gelato
Just Starting
Joined: 22 Apr 2009
Posts: 1
Location: Chengdu, China
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 Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:35 am Post subject: Living in China, entering Russia from Latvia. Timing/visa |
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Hi, my name is David. My situation/question, is as follows.
My situation.
I am an Italian citizen with Dutch residence living and working in Chengdu, China. On June 16th I will be in Italy for about 10 days. From there I want to fly to Riga, Latvia and take a train that would take me to Moscow whence I plan to catch the Transiberian all the way to Beijing, China, arriving around July 25th.
My question.
I would like to buy a ticket through the services offered by way to Russia, but I would like to know whether it is wiser to first buy the ticket and then apply for the visa, or viceversa. The whole visa process should take about 2 weeks, and I would like to apply by ordering an invitation through this website and then presenting the needed documents to the Russian consulate. Since there is no Russian consulate in Chengdu I'll have to submit all the documents to the consulate in Shanghai or the embassy in Beijing. Can all this be done by mail or by a thrid person?
Also, do you think that including a copy of my train ticket plus itinerary would facilitate the whole visa-application procedure? In that case I could first buy the ticket and then apply for the visa.
In short, I don't know how hard it is to obtain a visa for Russia when living in China and far from Russian diplomatic offices, wanting to enter Russia from Latvia instead of China, and how long it can take. My fear is that I could buy a ticket and subsequently incur in some obstacles while dealing with the visa hassle. I really want to book my trip through the services of this website as it is about 5 times cheaper than doing the same thing through an agency.
Thanks in advance.
David |
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romdur
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 189
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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Can all this be done by mail or by a third person?
Both Beijing and Shanghai say on their websites that "The applicant should apply for visa personally or authorize another person by notarized Power of Attorney."
do you think that including a copy of my train ticket plus itinerary would facilitate the whole visa-application procedure?
They only care about the dates, and which cities you intend to stay in. You will provide this information on your visa application form.
wanting to enter Russia from Latvia instead of China, ...
Once you have your visa, it doesn't matter which country you are traveling from when you enter Russia; it also doesn't matter what is your point of entry, as long as it is not a restricted area (not a problem when coming from Latvia).
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In general, a Russian consulate accepts applications only from people who hold a passport, or are a legal resident, of the country in which the consulate is located. What this website has to say about China (visa page on "Insider's Information"):
"Originals of the invitations are always required. The consulates in Beijing and Shanghai issue Russian visas only for Chinese citizens and the foreigners who have an official status in China (working, studying) or residence permit. It is recommended to apply at the Russian consulate in Shanghai as they are easier to deal with and might sometimes issue a visa even if you're not a resident in China. However, this is only rumours and we don't have any hard proof of that, so if you want to be safe, get your Russian visa before you travel to China. Everything else is fine."
By the way, the consulates in China also say also say, "In case the Consular Section does not issue visa, the submitted invitations will not be given back." Bearing in mind that applicants must submit the original invitation, this would require starting over!
I have only gotten visas to Russia in my home country. China, I don't know! Hopefully, someone will reply who has the benefit of experience there.
You are anyway going to Italy before Eastern Europe, so if I were in your situation, I would consider this plan:
[1] Plan the travel so that my time in Russia is absolutely not more than 30 days (allowing at least a couple of days for delays inside Russia).
[2] Book the tickets and other travel arrangements.
[3] Obtain an invitation, including all of the Russian cities where I intend to stay for 3+ days, but in any case my first city of overnight stay.
[4] Get the information on obtaining a Russian visa in Italy: where is the nearest consulate, processing times, etc. While still in China, get my paperwork together: invitation, completed visa application form, passport photo(s) etc.
[5] Promptly on arrival to Italy, apply for a 30-day tourist visa (giving the exit date as entry date + 29 days, even if my plan is to exit sooner). Because you are planning to spend about 10 days in Italy, you should have enough time, though you might need to pay an extra fee for faster processing.
Unless you have some kind of "black mark" on your record (you got in trouble before in Russia), getting a tourist visa from your home country is very low-risk proposition: it is extremely unlikely that you will not be granted a visa.
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Two other points of information: First, once you are in Russia, you will need to deal with registration; there's lots of info on this site. Second, the train from Riga to Moscow passes well clear, but if you have any crazy idea about an indirect or complicated train route, make sure it doesn't pass through Belarus, which would necessitate another visa!
Your planned trip sounds beautiful. Best of luck, and please post back how it all goes! |
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