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problem with invitation letter for student visa

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

Author	Message
Sarah1 Just Starting Joined: 26 Apr 2011 Posts: 1	Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 6:08 pm    Post subject: problem with invitation letter for student visa Hello! I want to go to Russia at the beginning of June for a month for a language course. I already applied for the course, booked my flights and everything was fine until I received the invitation letter from the Russian university yesterday: they put in the wrong entry date, the 31st of May instead of the 30th. But my flight will land in Moscow already on the 30th! So I phoned the embassy and asked if one day difference to the invitation letter would be okay, but they said they can only give me the visa for the dates specified on the invitation letter. Since the university seems to be unable to send a new invitation letter on such notice and the costs of changing my flights being huge, thanks to a stupid booking website, I was wondering if there is any way around this problem? Can I maybe get a tourist visa for one day until my student visa takes effect? but then I won't have an entry stamp in my student visa which might become a problem when I have to register.... I would be deeply gratetful for any suggestions to solve this issue!
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romdur Lounge Lizard Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 189	Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:59 pm    Post subject: Sarah, The good news, is that there are things you can do to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, it will take some time and probably cost some money as well. By the way, I am assuming for discussion that you are a US citizen. If you have other citizenship, please post, so you can receive better advice! Your idea of getting a second visa is logical, but not possible under Russia's rules: only one valid Russian visa is allowed in any passport at one time. Here's what I would try: 1. Be insistent with the university -- sometimes in Russia, being too polite works against you. I believe that your visa can be processed inside of 2 weeks (but of course, you must be careful about timing). So if they can get you a new invitation within 2 weeks, you still have several days margin. 2. Find out the cheapest way to change your itinerary. If the booking site is not helpful, you can try the airline directly. Also, if you will provide your exact flight details (dates, airlines, and flight numbers) I will see whether I can suggest anything. If you prefer not to post this information, you can send it to me by pm (private message). 3. If your flights have you in Russia 4 weeks or less, you can dispense with the student visa, and simply use a tourist visa for your trip. You would need to get an invitation through a travel company, but this is fairly inexpensive, and not at all difficult. 4. If you are planning to be in Russia more than 4 weeks, you can instead use a 90-day business visa. This is more expensive than a tourist visa, but otherwise works much the same.
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