Where Russians apply for a Spanish visa: consulate or BLS

Where does a Russian citizen apply for a short-stay Schengen visa?

At the visa centre that works on behalf of the consulate: the consulate calls it Centro de Externalización de Visados. You need to book an appointment in advance; applications without an appointment are not accepted [1][5]. The consulate in Moscow lists centres in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara, accepting applications from 9:00 to 16:00 on working days [1]. Take the company name, phone numbers and addresses only from the consulate’s page, as they change. For the Moscow district there are also visa centres in Minsk, Tashkent and Yerevan [1].

Timescales and fees, from the same page: you can apply from 6 months to 15 days before the trip; the decision is made within 15 calendar days, or 45 if documents are requested or an interview is held. The consular fee for applicants aged 12 and over is 90 euros; the visa centre fee is paid separately [5].

Which Spanish consulate covers your region of residence?

Several Russian cities have honorary consuls. The consulate’s page does not say whether they accept visa applications; we assume they do not [3].

Where do you apply for a national visa for a residence permit?

There are two routes. Under the Moscow consulate’s notice of 14 April 2026, from 1 June 2026 residents of its district submit to the visa centre their applications for visas for study and students’ family members, internships, researchers, family reunification, paid employment, highly qualified workers, audiovisual sector workers and residencia sin finalidad laboral [2]. The consulate accepts other national visas itself, by appointment booked by email [7].

For international teleworking (digital nomad) and other categories not on this list, check the current procedure on the consulate’s page before booking: the notice does not mention them. The consulate in St Petersburg has its own page: among the applications accepted not by the visa centre but by the consulate itself, by appointment via cog.sanpeter.vis@maec.es, it lists visas for teletrabajadores, study and no lucrativa [8]. The pages do not explain how this fits with the Moscow notice, so it is best to check the procedure with your consulate before booking.

What do you need to book a Schengen visa appointment?

• A passport valid for at least 3 months after the departure date, with two blank pages, issued within the last 10 years [5].
• For Russian citizens: the original and a full copy of the internal passport as proof of residence in the consulate’s district [5].
• Travel medical insurance with cover of at least 30,000 euros, the application form, a photograph [5].
• Proof of the purpose of the trip, accommodation and funds: bank statements for the last three months and other documents from the consulate’s list [5].

If the visa is refused, the applicant can file a recurso de reposición with the consulate within one month of receiving the refusal, or challenge it in court in Madrid within two months [5].

What if you do not live in Russia?

You apply to the consulate where you legally live. The consulate in Moscow accepts Russian citizens with proof of residence in its district, and citizens of other countries with a residence permit or long-stay visa [5]. In its decision on multiple-entry visas for Russians, the European Commission specifically stresses strict compliance with the rules on consulates’ territorial competence [6]. To find out which consulate in your country accepts Spanish visa applications, see the page of the consulate for your country of residence.

Addresses, hours and fees: visa centres and consulates in Moscow and Saint Petersburg

The official website of the Spanish visa centre in Russia is blsspainrussia.ru, run by BLS International. Appointments are booked only through the centre's website, free of charge, one per passport, children included [12]. The centre calls blsspain-visa.ru an unauthorised site [12].

All centres accept documents Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 15:00 and return passports from 15:00 to 16:00 [13][14]. The Moscow consulate's page gives different addresses and hours for five regional centres and does not list Rostov-on-Don [1]; it appears to be out of date. Check the address in your appointment confirmation.

Rouble amounts follow the euro exchange rate, payment is in roubles only and fees are not refunded [12].

Consulate General in Moscow: Stremyanny per. 31/1, Serpukhovskaya metro, open to visitors Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 14:30 [15]. For national visas the consulate handles itself, book by e-mail to cog.moscu.citas@maec.es at least 4 days ahead, with a photo of your face next to the open passport page [15]. The digital nomad visa is filed this way, and processing takes 10 days [10].

Consulate General in Saint Petersburg: Furshtatskaya St 9, Chernyshevskaya metro. Study visas, remote work visas and non-lucrative visas are filed at the consulate itself by appointment through cog.sanpeter.vis@maec.es; other visas go through the visa centre [16].

The Spanish Embassy in Moscow is at Bolshaya Nikitskaya 50/8. It has no visa section and refers visa questions to the Consulate General [17].

Spanish visa centres in Minsk, Yerevan, Almaty and Astana

Belarus and Armenia fall under the Consulate General of Spain in Moscow [3]. Kazakhstan falls under the Embassy of Spain in Astana, which also covers Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan [11]. In these countries applications are accepted by BLS visa centres [1][9].

The embassy handles the other national visas from Kazakhstan itself, by prior appointment [9]. You apply where you legally live: the Moscow consulate accepts nationals and legal residents of its district [10]. Opening hours of the centres differ between the Spanish Foreign Ministry and BLS websites, so check the BLS site for your country before you go. More on the digital nomad visa from these countries: applying from Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Georgia.

What we don't know

We have not found official data on actual waiting times for visa centre appointments or on how the consulate distributes applications by category after 1 June 2026. The rules changed in 2026, so check the consulate’s page before booking. If you want your route reviewed, book a consultation; the general residence permit procedure is set out on the page residence permit in Barcelona on your own, and for remote work there is the DNV route card. Related reading: Spanish consulates: where to apply and single-entry visas for Russians.

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ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 02.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.