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Confusion over Business Visa...

Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> Russian Visa Forum

Author	Message
chris_l Just Starting Joined: 03 Jul 2006 Posts: 5	Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:41 pm    Post subject: Confusion over Business Visa... Hi all, Have done a bit of reading regarding this issue, but I want to double check I have it all straight in my head. It's a way off still but I'm planning to rail it from Beijing across to Moscow next April. I'm an Australian citizen (but also have a British passport, haven't decided which passport to do this leg on) and I'll be leaving Perth beginning of March to fly up through Singapore to Tokyo, where I'll spend some time in Japan, followed by a ferry across to Shanghai, where I'll take the train to Beijing and start my westwards journey. Now I gather I can use waytorussia to gain my invitation / visa support well in advance of my trip - likely a month or two before; but that for a business visa I need to apply for the visa within 45 days of arrival in Russia. Most likely I will be taking near enough to 45 days to get to Russia, so it would probably be more sensible to apply for the visa in say, Shanghai. So before the trip, I use waytorussia's service to gain the invitation, which is mailed to me and which I take with me and use in say Shanghai to apply for the visa. I'm worried however that by these means I may be waiting in Shanghai for an unknown amount of time.. Would it be better to shorten my pre-Russia travel to ensure it was within the 45 days required, and simply apply for the visa at home in Aus? I'm also confused about the nature of the business visa. Again, as my travels within Russia will likely exceed 30 days, it seems essential to have a business visa, but unless I pay significantly more, the waiting time (which may be overseas ie. Shanghai) is substantial and thus inconvenient. Thanks for your help, I know these questions are asked and answered 1000s of times over! cheers Chris
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chris_l Just Starting Joined: 03 Jul 2006 Posts: 5	Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 12:38 pm    Post subject: Just remember I posted this a while back. The questions still apply, mainly whether I can apply for the invitation using WayToRussia at home in Aus, hold on to that invitation for say 2 months of travel, and then use it to obtain a business visa in Shanghai. The easier option would be to apply for the visa at home in Aus, and ensure that I didn't take longer than 45 days to hit Russia... BUT - does this 45 day lead-time begin when you apply for the visa, when it is issued, or when it is returned to you? Can I apply well in advance, and will my application sit there until exactly 45 days days before the visa is due to be active, and will it then be processed? Sorry about the confusing wording, just trying to get my head around all this. cheers Chris
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overseas_expat VIP Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 741 Location: Moscow	Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:10 pm    Post subject: Use your British passport. UK passports are good as gold and qualify the holder as an EU citizen as well. I think it may be the best [ read: easiest] passport in the world to travel on. Wish I had one.
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pauljaymes Frequent Guest Joined: 13 Mar 2006 Posts: 28 Location: London, England	Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:27 pm    Post subject: OK, First, get your visa in Tokyo if you can, it's cheaper than Shanghai and IMO you're more likely to get helpful assistance if something goes wrong. Second, if you've never been to Russia before, and it sounds like you haven't, I'd respectfully suggest slimming down your trip into a 30 day tourist visa. You don't really need more than a day or two at any trans-Siberian stop other than Irkutsk, and IMO if you stop too many times you'll get tired of it - most stops will present you with cheap but frustrating local transport, monstrous-looking overpriced hotels with incredibly grumpy staff, overstaffed institutional museums full of stuffed animals and a selection of interesting but hit-and-miss restaurants which are unlikely to have English menus. This is the Russian experience, and yes it can be very rewarding, but too much of it will drive you mad. I'd say aim for a week in St Petersburg, 4-5 days in Moscow, 5 days in Irkutsk/Baikal and use the rest of your time for one or two night stops in a selection from the rest. If you really want longer then you can always, for example, head from Moscow to Riga in Latvia, pick up a new visa, and then head for St Petersburg. Handy overnight trains link Riga with both Moscow and St Pete. If you decide on a tourist visa it's easy. WTR gives the invitation to you in one working day, then print it out and head to the embassy in Tokyo (near the Eiffel-esque tower) and pay 5,000 (~USD 45) yen for one week or 10,000 yen for 3 days.
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chris_l Just Starting Joined: 03 Jul 2006 Posts: 5	Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:22 am    Post subject: Thanks all, very helpful. Will probably consider slimming the trip down to make it easier. My only worry was that it really does put a limit on when I need to get out and I just didn't like the thought of panicking and having to leave when I wasn't ready. 30 days seemed to me like enough, and your suggested itinerary looks like a good'un. cheers Chris
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greg222 VIP Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 599	Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 1:06 pm    Post subject: It's 45 days before the entry date on the visa. So just write your date of entry as, say, one month before you actually will arrive. Suddenly you have 75 days for pre-travel and a minimum of two months in Russia (assuming you get a 3-month business visa).
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mediashark Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1599	Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 1:54 pm    Post subject: I recommend you use the Russian embassy in Singapore. They are friendly and are usually able to accomodate urgent requests if you ask/beg nicely. Ideally however, you should give them about 1 week (they give 5 working days processing time excl. weekends and Russian public holidays if I remember) to process a biz visa.
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wraskeyltd Just Starting Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 1 Location: brooklyn	Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:46 am    Post subject: Re: Confusion over Business Visa... HELLO, I WANNA COME TO RUSSINA AND ALSO I NEED AN INVITATION FROM SOME ONE AND I WILL BE GLAD TO ATTEND TO YOU THER CUS AM INTETRNET HACKING DEVELOPEMNT SOFTWARE. PLS KINDLY GET BACK TO ME VIA EMAIL WAZIMO4LUV@YAHOO.COM.
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Rick Moderator Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 854 Location: Касабланка	Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 12:15 pm    Post subject: wraskeyltd: If you want advice on a matter, i kindly suggest you post a more specific question about what you're planning to do. If you're only in need of visa support, check out the site first. In any case we'd appreciate it if you started a thread of your own in the visa forum, unless of course you're doing exactly the same thing as the guy from this thread.....
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