerns or diplomatic tensions. For Russian travellers, that has translated into longer journeys to apply for visas, more complicated logistics and in some cases the effective closure of once-popular destinations.
Japan’s step in the opposite direction gives it a competitive advantage in attracting Russian tourism and business travel. By expanding on-the-ground capacity at a time when others are retrenching, Tokyo positions itself as a more accessible long-haul option. Travel consultants say that ease of visa access is one of the most important determinants of destination choice for organised groups, corporate delegations and higher-spending independent travellers.
The decision also reflects Japan’s broader tourism strategy, which seeks to diversify source markets and reduce reliance on a small number of neighbouring countries. While visitors from East and Southeast Asia remain the backbone of inbound traffic, growing interest from markets such as Russia offers a hedge against regional economic cycles, currency shifts and political friction. The new centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg fit into that diversification agenda by lowering practical barriers for a market that has already shown strong growth.
What the Changes Mean for Travellers and the Tourism Industry
For individual travellers, the most noticeable difference will be procedural rather than policy-related. Those who have previously visited the Japanese Embassy or Consulate General to file visa applications will now be directed to the centres, where they will pay a service fee and book appointments in advance. Travel advisors are urging clients to familiarise themselves with updated requirements, pay close attention to documentation checklists, and plan visits to the centres well before their intended travel dates, especially during high seasons like cherry blossom and autumn foliage.
Tour operators, meanwhile, see the development as a net positive, despite the fee and the need to adjust established routines. Clearer application channels, more predictable handling of large group submissions and the prospect of reduced congestion at consular desks all support their capacity to expand Japan-focused offerings. Many agencies report ramping up itineraries for 2026 and beyond, highlighting not only well-known urban centres but also rural experiences that align with Japan’s efforts to spread tourism beyond overcrowded hotspots.
On the Japanese side, regional tourism boards and hospitality firms are likely to view the new centres as a welcome reinforcement of existing marketing efforts in Russia. As flights via hubs in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and China remain the primary air corridors between the two countries, steady or rising seat capacity on these routes will be critical in translating easier visa access into real visitor numbers. If the forecast of up to 260,000 Russian visitors in 2026 is borne out, it would further entrench Russia as one of Japan’s key long-haul markets in the current geopolitical environment.
Looking Ahead: Capacity, Policy Stability and Traveller Experience
The success of the new Japan Visa Application Centres will ultimately be judged by how smoothly they function during peak demand periods and how well they maintain high approval rates for bona fide travellers. Japanese and Russian travel industry representatives currently expect continuity rather than sweeping policy changes, with approval rates anticipated to remain high, based on recent years’ experience. Stability in rules and processing standards will be crucial if the centres are to support sustained growth in bilateral travel.
In the near term, both applicants and agents are watching closely for any operational teething problems, from appointment bottlenecks to processing delays. Authorities recommend that first-time travellers in particular allow extra lead time while the new system beds in. Over the longer term, the presence of full-service visa centres in Russia’s two largest cities may also facilitate the promotion of new visa categories and travel segments, including longer cultural stays, educational exchanges and specialist tours.
For now, the opening of dedicated Japan Visa Application Centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg stands out as a rare piece of travel infrastructure news that clearly expands options for Russian travellers. It signals Japan’s intent to welcome more visitors from a market that is pivoting eastward and offers a practical roadmap for how countries can adjust consular services to shifting tourism flows without fundamentally altering visa policy.