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Putin confirms visa-free system for Russia’s World Cup

Vladimir Putin

FILE - In this June 27, 2014, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presentation of credentials by foreign ambassadors in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. In a statement published on the Kremlin website on Friday, July 4, 2014, Putin said “regardless of difficulties and disagreements” he hoped that Russia and the U.S. could “successfully develop relations on pragmatic and equal grounds.” Relations between Russia and the U.S. have deteriorated as the two countries have struggled to find common ground in Ukraine, where Russia annexed the Black Sea region of Crimea in March and a conflict in the east of the country has claimed over 400 lives. (AP Photo/Yuri Kadobnov, Pool, File)

AP

MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the visa-free system for fans visiting the 2018 World Cup.

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Fans who have tickets and have been issued a “fan ID” by the Russian government will be allowed to enter Russia without a visa for the period surrounding the tournament, according to the legislation published online.

A similar system was in place for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, with spectators entering personal information in an online database in order to receive the identification document from the Russian authorities.

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Few countries outside the former Soviet Union and South America have visa-free access to Russia, with U.S. and European Union citizens among those usually required to apply for visas.