Way to Russia Community and Forum

munroe25 · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Posts: 24

I plan to visit Russia soon and have a few questions...

Can anyone tell me how I get travel insurance for a tourist visa? I don't own a credit card. I am living in the U.S. and I am sure I would need travelers insurance.

Second question... I plan on going to visit my friend in Yekaterinburg. I met her here in the States. Do you think their will be a problem with a tourist visa considering it's not Moscow or St. Petersburg and I can't speak more than a sentece or two of Russian language? I don't know how this works, do the border control ask any questions?

One more... What is the most recommended visa service? I live in N.Y and I need this as fast as possible because I plan to visit their next month and still need a passport.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

camarks · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 11:37 pm Post subject:

You found this site, but didn't even bother to browse the forum or the main site for any information? All of this has been covered many times before. However, I'll give you a few pointers here anyway.

You can get your invitation from the WTR site and choose to present your visa application in person to the consulate in New York or use one of the services the consulate now requires for processing by mail. See http://www.russianembassy.org/consulat/contact.htm for application, timing, and fee information.

Traveling to Russia without a credit card and/or a debit/cheque card is unwise in my opinion. The easiest and best way to get cash in Russia is from the many ATMs. Carrying all your money over in cash is foolish, and travelers cheques are useless outside of a few western hotels in the big cities. Join the 21st century and get a card.

Travelers insurance is a waste for most people, again in my opinion.

Good Luck,
Chris

munroe25 · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Posts: 24

cemarks... thank you for the reply, sorry to come off like I have not done any research.

First I would like to say.. I have a debit card so I'm not that foolish. I just don't have a credit card and wasn't sure if a debit was enough for travel insurance. I too feel it is a complete waste, since I am only going for a little over a week but some of the visa services say that they require travel insurance info to process a visa. It isn't needed?

I have read the FAQ and know about the WTR invitation and done a lot of research. I was thinking that chances of presenting the visa application in person are more likly to get denied if they ask me questions as to why I want to travel to Yekaterinburg for tourism. But I have no idea, I have not done this before.

Thank you for the link.

Paul-Holmes · Lounge Wizard Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 1073

You need medical insurance. You can buy Russian medical insurance, but if you are sick or something on the plane, it is not covered. Plus you will go to state hospital instead a private one.

munroe25 · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Posts: 24

Yes, that's what I was asking.. But I just read that medical insurance is not required for US citizens. ??? confused on this. I will call the consulate in New York to find out.

also.. for a cover letter, does anyone have a sample cover letter I could see? I am not sure how to write one. I won't be with a tour group, and I'm not sure what to put down for means of transportation and intinerary in Russia. I will be getting visa support from WTR.

Again, I'm not really staying at a hotel either, so I have to bullshit this cover letter?

Cixelsyd · Frequent Guest Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 14

Visa/Passport:
I applied for a tourist visa a couple months ago and it took about 8 days. However you'll need a passport first and according to other accounts it should take about 2 weeks for a passport. I actually got my passport in a week without paying extra, but I imagine that is highly irregular. I won't be staying in Moscow or St. Pete either, so it doesn't seem to make a difference. You will also need an invitation letter. I got mine through WTR (many thanks for that) and it took 1 day. You'll need a credit/check card for that though.

Medical Insurance:
I wasn't sure if I needed it either, so I just put "self" in the question that asks about insurance and never had a problem. Although I have yet to actually go to Russia, so unless they check it at the border (which I doubt), it would appear you don't need it to go there. I don't have traveler's insurance either.

Questions at the Border:
I wish I had more knowledge on this, but I have read that it isn't very in-depth. Just some generic questions about what you are bringing into the country. Of course the seasoned experts could confirm or deny this.

Cover Letter:
There seems to be some question as to if or not this is really required. But I wrote one anyway. It was roughly 4 sentences long and I just stated when I will be arriving and when I will be leaving Russia. I also mentioned learning the language (I know very little) and wanting to see the country. To be honest though, when I handed it to the consulate, she just looked at it funny as if she was wondering why the heck I gave it to her.
Itinerary and means of transportation concerns how and when you will come to Russia. At least it did for me, I never even put what cities I will be visiting.
Also, they never asked me a single question at the consulate. The only thing they said to me is when I could come pick up my passport/visa and gave me a piece of paper showing that. You'll probably get your visa faster if you go there in person versus mailing it in.

This has all been my experience through the D.C. consulate. So it could differ slightly from the N.Y. one. Good luck and I hope this helps. Also, if you haven't done so, I suggest reading up about Registration (I still have no idea what I'm doing about that).

munroe25 · Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Posts: 24

Cixelsyd, thank you for the reply. I appreciate that.

I am getting a passport rushed to me through a company that does so, but I am doing research on which one to use. I think I might go with travel visa pro for the expedited passport, but I am still looking. The only thing crappy about that is they are in San Francisco and I am in NY, so I'd like to find a place in closer to here for faster shipping.

As soon as I get my passport I will order a Tourist Voucher from WTR and get to the Consulate in NY immediatly, It's not far from me.. I live very close to NYC. I am going to write the same thing for the cover letter as you, just saying when and how I am going to Russia and I'll say to learn the language and see the country as well.

I don't see why it would be too hard to get a tourist visa for just a week in Russia you know? Should be pretty easy once I get the tourist voucher from WTR and a passport.

Again, thank you for the reply. Cool people here.

danbrew · Just Starting Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 0

Dude, browse the forums a bit. All you questions are answered there.

If you are an American citizen, you DO NOT NEED travel/medical insurance. Although it is certainly a good idea, especially one that will provide repatriation services - if needed. I use MedJet Assist and cannot speak highly enough about them - while I have never had to use them, I know of several people that have and they would have paid $100,000 for the medical evacuation services that were provided for the $295 or so per year. www.medjet.com. MedJet just gets you home, btw. It does not offer medical coverage - only you can decide whether that is something that you'll need. Are you 20 or 60? Are you in general good health? Or no? Are you prone to being a klutz? You can spend a lot of money on medical insurance, btw, and get nothing or very little in return... so I'd think twice before I plunked down a bunch of cash on a policy that you might never use, or one in which has so many exclusions it is worthless.

If you're asking about the cover letters and what needs to go to the embassy, and you plan on traveling in less than one month, you NEED to use a visa processing firm. I use www.traveldocs.com and have had many visas issues through these guys in a very timely manner.

Also, get a credit card. What happens when you do get sick and miss your flight and have to come home on your own? It happened to me in Moscow a few years ago - the last minute plane ticket to get me home was $4000. Long story why, but my travel agency screwed up and ended up eating the cost of that ticket, but had I not had a credit card that I could slap down on the counter at SVO when the mean old broad behind the counter kept saying "Nyet" when I told her my ticket was paid for already (that was the travel agency screw up...!), I'da been stuck, sick, screwed, etc. A credit card is not a debit card, of course.

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