Kazakhstan Leads the Pack: Top Countries Sending Visitors to Russia in 2025

New data reveals that Kazakhstan sent the most visitors to Russia in 2025, with nearly 3.2 million crossings recorded. That puts the Central Asian nation at the top of the list, followed by Uzbekistan and China, according to statistics reviewed by RIA Novosti.

Among Kazakh visitors, over 2 million came for private visits, while 245,000 arrived for work, 99,000 for study, and 23,000 as tourists. Uzbekistan came in second with 3.1 million arrivals—seven out of ten of those, or 2.1 million, came for employment, and 604,000 traveled for personal reasons. Another 66,000 Uzbek citizens entered Russia to study.

China took third place, with 1.7 million arrivals. The largest group—834,000—came as tourists, followed by 274,000 on business trips, 132,000 for work, and 101,000 for education.

Beyond the top three, Tajikistan sent 1.4 million visitors, with 949,000 coming for work, 389,000 for private visits, and 64,000 to study. Kyrgyzstan followed with 983,000 arrivals: 616,000 for work, 189,000 for private reasons, and 109,000 for study. Other frequent visitors included citizens from Abkhazia, Armenia, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus.