Russia's Federation Council approves visa-free entry for World Cup fans until year's end

MOSCOW - Russia's Federation Council, its upper house of parliament, approved on Saturday at a plenary session a bill granting visa-free entrance to foreign football fans with relevant IDs until the end of 2018.

The bill was adopted by the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, on Thursday and now requires signature of Russian President Vladimir Putin to officially become law.

The initiative was take by Putin after the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament, which was held in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15.

Foreign spectators with an official Fan ID issued by Russian authorities are allowed to enter Russia visa-free. Fan IDs were previously set to be valid from June 4 to July 25.

The move aims to boost tourism in Russia. A total of 806,000 foreign citizens received Fan IDs during the World Cup tournament, according to the Russian government.