Way to Russia Community and Forum

waytorussia · Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 14

These are the questions and answers posted in response to Visa Types article. The original article can be found in Russian Visa section at http://waytorussia.net/RussianVisa/Types.html

Posts February to April 2003. See below for the newer posts.

If you want to post a new question -- please post it outside of this topic in Russian Visa Forum section. Thanks!

Question (received 15/02/03): "Hi, I want to visit a friend in Krasnodar and stay in an apartment. Krasnodar is the only city I visit. I will enter Russia through SVO airport. Can I get a tourist visa thru your company and have it registered whileI wait for my connecting flight (about 3 hours)? Or should I stay in a hotel in Krasnodar so I can get visa registration?"
Answer: Hi, thanks for the question. First, we do not personally make the visa support, it is done by our partner company, so it is not through us, but through our partners.
In your case, you have three options:
1) Get a visa support through your friend. Pro: It's totally according to the rules, you can freely stay in his apartment. Contras: Long processing time (up to 3 months), long registration process in local OVIR - Immigration office (queues, bureaucracy, may require some papers from your friend.
2) Get a visa support through our website and stay with your friend. Pro: Fast (ready in max 3 days). Contras: You will still have to bring a special letter from our partner company to register your visa in a local OVIR, and formally (on the paper) you will be staying in a hotel
3) Get a visa support through our website, but first find a hotel that will register your visa there. Pro: fast, no registration queues. Contras: Your friend needs to ask a cheap hotel in Krasnodar if they will agree to register your visa for the whole period of its validity if you pay for 1 night only. -- This is the easiest way, a bit tricky, but I would do like that.

Question (received 13/02/03): "I have requested a personal (private) invitation from a friend of mine. The visa-support is being processed, but it will take too long for me to get. I would have to be in St. Petersburg long before I will get the visa. Do you know if there could be any problems if I would apply for a business-visa-invitation now that I already have a private invitation on the way?"
Answer: If you want to be sure, I would recommend that your friend goes to the OVIR office where he applied for your private invitation and cancels the processing. Then you apply for any other visa. In case you don't cancel, or it's not possible, I don't know if it will be ok...

Question (received 11/02/03): "If we are canadian citizens, do we have the right to visit Russia without having or needing any VISA ?"
Answer: No

Question (received 6/02/03): "is it still a problem to get a personal invitation and visa Russia??"
Answer: It still takes long (queues and time), if that's what you mean.

Question (received 23/02/03): "hi!i'm going to have a baby(usa),
i want to send him to russia to my parents for couple years
,can he travel with with sombody(not a parent),what papers need to be obtained? thank you! email:alku15@hotmail.com
Answer: If your child is a US citizen, then there must be laws in the US, that regulate that. As far as I know, in any case, a baby can travel to Russia only with its parents, and on the parent's passport. Maybe if you make an official paper that another person is looking after your baby (it's called "opekun" in Russian), then this person will be able to travel with your baby

Question (received 27/02/03): "Hello, I will be visiting my daughter in Kyrgyzstan where she is a Peace Corps Volunteer. I will be traveling to Moscow on Delta Airlines and will transfer to Aeroflot (approximately 9 hour layover going to Bishkek and returning from Bishkek)
Dates of travel are March 20-22, 2003 and return March 29, 2003. Do I need a transit or tourist visa for Russia if I simply stay in the airport? Do I need a visa of some kind if I desired to take a short trip to central Moscow for a couple of hours of sightseeing. Please advise the best, easiest and cheapest way for me to handle this matter?"
Answer: Generally, if you stay in the airport for 9 hours and don't cross the Russian border (just staying in arrivals zone), either you don't need visa at all, or you need a transit visa. The best would be to contact any Russian Consulate (see their addresses worldwide here), and your airline (Delta).

Question (received 2/03/03): "Hi, i want to visit Russia as a tourist, but would like to stay about 45 days in russia. Can i still work out a tourist visa for 45 days or 2 months, or do i have to necessarily get a business visa if the stay exceeds 30 days ? thank you for your answer."
Answer: I think you will have to get a business visa. Or you can get two separate tourist visas, but then you'll need to leave Russia for a few days (Estonia is a good choice).

Question (received 4/03/03): " won't be in Russia until June, but would like to apply for a visa now and obtain it in Australia [I have a US passport], since I'll be spending the time between now and June in Central Asia and China - and feel it would be easiest to get it here. Is that possible - or do I have to apply for a visa closer to the date of entry?"
Answer: If it's a tourist visa, you can apply now, if it is a business visa, you can apply not earlier than 3 months before arrival.

Question (received 17/03/03): "Hi, Last year I went to see my girlfriend in Novosibirsk. I was advised by a supposedly reputable company in the UK to travel on a business visa because it gave me the greatest flexibility for where I could stay. It turned out when I got to Novosibirsk that I was threatened with imprisonment if I returned to the OVIR office and that I must eihter leave the country or return to to Moscow to have my visa registered there - I chose the expensive but safer, later option.
I then visited her at xmas time on a private visa - there was no problem getting the invitationa and everything worked perfectly.
I am now trying to go again but this time there appears to be a problem with the private invitation and it does not look like it will be ready in time for me to get a visa and catch the flight that I have already booked. Are there any other visa options for me? Olympia-Reisen in Novosibirsk have said I can come on a tourist visa but only if I stay in a hotel - which for a period of just over 3 weeks works out to be very expensive in comparison to the usual flat rent that I do.
I look forward to hear your advice as i am now very worried that we won't see each other at easter and will have to wait another 3 months before we do.
Yours faithfully
Ben Smith"
Answer: In this situation I can recommend you a very safe option. You can get a visa support through our partner company or any other travel agency that has an office in Moscow and will be able to register your visa. Then you can buy an Aeroflot ticket with a stopover in Moscow, go on the first day to the office of the travel agency you use to register your visa, tell them that you need it to be done as soon as possible, and it will be ready in not more than 3 days. There's a possibility that it will be registered on the spot, but you should inquire the visa agency when you fill in your application. Then you can take a flight from Moscow to Novosibirsk. Maximum, this option will cost you about $150 US more (staying for 3 days in Moscow), but then you can have 3 days in Moscow and enjoy the city.
Alternatively, some visa companies can provide a special letter for you, which you can take to local OVIR in Novosibirsk to register your visa. As it will be a tourist, not a business visa, there shouldn't be any problems with that.

Question (10/03/03): "How old do you have to be to obtain a business visa? And what if you don't really want to go through getting a personal visa, but you want to stay longer than a month [tourist visa] and you aren't a part of any business?"
Answer: from 18 y.o. It's ok if you're not a part of any business, you can be a student. The business visa generally means that you come to Russia for a meeting with a Russian company. It doesn't necessarily mean you should be employed in your home country.

Question (18/03/03): "Hello, I will be visiting Moscow for a weekend only, approximately 49 hours total stay and entering and exiting from SVO. I am a U.S. Citizen and will be in Holland, where I will fly to Moscow just for the weekend arriving afternoon Friday and leaaving, back to Holland, afternoon the following Sunday. Is there any possibility of getting the Short 72-hour visa under this circumstance even though I am not from any of the listed countries but from the U.S.? Thank you. "
Answer: No, there is not. The best is to get a normal tourist visa.

Question (3/04/03): "If I apply for a tourist visa and don't exit the country on the exact day I put down am I in trouble? Is it better to apply for 20 days when you think it will be only 16 days?"
Answer: The period of your visa is a period of its validity. You can enter and leave Russia anytime between these dates. So, you are not in trouble if you exit the country before your visa expires. You are right saying that it's better to get it for 20 days, to allow yourself a bigger time span.

waytorussia · Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 14

April through June 2003

Question (19/04/03): "My Russian wife ( a US resident)owns a home in Russia. She spends the summers in Russia & I visit for 2 to 4 weeks. I soon will retire and we would like to live in Russia half the year. How can this be done?"
Answer: Yes, you can either get a 3-month private visa, single entry only (a person in Russia will have to make the private visa invitation for you, it takes 1 month and you need original). Otherwise, a simplier way is to get a business invitation (i.e. through waytorussia.net visa service page) and then get a 6-month multiple-entry business visa.

Question (1/05/03): "I would like to visit both Russia and Ukraine. I will fly from London to Moscow, stay 4 days there, and then fly to Keiv. I will stay 3 days in Keiv and then fly back to Moscow. Two days later and I will leave Moscow on my return flight to London. This raises several questions. Must I have both Russian and Ukrainian visas, and must the Russian visa be a two entry visa? If I need all of these visas for such a short trip--it really seems like a hassel. Is there some sort of visa package deal that allows a tourist to travel to all (or some)of the european fromer Soviet Union countys all on one visa? "
Answer: There's no such visa package. In your case, you need to get either two separata tourist Russian visas and a Ukrainian visa, or one Ukrainian visa and a double- or multiple entry Russian business visa (tourist visas are single entry).
All this can be obtained through our site. See Visa Support section.

Question (5/05/03): "Hi, I've noticed that when you have to fill out your visa support application, it asks which cities you plan to visit. I'm planning to go to St. Petersburg in the summer, but may also be visiting Moscow for a few days. But it's not for certain!! What happens if I don't put Moscow on my invitation application and then decide to go there? Am I breaking the law? Thanks for any help you can give me! "
Answer: My advice is to put as many cities as you can, especially if there are maximum two you will visit anyway.
The main rule is that information provided when applying for visa support, should match the information provided in Russian visa application form, and should match what you will be telling Russian immigration officials when you enter and leave the country.
Practically, if you put only St. Petersburg in your cities list, and then go to Moscow, nothing bad will happen, everybody does it. Just say you had an unplanned trip, that's all.

Question (21/05/03): " I wish to travel to the Ukraine and then to Russia sometime in the Fall. I wish to pursue a business visa so that I may return at some time within the year, but I can't begin to plan the specific dates of my travel at this time or the cities I may visit. Must I submit a precise itinerary for all my multiple visits if I seek a multiple-entry business visa?? If I enter Russia at St. Petersburg and wish to travel later to Kazan or Ykaterinburg, must I have a business invitation from each city I seek to visit? If the Russian visa is business, must the Ukraine visa be business also?"
Answer: It's better to put in the cities you are sure you will be visiting, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg and Kazan. If you travel to any other city, it is not a big problem, but it's better to put in as many as you can.
You don't have to have invitation from every city, the invitation is for Russian visa, so you get one invitation for all Russia, the cities list is needed to be able to make a registration.
Also, if Russian visa is business, Ukrainian visa can be any other, it doesn't matter, and vice versa.

Question (23/05/03): "Our visas are going to expire while we are in Russia (don't ask it's a long story). Can we get out of the country with expired visas or should we try to renew/extend them while we are there?"
Answer: Look, if you leave Russia with expired visa, customs officials may: 1) fine you at the border ($100-$1000), 2) detain you (i don't know for how long), 3) send you out of Russia, 4) you won't be able to get a Russian visa during the next 5 years. If all that is ok with you, feel free to leave with expired visas. Otherwise, I really recommend you to leave before they expire and also try to renew them, although it's much simplier (and significantly cheaper) to leave and get the new visas.

Question (28/05/03): "Hello, I'd like to visit St. Petersburg, Moscow and some city of the golden ring, (about 20 days).
With a tourist visa I need to planner the entire travel or just I neded to book the first night in hotel at St. Petersburg, and then I can day after day visit the city that I have request in my visa and stop there as I like?
Thank you"
Answer: Yes, if there are no restrictions from the issuer of your visa support. (some hostels restrict your itinerary, so better get your visa support somewhere else)

Question (29/05/03): "I am flying from London to Ulan Bator via Moscow but would like to visit Irkutsk as a tourist both before and after my trip to Mongolia before returning to London. What is the best type of visa to get and what is the easiest way to get it?"
Answer: Tourist visa, you can get the invitation letter at Visa Support page

Question (30/05/03): "Can you please help us. We want to do the Trans-Sib. to Mongolia, spend some time there and then fly back to Moscow and exit the country by train form there. What's our best option ? Since we will be entering the country twice, should we get a business visa or can we do this with two tourist visas ? Is it risky trying to get a business visa if we aren't really going there for business ? Thanks a lot. Great web site by the way."
Answer: It would be more convenient to get a double-entry business visa, but I personally would try to get two tourist visas. I recommend you to ask this question when you apply for your visa support - visa agency will recommend you the best option.

Question (2/06/03): "Hi, I'm a US citizen traveling to Russia with two US friends. We're entering Vladivostok from Japan in the beginning of September. It would be nice to stay for more than 30 days, so a business visa seems the way to go. So just to make sure...
1. Is it OK to travel on a business visa if we have no intention of doing "business" in Russia? Will we be asked to explain what our business is?
2. About listing the cities we will visit and providing hotel confirmations, etc....Do we have to provide names of hotels in every city we list? Is it OK to stay at different places....for example, if we arrive in a city and find a cheap hostel or homestay?
3.Is it OK to travel to different cities or villages than those we list on our visa applications? How strict is this, and when and where will this information be checked?
This is all really confusing...please help! "
Answer: Question 1 It's ok to have a business visa. In the visa application form you'll need to specify the name of the company you work (or a university where you study). Your business in Russia is usually "related" to the company you're visiting. The safest thing is to say that you have a meeting in this company (which invited you) and if asked what the nature of this meeting is you can say that it's travel, tourism, links between our countries etc. etc. In fact, you actually will have a "meeting" in the company that invites you on a business visa, because you'll need to register your visa in Russia.
Question 2: You just need to provide the names of the cities you visit, not the hotels. The inviting company will list the hotels on the invitation themselves, you will just need to know them if asked (but that happens rarely).
Question 3: Yes, it's ok, it's not written on the visa what cities you visit, so there's virtually no way for them to check it.

Question (6/06/03): " I am traveling to Russia this summer on a curise ship that will stop for two days at St. Pete. I will be spending the night on the ship. I am planning to go sightseeing on my own (not with the ship's tour group) -- Do I still need a visa?"
Answer: According to the agreement between cruise companies and Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, passengers of cruise ships staying in St. Petersburg port not longer than 72 hours do not require Russian visa. This applies only if St. Petersburg is not the only port you stop at during your cruise. Also, this rule DOESN'T apply for the passengers of Finnish cruise companies, because there's a kind of disagreement at the moment (June, 2003) between them and Russain officials.
In any case, I recommend you to doublecheck it with your cruise company.

Question (17/06/03): "Hi I am Indian I would like to have an 1year bussiness Visa how can i get it"
Answer: Unfortunately, Russian immigration laws are very strict and it's very hard for the nationals of African and Asian countries (including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China) to get a Russian visa. The reason is that Russian immigration control organisation are afraid of a sudden increase in migration from these countries. When the situation changes, we will immediately post information about it on our site.
I myself traveled to India and it wasn't hard to get an Indian visa, so it's very sad that Indians have such difficulties in getting a Russian visa.
For now, you can either completely prebook your trip with a local travel agent or try to find an agency in Russia that will process an invitation for you. I could also recommend you to contact some Indian friends in Russia (or maybe just an Indian restaurant?) and ask them how they usually get their visas.

Comment (18/06/03): "This is the most lucid and candid discussion of Russian visas and visa support that I have ever seen. This is a significant help to your country and to those who want to visit or do business. Thanks."

Comment (3/07/03): "I want to address the question "Do I need a transit visa if I am only staying in the airport during a stopover?" I called the Russian embassy in the USA and was told that even if you remain in the same airport, you need a transit visa if your stopover is more that 8 hours! Of course, if you are changing airports you certainly need a transit visa. As luck would have it, my stopover in SVO is 8:25. Is this for real? Do I really need a this expensive transit visa? "
Answer: Yes, you do. But the final answer is given by the Russian consulate in your country.

waytorussia · Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 14

Posts July through December 2003

Comment (13/07/03): "If I enter through the port of St. Petersburg and have up to 72 hours with no visa required, can I travel to Moscow as long as it is within the 72 hours? What if they check papers in Moscow? Thanks!"
Answer: There are no 72-hour visas anymore, only for some cruise passengers. In any case, if you go to Moscow, you will have your documents checked when you board the train. So, you need a tourist visa.

Comments (17/07/03): "I have an invitation for the period 15 of August to the 30 of August. But my flight is not until the 17 of August and i fly back on the 27. As the dates of my flight and stay as stated on invitation are different will there be a problem getting a visa or should i apply for the dates on the invitation and then fly after my visa to russia starts"
Answer: That's NOT a problem at all

Comments (1/09/03): "Hi. I am planning on visiting a friend in Vladivostok, in September. I will be traveling from Japan to Valdivostok. Reviewing your web site it appears easier to obtain a tourist visa than a private visa. The US Consultate site states that the Russian travel agency that issues the tourist invitation, needs to have an office in Vladivostok. Is this true, and if so, does your partner company have an office in Vladivostok? If the partner company does not have an office in Vladivostok, what would you recommend I do to obtain an tourist visa. Thanks in advance!"
Answer: No, they don't have an office in Vladivostok. The reason for this requirement is that you need your visa to be registered at the place where you stay longer than 3 days. If you stay in a hotel, they will automatically register your visa (however, not all hotels). Otherwise, the travel agency that issued your invitation should make a registration. If the travel agency doesn't have an office in Vladivostok, they should provide you with a special letter, which you should bring to the local OVIR (immigration office). This involves a lot of queueing. So, I would recommend you to find a reliable company in Vladivostok (of which I don't know), or, if you want to be more secure, order an invitation from our partner company and ask them to assist you in registering your visa in Vladivostok. Depending on their answer, you can then decide whether you want the invitation from them or not.

Comments (12/09/03): "I'm planning on visiting my boyfriend, an American working in Moscow. I want to stay for several months, so a business visa seems the best option. The problem is that I'm a painter. So, all my work is freelance. I'm not affiliated with any business or university. Having said that, I will be working in Russia, as I plan to paint while there. Is it still possible, under these circumstances, to get a business visa?"
Answer: This is not a problem, just consult the travel agency where you will be getting your invitation, what business contact details you should specify when you're applying. Otherwise, you can just specify your home address asnd say that you have a "private business". That should be completely ok.

Comment (18/09/03): "I am thinking of studying at MGU university for about 4 months. If I get a student visa form the university and decide that the level of tuition is not what I thought it would be, and stop studying there,am I breaking the visa rules. How would the authorities know that I was no longer studying there anyway.?
thanks
Laurence"
Answer: I don't think they would care to know anything... Unless the university cancels your visa if you quit. Maybe it's better to be still (formally) a part of the university and not to attend. They will not care about it if you're there only for 4 months. (When I studied there I was absent for 2 months, and they were ok).

Comment (26/09/03): "my friends are planning to come to Moscow for a long weekend - and I have a couple of questions:
1) if they are coming for 3 days only (say, saturday, sunday and monday) - will the need a visa at all?
2) if they do indeed need a visa, will they still need to register (and how possible is it if it takes 3 business days???)
thanks a lot in advance"
Answer: Yes, they need a visa. They don't need to register their visas, because the registration shuold be made only if you stay longer than 3 business days. In their case, they will be in Russia only 1 business day, so no registration is needed.

Comment (17/10/03): "Hi, I would like to visit some family in Russia (cousins) for approx two weeks. What visa would be most appropriate, as i don't want to put them through the hassle of queing etc, yet i don't want to book a hotel or hostel for that period of time. Thank you for your response."
Answer: Get a tourist visa.

Comment (30/10/03): "I have got an offer of employment from an American company which has a development center in St. Petersburg. As far as I understand I will need a work confirmation (personal work permit) to work in Russia. I have the following questions:
1. I understand I will have to come to Russia then apply for a work permit at the UVIR/OVIR. What kind of visa should I apply for?
2. What are the documents required for getting a work permit? What is the step by step procedure and the time frame for the same?
3. I was told that I would have to get my visa extended every three months, is this the case?"
Answer: The American company should arrange both a visa and a work permit for you. If they can't do it, then you can get a normal business visa, but you will not be legitimately employed. However, if that's the choice of your employer (because they couldn't provide the visa for you), then it's their problems as well. Actually, many "expats" in Russia work on normal business visas they get through travel agencies and have no problems whatsoever.
Your visa doesn't need to be extended (if it's a 1 year multiple entry visa), but you can't stay for a period longer than 6 months at once (so, at one point, you'll need to come out of the country and come in again - have a nice weekend in Estonia, Tallin for example, especially that it's only 6 hours from St. Petersburg.

Comment (8/11/03): " If your traveling to Vladivostok, the "Primorskii Krai" apparently has different rules than the rest of Russia concerning vouchers. When I went there in August, there was a "ment" waiting for all foreigners at the exit door of the airplane (at 1am no less). He was demanding both *visas* and *vouchers* from all foreigners. The rules didn't apply to me because I had a business visa, but I was with my parents (who were on tourist visas). I argued with the "ment" that there was no law saying that foreigners had to carry vouchers at all times and I refused to let him take my parents passports. I told him we'd go to the police station and pay the official fine if he could show me the law. He let us get our luggage and we hurried for a taxi as soon as we had our bags. (Fortunately it was dark, there were lots of people, and we didn't see him again.) I really thought the "ment" was lying, but then the hotel refused to register my parents without a voucher. They even showed me some official looking papers with the rules. I started to worry ... our itinerary included over 8 different cities that trip, and Vladivostok wasn't one of the cities my parents listed for the visa invitation (it just happened to be their first city). Fortunately, I called the agency that issued the invitations in Moscow and they wrote up a voucher that included Vladivostok and faxed it to the hotel."

waytorussia · Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 14

Posts January to April 2004

Comment (6/1/04): "I am thinking of visiting Irkutsk within the next few months to visit my girlfriend and stay for about three to four weeks. I have read the problems obtaining a personal visa. What would be my best option for a visa? I am totally confused with all the bureaucracy over visas. I do not want to be arrested or expelled. I just want to be with my significant partner.I will be staying with her. Help!!!"
Answer: If you have a long time before your trip, your girlfriend can make a personal invitation for you, and then you will need to register, when you arrive. You don't really need to worry about these stuff. It's as simple as that: if you have time to spend on all arrangements, get a personal invitation, if you don't have time and is ready to pay extra $30 for the invitation, get a tourist visa. If you're going to apply for Russian permit of stay, then you can do it with private invitation only.

Comment (16/01/04): "I am planning to travel to St Petersburg to stay with a friend for three nights (including a weekend). Was planning to apply for a tourist visa but I'm worried about having a visa support letter showing accommodation at a hotel/hostel but actually staying with friends. What questions are asked by officials upon arrival to verify visa information and accommodation details?"
Answer: Don't worry: the officials do not make interrogations. Even if they ask anything, just tell them the same information as on your visa support. If your visa support says you're staying in a hotel "Blue Lagoon" say, you're staying in "Blue Lagoon". If you don't want to say anything, just say that it is your travel agency that is arranging accommodation for you and if the officials ask you which accommodation it is, just give them the phone number of your visa agency and tell them to phone them and ask them.

Comment (30/01/04): " i have an opportunity to work for a school in krasnoyarsk. if i get a business visa invitation from that school does that mean ill only be able to work for them? if i get a business visa through a travel agency would that give me more freedom in terms of which school i could work for? but would it be more expensive that way?"
Answer: Getting a business visa may affect your flexibility, so the best way is to make some arrangements with the school before getting a visa, to ensure you'll have freedom to change your job. If the school can't give you this guarantee, you can apply for a business visa through a travel agency, but make sure that the school you're going to work for, will accept this visa.

Comment (9/02/04): "why couldn't we just let people come to russia when ever they feel like it?"

Comment (17/02/04): "Hi, Im going to be travelling on the trans-siberian railway (east to west) and will be staying in Russia for more than one month so I will need a buisiness visa. Are there any companies that would supply an invitation and register the visa when I arrive in Irkutsk as this will be the first city I arrive in and I will stay here for a while."
Answer: The inviting visa agency will usually supply you with a letter for OVIR officials requesting to process a registration for you.

Comment (25/02/04): "Hi, I'm planning to do the trans siberian express, but am flying into st petersburg (5 days - meeting a friend) and then making my way over to moscow ( 1 night)to catch the train. the only other point of stopping in russia will be irkutsk (3 nights) before heading off into mongolia. I have only booked a hotel for st petersburg - will this suffice? We are going to organise the rest of our accomodation as we go along. I am going to apply for a tourist visa. "
Answer: Yes, this will suffice.

Comment (1/03/04): "Flying back home from Delhi to Amsterdam we want to spend 1 day (10 ours) in Moskou.
Can we get a transit-visa in Katmandu or Delhi ?
Do we neet an invitation for this ?"
Answer: You shouldn't need an invitation for this. Contact the Russian consualte in Dehli and ask them what documents you need -- usually it's your passport, photos, application form, and your tickets.

Comment (2/03/04): "Hi I am coming to Russia a couple of weeks to study Russian at the Moscow State University. I have just received my invitation, and it is only as long as the duration of my course (8 weeks) when I want to stay in Russia for about a month after. I am guessing that the Russian Consulate will not let me stay on for that long after. What options do I have - try and get a visa extension while in Russia or apply for a tourist invitation for that extra month now, and then get another visa? Please help. Many thanks, excellent site."
Answer: Try to extend it while you're in Russia with your university. If it doesn't work, you can get an invitation while in Russia and make a "visa run" -- come out to some Baltic state like Estonia, or maybe to Finland and apply for a tourist visa there.

Comment (5/03/04): "Hi, Iam an Indian girl 25 .I studied in Moscow medical university .And i have a friend in Moscow,I wanna visit her and I would like to be with her for a week.she is studying in RSMU & stays in hostel in Moscow.Iam now in USA with my husband.I am planning to visit India by end of may and i wud like to take a transit for a week in Moscow.What kinda VISA should I apply?I heard that the Transit Visa is only for 3days.Iam an Indian citizen and Iam on a dependent Visa and i have my american Visa till feb of 2005.Pls lemme know the details.I wish to visit my friend by end of may.when & what type of VISA should I apply.My friend is ready to send me the invitaion from her university?Pls lemme know the details"
Answer: It's very hard unfortunately for Indian citizens to get a Russian visa. As far as I know, only Hostel Asia provides invitations for Indian citizens (www.hostels.ru). You may also try to get a transit visa in this case try to get all the details in the Russian consulate. Good luck!!!

Comment (1/04/04): "Hi, I have planned a trip to Russia that will take 31 days so will need a business visa, but I have heard about authorities (especially along the trans-siberian railway) stopping tourists who have business visas, fining them and in the worst example, sent them back. What is the Russian authorities' attitude to tourists with a business visa? Surely it looks suspicious for a person with a business visa to be making stops along the trans-siberian..."
Answer: Not at all. A business visa officially implies you're in Russia to handle business meetings, attend seminars, etc. So it's ok to stop along Trans-Siberian. Everybody understands (including authorities) that a business visa is just a longer tourist one, so don't worry, I don't think anybody will try to make problems, it usually goes on just fine.

Comment (1/04/04): "I have been trying to get my fiance out of Russia for 4 months now. She has an invitation letter from me in Germany and all the paperwork is correct from the autorities. Yet if its not one thing its the other. Stamp here, visa this, more money, money, money everywhere. All I want is to get married to the girl that I love. Why does it have to be so difficult. I was going to visit her family but looking at this huge headache there is NO WAY! When is this going to change. I know there are many people that want to experience your culture."
Answer: Well, it's not that hard -- just apply for a tourist invitation, get it by fax, bring it to the Russian consulate and you'll get your visa. It's much easier than getting a German visa for Russians, by the way...

Comment (2/04/04): " I want to stay in Moscow for 1 year. What is the best visa to apply for? Should I get a business visa and do the leave the country for a day thing and come back in to get another six months stay? Also, I have not broken any of the rules that would deny me a visa, when I apply, is it a sure thing that I will be granted one? I talked to a lady at triple A and she said it was difficult. Is this true? Thanks, Aaron"
Answer: What is a triple A? Get a business visa multi-entry, come out after 6 months to a nice Tallin or Helsinki for a weekend holiday and then come back to Russia -- this will make it ok with registration. It's not 100% sure you get one, but it's pretty much sure.

dgrunt · Just Starting Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 7 Location: LA

Hi!
First of all, great site. My question is - is it possible to obtain business visas for kids? Or are there any other options or ways around it?
Thanks in advance.

Katie · Frequent Guest Joined: 16 Apr 2005 Posts: 13

Hey,i'd like to go to Russia for a bout 9 days this summer.I have a Russian friend there who has invited me to stay with her and the family.Now she lives in Moscow and she'd like me to come and stay about 4 days in their country house outside of Moscow and 5 days or so in a hotel in moscow.What type of visa do I need?a tourist visa or a private visa?

Does a private visa restrict your movement in the country,i mean do you have to stay in one place,or are you free to move around and stay in several places in the country like i mentioned earlier.Please help me!!

El-Casey · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:36 am Post subject:

For the record, AAA is the American Automobile Association, an organization which provides roadside assistance and trip planning assistance. I didn't know they did international stuff, so I imagine this lady was just saying what she thought, versus giving the actual facts.

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