Putin offers visa-free entry into Russia for World Cup fans for rest of 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin said foreign nationals holding “fan ID” cards for the FIFA World Cup can benefit from multiple visa-free entries to Russia for the rest of 2018. Earlier, ticket-holders held fan IDs which permitted them to enter Russia during the World Cup.

While the IDs had initially been due to expire on July 25, now Putin said, “foreign supporters who currently have fan IDs will be able to benefit from multiple entries into the Russian Federation without a visa until the end of the year.”

While world leaders hailed Russia for hosting the World Cup tournament, Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic joined to watch the final between France and Croatia. France lifted the World Cup by defeating Croatia 4-2.