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greg222
VIP
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 599
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 Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 7:39 am Post subject: Russian Consulates - Worldwide Info |
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We're looking to update the information on this page about the different Russian consulates around the world:
http://www.waytorussia.net/RussianVisa/Insider.html
1. We'll be removing the comment that says the Sydney Consulate is difficult to deal with.
2. I've heard the Toronto consulate's requirements have become more strict and they might ask for a hotel payment confirmation (meaning you actually do need to pre-pay for a hotel) instead of just a standard confirmation voucher. Can anyone with recent experience confirm or deny this?
3. I've heard Lithuania is the best of the Baltic States for obtaining a visa (no longer Estonia as we have written). Can anyone with recent experience confirm or deny this?
4. If anyone sees other information they believe is wrong then please post your corrections here. Also, if anyone can give some useful information about consulates that we don't have listed, please post that here as well.
Thanks! |
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nikir
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 54
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:31 am Post subject: |
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Helsinki is also hassle free if you want to get a visa and you're around St Petersburg.
The visa section is not at the address published but around the corner. get there early as the queues are long. 8am for a 9am opening is good. They close at 12.
You have to take your receipt to a bank and pay there, then go back to the consulate and maybe queue again but I got it all done in 1 hour. |
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goDutch
Frequent Guest
Joined: 14 Jun 2007
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:49 pm Post subject: Rules for applying visa from the Netherlands |
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Russian consulate in the Netherlands seemingly imposes stricter conditions than other consulates. The rules and the list of required documents are given below.
Two restrictions are important.
I. Visas are issued only for Dutch and for those foreigners, who have a residence permit.
II. To get a tourist visa, one should fully pay a hotel in advance. The hotel should be registered at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have a special reference number.
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General rules
The Consular Department is empowered to give visas to the Russian Federation only.
The Consular Department is empowered to give visas to Dutch citizens and for subjects of other nationalities that have valid residence permits.
Please take into consideration that you should apply for a visa not later than five working days before your departure.
No urgent tourist visas are provided.
Multiple – entry visas are not available for tourist and private visits.
Private visit visas are valid only for single entries and up to a three-month period irrespective of the duration of the invitation.
The payment can be done both in cash and by bank debit card.
Paid visa fees are not refundable.
Visa applications submitted with documents that differ from that described below are not to be processed.
After you obtain a visa together with your passport, you should look through it carefully. If there are any mistakes, the Consular Department will correct it immediately.
Mistakes done by yourself are to be corrected at your own expense.
The Consular Department is not responsible for the mistakes that were not pointed out before your departure.
Documents
For a tourist and private visit you need:
1. A visa application form, that is to be filled in and signed. You can also get the application form at the Consular Department and copy it. Bad copies or faxes of application forms are not acceptable.
2. Passport or travel document, that is valid within 6 months after your departure from Russia.
3. Your recent photo, that may be both black and white and in color. The photo is to be put at the top of the visa application form.
4. Health insurance (copy), that is valid in the Russian Federation.
5. Accommodation confirmation. Confirmation paper of the hotel where you are going to stay, hotel voucher or booking check provided by your tourist company. If your accommodation is provided by a Russian organization, you should give the Consular Department the conformation letter from this organization. The hotel should be registered at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have a special reference number. This number should be written on top of the confirmation paper. You should also have the proof that you have paid for the whole period of your staying in the Russian Federation.
6. Invitation. You are to have an original invitation from the places you are going to visit, which can be taken from a local branch of the Federal Migration Service (old OVIR).
7. If you want to extend your visa, you have to obtain a new letter of invitation and to hand it over to the Consular Department together with the old visa.
For a business visa you need:
1. You need a visa application form that should be filled in and signed. You can also get the application form at the Consular Department and copy it. Bad copies or faxes of application forms are not acceptable.
2. Passport or travel document, that is valid within 6 months after your departure from Russia.
3. Your recent photo, that may be both black and white and in color. The photo is to be put at the top of the form.
4. Results of the AIDS test , if you are going to stay in the Russian Federation for more than 3 months (multi-entry and double-entry visas)
5. Health insurance (copy), that is valid in the Russian Federation.
6. Invitation. You are to have an invitation in the origin (not a printed copy). The invitation can be brought to the consular department personally or via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that will send it directly to the Consular department.
7. If you want to extend your visa, you are to get a new invitation and to handle it to the Consular department together with the old visa. |
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DITTRICH
WayToRussified
Joined: 13 Jun 2004
Posts: 429
Location: London UK
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| Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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The situation at the Russian Embassy in London has changed for the better. Now open Monday to Friday 0830-1200 (last applications 1145) and collection between 1600-1700. The fees changed and are now more expensive for UK citizens but other european nationalities are charged much less. All details on www.rusemblon.org. Another big improvement is that you have to fill out and print your application form online now and they don't accept handwritten applications. This speeds processing. Overall the experience seemed faster this year and more efficient - almost as if there was someone new in charge.
Les |
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hh2000thya
Just Starting
Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject: consulate info update |
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Btw there is a new consulate opened in Houston USA. They seem to be fine  |
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waytorussia
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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Regarding the consulate in Holland, Hague -- if you get a tourist visa for a month, yes, they'll want a confirmation that a hotel was paid for the whole period. However, if you get it for 2 weeks or less they might not require this confirmation.
Also, the consulate in Sweden is still quite strict (same - confirmation of hotels for long stay tourist visas and only residents can apply), Switzerland may be a bit complicated too. Germany is totally fine though, at least the one in Berlin -- my friend applied recently (with the invite from Way to Russia) and got his tourist visa a few days ago without any problems - for almost 1 month and on time. The only hassle is that if you live in a EU country (except UK) you have to show them insurance. If you don't have it on your credit card policy, just go to any travel agency and get it there, should be about 10 or 20 EUR for a month.
If anybody else has some "insider" info, please, post here... |
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annacumming
Just Starting
Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:10 pm Post subject: Easy tourist visas for up to a month in Vilnius and Gdansk |
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Hi everyone,
Just went through the process of trying to get my Russian tourist visa while on the road in Eastern Europe. WaytoRussia denied my application for a tourist voucher as I needed a visa for 4 weeks, and they claimed that many European embassies have tightened their requirements and won't issue a tourist visa for longer than 2 weeks without evidence of hotel bookings.
In practice though, I had no problem. In Vilnius, I tried just showing up without any paperwork, and a lovely lady called Olga sent me across the road to a visa agency to handle the whole application. No hotel bookings needed, no limit of two weeks, no problem that I wasn't a Lithuanian citizen, nothing. The catch was that they only issue visas up to a month in advance.
So I tried again in Gdansk, in northern Poland. Same story, no restrictions at all, Adamov at the embassy seemed mystified as to why I was hassling him with detailed questions! No one-month-in-advance restriction on applying either, so I went to their visa agency and had my visa a day later.
At both these embassies, you can get same-day or fast service, it just costs more.
Hope that's helpful for people.
Anna |
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Generation-P
WayToRussified
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 316
Location: SHE WENT TO BARCELONA!
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| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:01 pm Post subject: |
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| BEsides Helsinki, there's another place in Finland where they do your visa's quickly and without any problem, Russian Consulate in Turku. Atleast one of the workers speaks English, all though there's no information on the web site in English. Usual visa is done in one week, but with money you can get fast service. Also if they happen to make a mistake in your visa, like wrong date, number of passport, they correct it at once. I've tried several times |
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