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Singer
Just Starting
Joined: 21 Jan 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Moscow
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 Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 12:44 am Post subject: Going from Sweden impossible??? |
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My relatives are interested in getting help with the invitation(for a tourist VISA) to go to Russia. They live in Sweden and then you need the original documents to apply for the VISA and not just a fax or e-mail. Is it possible for you to send them to Sweden to my relatives? Also if they don't want to live in a hotel but with me is that a problem? I just read in the russian embassy in Sweden's website and it says that it's not enough with just a hotel booking but you need to show that you have payed for it. I've lived in Russia for 2 and a half year and still no one has visited me! Everyone complain about the VISA. I guess the only chance if they will book some very expensive trip when u get the hotel and flight and a guide and they will drive you around on a bus and they will show you the red square and kreml and bring you to the most expensive giftshops and that's it. I can't handle it.  It's really not fair. |
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WayToRussia
Site Admin
Joined: 23 Oct 2002
Posts: 1457
Location: Moscow - Berlin
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| Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Hi, it's true that the situation in Sweden is a bit hard. There's a strange consul who's very strict with tourists. Or at least it was like this a few years ago.
Anyway, their options are like this:
1) They can go to Norway or any other EU country (except Germany and France) and get a visa there with a copy of their invite. For example, Finland, it's even on the way to Russia. Or Estonia (just 5 hours from St. petersburg and there's a ferry from Stockholm to Tallin).
2) They could try to apply with originals of the tourist visa support obtained through this site, the copy can be sent by normal post (takes about 2 weeks, cheap) or with courier post (takes 2-3 days, but costs 50 EUR or so). But then it's not really guaranteed they'll get the visa. They can fill out the forms at http://waytorussia.net/Travel/VisaSupport.html and ask in the Additional Message field whether they have good chances or not. Our partners usually either don't process the requests or return the money if any problems are expected, so if they get the invites in the end, it's kind of guaranteed they get a visa.
3) They could get a business invitation, which does not require a hotel booking.
Let me know which route they choose and how it goes, OK? |
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Groobs
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
Location: China (but missing St Pete!)
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| Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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I have a Swedish friend living here in SPB, and he also complains about the very strict regime that the Russian embassy in Stockholm applies for visas - just cut them out of the loop entirely - go to Helsinki, the Russian consulate there is very helpful, (see my post on my recent experience of getting a visa there in one visit) and it's a pleasant ferry trip from Stockholm! From Helsinki to Moscow - fly or train. Simple.
Let the Swedish Russian embassy be as obstructive and awkward as they want, there are much easier places to get a visa.... |
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Singer
Just Starting
Joined: 21 Jan 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Moscow
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| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the answers! But how is it possible to get a business visa if you are just going for holidays? I read something about some special youth business visa. |
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Groobs
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
Location: China (but missing St Pete!)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Your visitors from Sweden should go to the Russian embassy in Helsinki and apply for a tourist visa there - it's even easier than a business visa. |
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Brujo
Just Starting
Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Malta
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:32 am Post subject: |
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| WayToRussia wrote: | Hi, it's true that the situation in Sweden is a bit hard. There's a strange consul who's very strict with tourists. Or at least it was like this a few years ago.
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I really wonder what seems so strange to you? The fact that consul knows about some dishonorable crooked sites which provide false tourist confirmations and vouchers and tries to filter out such crooks? There is a law. And wheather it's bad or good - one has to follow it. If the voucher says "hotel is fully paid" and the applicant just bought a "paper" for 30 bucks and stays with his GF - he IS a DECEIVER. That's very simple. |
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greg222
VIP
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 600
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: |
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| All right, Brujo, I'll bite. What's your problem exactly? You don't think ordering these tourist invitations is standard practice, even though these companies advertise all over the internet? Even though they have to be registered with the MFA? And you think it's only the very clever consul in Sweden who has cottoned onto this 'scam' while all the other consulates are completely clueless as to the existence of such companies? |
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David T
Frequent Guest
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 43
Location: Switzerland
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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Brujo,
If you don't want to use this website, it's up to you. I ordered 3 visas for me (including multiple-entry visa) and I took 10 friends to Russia using this site and we never had any single problem with visa-consulate-hotel-police-passport control and so on..
On the website of the Russian embassy in Switzerland, they recommend to use such websites to get the invitations... |
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Brujo
Just Starting
Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Malta
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:01 am Post subject: |
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| greg222 wrote: | | All right, Brujo, I'll bite. What's your problem exactly? You don't think ordering these tourist invitations is standard practice, even though these companies advertise all over the internet? Even though they have to be registered with the MFA? And you think it's only the very clever consul in Sweden who has cottoned onto this 'scam' while all the other consulates are completely clueless as to the existence of such companies? |
Breaking the law and deceiving is standard practice for you? All right then. I just wonder how law-abiding people from Europe, Us, etc. think allright for themselves to break rules of Russian legislation. And how they start screaming like a saw when they got caught up. Have you ever heard of the requirements that let''s say a Schengen country Embassy make towards a Russian citizen? And when a Russian consul starts the same towards you - it drives you crazy.
Btw, it is not only consul in Sweden. Other Embassies do it from time to time, in Sweden they just made it a regular practice.
If the voucher says "hotel is fully prepaid" and you have not paid anything - how will you call it? I would call it a lie and an attempt to fool me. Do YOU like when someone makes fool of YOU? |
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Brujo
Just Starting
Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Malta
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:04 am Post subject: |
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| David T wrote: | Brujo,
If you don't want to use this website, it's up to you. I ordered 3 visas for me (including multiple-entry visa) and I took 10 friends to Russia using this site and we never had any single problem with visa-consulate-hotel-police-passport control and so on..
On the website of the Russian embassy in Switzerland, they recommend to use such websites to get the invitations... |
I drove 10 times under a "no entry" sign - does it make it legal? When I am caught up by a policeman and fined - should i protest referring to 10 previous succesful attempts? |
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greg222
VIP
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 600
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:11 am Post subject: |
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| Brujo wrote: | | Breaking the law and deceiving is standard practice for you? |
I suppose I should have expected you to reply with irrational screeching. But I will persist, because I'm curious...
| Brujo wrote: | | If the voucher says "hotel is fully prepaid" and you have not paid anything - how will you call it? |
Firstly, I have never seen a voucher that says this.
Secondly, you ignored my questions. If this practice is illegal, then how are the visa support companies registered with the MFA? And, given that these companies make no secret of their existence or practices, why do consulates issue visas to people who use their invitations?
I don't actually expect a coherent response to that. But I remain especially curious about your motivation. So what's wrong, Brujo? Did you get refused an invitation because of your nationality? The idea that you made these posts out of moral indignation is nonsensical. So what's up? |
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Brujo
Just Starting
Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Malta
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:30 pm Post subject: |
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| greg222 wrote: | | Brujo wrote: | | Breaking the law and deceiving is standard practice for you? |
I suppose I should have expected you to reply with irrational screeching. But I will persist, because I'm curious... |
Why should I screech? The screeching is here: If you are getting a tourist Russian visa in Sweden then you are in trouble. In January 2006 a new consul was appointed who was apparently given orders to catch spies
| greg222 wrote: | | Brujo wrote: | | If the voucher says "hotel is fully prepaid" and you have not paid anything - how will you call it? |
Firstly, I have never seen a voucher that says this. |
Have you ever seen a voucher issued together with confirmation from a receiving Russian travel agent? In most cases it's in Russian, so you have to read Russian to understand what it says.
| greg222 wrote: | | Secondly, you ignored my questions. If this practice is illegal, then how are the visa support companies registered with the MFA? And, given that these companies make no secret of their existence or practices, why do consulates issue visas to people who use their invitations?. |
That's simple. The tourist companies (some of them to be precise)registered with MFA try to make some money on the side this way. And for the consular officers everything is OK on the surface. They CAN go deeper and check but they don't have to. And because there's always shortage of people in embassies - they usually don't do it. But if there's some conscientious consul and he knows about 30-bucks-invitations practice - he may try to stop it. No one likes when others try to deceive him. Especially embassies and immigration officers.
Another thing is poor legislation and implementation practice - it's not easy to detect and trace such pseudo-tourists who get visas on ground of false vouchers and then stay with their friends at private appartment. It means the purpose of their visit differs from what they wrote in application. Now there is a 18.8 article in Administrative Code punishing for this. But still it works not well up to now.
| greg222 wrote: | | I don't actually expect a coherent response to that. ? |
Why? Because you consider yourself keen on Russian visa regulations? Or just because a coherent response would undermine practice of issuing false invitations?
| greg222 wrote: | | But I remain especially curious about your motivation. So what's wrong, Brujo? Did you get refused an invitation because of your nationality? The idea that you made these posts out of moral indignation is nonsensical. So what's up? |
I am Russian. So I don't need a Russian visa  Firstly, I have some friends among those who issu visas and take decisions. Secondly, I know how it's sometimes difficult to get a visa to US or Schengen. So I always gloat a little bit when a pompous EU citizen (wow! do I need a visa to Russia? WOW! I go around a world without visas! and to Russia I can't just buy tickets and go?!) gets the similar troubles. Not because I get a pleasure when someone has troubles. But because these troubles might make EU citizens think more positevly in the direction of waiving visa regime with Russia. |
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David T
Frequent Guest
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 43
Location: Switzerland
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| Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Brujo wrote: | | David T wrote: | Brujo,
If you don't want to use this website, it's up to you. I ordered 3 visas for me (including multiple-entry visa) and I took 10 friends to Russia using this site and we never had any single problem with visa-consulate-hotel-police-passport control and so on..
On the website of the Russian embassy in Switzerland, they recommend to use such websites to get the invitations... |
I drove 10 times under a "no entry" sign - does it make it legal? When I am caught up by a policeman and fined - should i protest referring to 10 previous succesful attempts? |
So how do you explain that a Russian embassy can recommend it if it's so illegal? I agree with you, of course, you buy an invitation and you won't stay at that place, ok. Russian embassies know this way to apply and they agree with it, or they wouldn't issue visas. For the embassy, as long as you have an invitation and you pay the fee, they don't ask more.
By the way, some russian travel agencies do the same for Russian citizens to get Schengen visa : they book an hotel, tour and when they get the visa, they cancel the booking... |
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