If you are hosting a training conference in Moscow for one day only, can you get by with a transit or tourist visa? Business Visas seem to require more paper work. Any advice would be helpful.

Whilst I'm no expert, I would think you would be ok.

I've never been asked at immigration what I am doing there. They just sit there and tap and stamp.

Provided you visa is in order (either way) I'm sure you'll be fine.

I travelled to Russia on business numerous times from about 1999-2004. I do know they are as strict as anyone else about getting a tourist visa and actually doing business. You're dealing with the Russian definition of "doing business" and the Russian way of dealing with visa issues. (These days, it's not much different than our country, unfortunately. -- editorial comment!)

I'm assuming you're going to get a letter of invitation from the Russian group hosting you. After that, the biggest cost differential will be in the type of visa you get. I recall (I don't remember the exact cost.) that a multi-entry visa was considerably more expensive than a single-entry visa. I always got a multi-entry, so I'm not aware if there are any choices between the two. If the conference date is fixed and you're confident that you will only be making one trip, you can probably get away with a single-entry visa. In terms of paperwork, I don't remember filling out a form that was longer than a single page.

We used a company here in DC called "Visa Advisors, Inc." I'm looking at my passport right now with their label on the front. I'm sure there are similar companies in your neck of the woods, but if you'd like to contact these folks, their particulars are:

Visa Advisors, Inc
1806 T Street NW
Washington DC 20009
(202) 797-7976

I'm not endorsing them one way or the other because I didn't deal with them directly myself. My only track record is that they got me over & back whenever I needed to go there. I suspect they can answer your questions a lot better than I can.

Definitely use a visa service, saves MUCH difficulty later....

Definitely use a visa service, saves MUCH difficulty later....

As a frequent Russia traveller, I second that !
Contact www.waytorussia.net, they are the best around, affordable and quick.

If you are there for less than 3 days just get a transit visa. You don't need a letter of invite and processing can cost as little as $100 depending on how much time you give them to process it. I did this at the Kiev consulate three weeks ago to get back into Moscow for a p.m. meeting I had and then left the next morning. You have to fill out an application, provide a picture, show your inbound and outbound ticket, and pay for the visa. Pretty easy. Good for 72 hours though I am not sure if that includes holidays/weekends. Just a suggestion...

Hi - I have done perfectly without a VISA service. Tourist visa though.

I have been to Russia 4 times and have good experience with www.moscow-hotels.net
1 time was on business/private stay visa (long processing time in Russia); 3 times on tourist visa.

They have connection to hotels in Russia and get a lower price than the hotels themselves get and will fix you a tourist visa invitation for free since you booked through them and they can process it if you stay with them.
If you ask them, they will give you additional days than the one you actually stay there: do this! in case you will be delayed at airport, and write on immigration doc you will stay these days; you just leave early... (you can e.g. tell them you will go a day or two to Novgorod since they can't have your business as guest there...)
I can recommend Hotel Rossiya (not finest but certainly good value) a 3* maybe if you take a renovated room. It used to be the world's biggest hotel with between 2 and 3 thousand rooms. It will be demolished in a few years, so it might be your only chance... Also it is 100 yd from the red square and on river Moskva!

According to info on Russian embassy in Norway it is ~80 USD for a 10 day process VISA if from CA, China, UK, IT, Hungary or US . ~15 from baltic states and Georgia. ~110 for Angola, AT, BE, Chile, DE, GR, HK, IL, Jamaica, NL, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, CH, UAE, Qatar. ~50 from other countries.
You'd get it same day for about 100 dollars more. I helped a US visitor there once, she got her visa in 5 minutes - for cheaper than in DC with 2 weeks wait.
Additional fees for multiple entries [you need HIV test] (Max 1 year I think)
There also exist double entry visas.

Business VISA must be original and issues by Police Authority.
Tourist VISAs are enough with only fax copy or printout. (pref. fax)

Please fill out your form before going to embassy; download at http://www.norway.mid.ru/webko/anketa-visa.doc

Bring passport valid for +6 months after expiry of visa, tourist confirmation (moscow-hotels) as well as voucher (sometimes it is on same document). This needs to include VISA ref. number (important!)

If you fail just try again ^

PM me if more questions or sample of tourist voucher.

- Ole

Alternately, you can try www.visatorussia.com . I have successfully obtained VISA with this organization too. - Make sure you register your stay when you get to Russia (Not just at the airport)

:confused: Since the Russian visa requires that you specify the particular dates of your entry into and departure from Russia, I dutifully obtained a voucher from my hotel with exactly those dates that are consistent with my flights. I completed the visa application, but I turned around on my way to the consulate this morning, because I'm wondering if I should've asked for a few extra days on both ends.

In particular, I'm wondering what will happen if my Delta flight out of Moscow is cancelled -- whether due to strike or outright going out of business. If I can't get another flight on another airline for a day or two, I fear waiting in 12-hour lines to get my visa properly extended. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? I also wonder whether arriving after or leaving before the specified dates would also result in some bureaucratic hassle.

I'll ask the consul, too, but my impression is that I might not get cheerful, helpful counsel.

it never hurts to add a few days onto the start/end of the visa.

as for "I also wonder whether arriving after or leaving before the specified dates would also result in some bureaucratic hassle." if you mean arriving/leavie before/after the dates on the visa then YES, PROBLEM.

you will not be able to enter (and probably not even be allow to board the aircraft) if your visa is not yet valid. and if you try to leave with an expired visa you will be turned back at passport control and told to organize an "exit visa" which is a hassle. (it is possible to do at the airport directly with a consul stationed there- but getting it is unreliable and unpredictable.) so you are much better off adding extra days onto your visa application. the embassy staff wont even question it.

That's helpful, thank you. When you mention that the consul won't question tagging on a couple of days, does that mean I can add days beyond what's on my visa support letter/voucher? Or did you just mean beyond the air tickets I present?

usually they dont care about the tickets (they dont ask to see them) or the hotel voucher. if your support letter is from the hotel, you can say that you plan to change hotels once you're there. (or just make a reservation for a longer period, get your support letter, then change the reservation to a shorter period).

but there is no guarantee...

it never hurts to add a few days onto the start/end of the visa...I've always done this... since the tourist visas have a 30-day limit, there's a fair amount of latitude there.

it never hurts to add a few days onto the start/end of the visa.

as for "I also wonder whether arriving after or leaving before the specified dates would also result in some bureaucratic hassle." if you mean arriving/leavie before/after the dates on the visa then YES, PROBLEM.

you will not be able to enter (and probably not even be allow to board the aircraft) if your visa is not yet valid. and if you try to leave with an expired visa you will be turned back at passport control and told to organize an "exit visa" which is a hassle. (it is possible to do at the airport directly with a consul stationed there- but getting it is unreliable and unpredictable.) so you are much better off adding extra days onto your visa application. the embassy staff wont even question it.

You're very right there. A friend of mine exited Russia on the Russian/Finnish border hours after midnight on an expired visa. I think he paid 100 USD fine and 50 USD bribe or something like this - no exit visa involved. Successfully returned to Russia two weeks later.
I believe this is not equally easy at the airport.

Please fill out your form before going to embassy; download at http://www.norway.mid.ru/webko/anketa-visa.doc

Be aware! That form will not be accepted at a Russian Consulate in the US for US citizens! You must use the form for US citizens, which is available at http://www.russianembassy.org/consulat/Anketa04.doc.

You probably won't be getting paid (by a Russian company) for your visit to Russia, right? In that case, you should be fine with a tourist visa. No guarantees though.

We're going to be visiting and staying with friends in Moscow and traveling to St.Petersburg & Kazan. My friend tells me to get a tourist visa as a homestay visa is almost impossible to get and nobody gets one. I found a place that will sell me a letter of introduction for $20: https://www.russia-visa.com/ They tell me I can register with their agent in Russia for $30/head. Is this the best way to go about this? Is this place reliable?

There are four of us and we're talking $50/head before we even get to the visas. Okay -- that's not a lot, but I want success, not deportation. I believe we'll actually connect at SVO and fly into LED to start our trip. What is the registration-on-arrival process like? Do we just find whatever the right office is, pay their fee and go our merry way?

We're going to be visiting and staying with friends in Moscow and traveling to St.Petersburg & Kazan. My friend tells me to get a tourist visa as a homestay visa is almost impossible to get and nobody gets one. I found a place that will sell me a letter of introduction for $20: https://www.russia-visa.com/ They tell me I can register with their agent in Russia for $30/head. Is this the best way to go about this? Is this place reliable?

There are four of us and we're talking $50/head before we even get to the visas. Okay -- that's not a lot, but I want success, not deportation. I believe we'll actually connect at SVO and fly into LED to start our trip. What is the registration-on-arrival process like? Do we just find whatever the right office is, pay their fee and go our merry way?

Homestay visas will take months to obtain and require a lot of paperwork on the part of your hosts, as well as visits to the local OVIR office.

The way I understand it, you don't need to do anything in Moscow, as you're staying there for under three days. Only in cities that you'll be in for over three days are you supposed to register, and you really only need to register once. Make sure the service that you get the invitation letter from can register you in St. Petersburg. Since you won't be in Moscow long enough to get it registered, registration only in Moscow is useless to you.

Homestay visas will take months to obtain and require a lot of paperwork on the part of your hosts, as well as visits to the local OVIR office.That's basically what my friend told me and he's lived there for ~15+ years.The way I understand it, you don't need to do anything in Moscow, as you're staying there for under three days. Only in cities that you'll be in for over three days are you supposed to register, and you really only need to register once. Make sure the service that you get the invitation letter from can register you in St. Petersburg. Since you won't be in Moscow long enough to get it registered, registration only in Moscow is useless to you.As I understand it I just need to register once in the first city listed on my itinerary and all will be well.

Thanks for the info!

Can my wife and I (U.S. Citizens) simply fill out the form, head down to the Russian Embassy (New York City) with a copy of our air ticket and hotel reservation, pay the fee and have a visa ready the next day?

P.S.: This is for a single entry tourist visa, less than 10 days in country.

Can my wife and I (U.S. Citizens) simply fill out the form, head down to the Russian Embassy (New York City) with a copy of our air ticket and hotel reservation, pay the fee and have a visa ready the next day?

P.S.: This is for a single entry tourist visa, less than 10 days in country.

Yes, according to the Russian Consulate in New York (http://www.ruscon.org/) - if you are ready to pay more!

Visa processing fees / Single-Entry visa:
* $100 - six -ten business days
* $150 - three-five business days
* $200 - next business day
* $300 - same day

ETA don't forget you need a voucher/tourist confirmation from the hotel/tourist company - a hotel reservation alone is not enough (http://members.verizon.net/~vze2vbj3//visa_dep_ENG.html#touristvisa).

bcmatt - thanks for the info .... uhhh, errr, nevermind :) I see Russia is a place that requires a little more advance planning than some other places.

bcmatt - thanks for the info .... uhhh, errr, nevermind :) I see Russia is a place that requires a little more advance planning than some other places.

If you are interested in trying somewhere post-Soviet, go to Ukraine instead. Still has Slavs, Orthodox Churches, Georgian cuisines, fur hats in winter and quite a few Russian speakers, but you no longer require a visa for short visits.

Getting a Russian visa is very doable, I've done it dozens of times over the years, but you do need to allow a few weeks lead in time! Moscow is not really the place for an impetuous, lastminute city break ;)

On the other hand, Russia has been ready to abolish visa for EU and US citizens for quite a while. But only as a repriprocal measure. Anyway, savvy travel and visa agencies are normally able to organize a pretty painless Russia experience.

bcmatt - thanks for the info .... uhhh, errr, nevermind :) I see Russia is a place that requires a little more advance planning than some other places.

Interesting post,

A friend of mine arranged a business visa for me from the Russian embassy in london, and gave me a ref. number, and said just go down with my passport and its done. For a business visa, do i need to show hotel documents, letter of introduction etc too? since i dont actually have any, or even know who's officially invited me!!

Interesting post,

A friend of mine arranged a business visa for me from the Russian embassy in london, and gave me a ref. number, and said just go down with my passport and its done. For a business visa, do i need to show hotel documents, letter of introduction etc too? since i dont actually have any, or even know who's officially invited me!!

No, because you will be applying for a business visa using the invitation from your friend. You need the hotel stuff if you are applying for a tourist visa without any other sort of invitation.

You will still need more than just turning up with your passport I suspect - visa application form, photos, and postal order for the fee! And don't forget the embassy is only open to visitors in the morning and can have long queues.

Details at http://www.rusemblon.org/

Sorry yes, i forgot about the Visa form, good you reminded me!

I'm still concerned about the Invitation, and the Introductory Letter from my company -since i dont have one!!

Travelling to Moscow again, but this time have a conundrum. I am arriving to Moscow and staying the first night at Sheraton palace, which will register my visa. However, for next 5 days I am staying at a private apartment. My visa is issued on the basis of hotel invitation for all 6 nights (initial reservation made for 6 nights, then downgraded to 1 night). If the hotel will register my passport, will i have to do another registration with local OVIR? Do they register just for the exact number of nights, of for the whole period of the stay? Any suggestions appreciated.

Travelling to Moscow again, but this time have a conundrum. I am arriving to Moscow and staying the first night at Sheraton palace, which will register my visa. However, for next 5 days I am staying at a private apartment. My visa is issued on the basis of hotel invitation for all 6 nights (initial reservation made for 6 nights, then downgraded to 1 night). If the hotel will register my passport, will i have to do another registration with local OVIR? Do they register just for the exact number of nights, of for the whole period of the stay? Any suggestions appreciated.

I am pretty certain (but could be wrong) that you will be fine with just the registration at the hotel. So long as you are registered somewhere in the within the first three days, you are covered for the trip, whether you then move to different accomodation or a different city! The real problem would be if you had no registration at all - potenial for a large fine on exiting the country.

Do they register just for the exact number of nights, of for the whole period of the stay? Any suggestions appreciated.The hotel may not be able to register you for a period that exceeds your actual hotel stay -- I would call or e-mail the property directly to find-out for sure...

The hotel may not be able to register you for a period that exceeds your actual hotel stay -- I would call or e-mail the property directly to find-out for sure...

They are sticking to the official guideline and saying that they only register me for the hotel STAY, and they don't know what I need to do after that. Knowing Russia, it seems to me that bcmatt may have a point and one registration is good enough, but I just want to be sure... the hotel clerks are not being helpful as expected.

Is it absolutely true that once you are registered once, lets say in Moscow, and travel to lets say Nizhni Novgorod, you don't have to register in Nizhni again? If thats the case, then one registration at the hotel on the first night would be sufficient for the whole trip, but who knows?

They are sticking to the official guideline and saying that they only register me for the hotel STAY, and they don't know what I need to do after that. Knowing Russia, it seems to me that bcmatt may have a point and one registration is good enough, but I just want to be sure... the hotel clerks are not being helpful as expected.


Please don't take my word for it - there is a good chance I am totally wrong! Most of my visits have been for extended stays and rarely in hotels. I just always got the impression that the main concern was being registered within 3 days of arrival, rather than at every point of the visit. Call it an instinct :p

Is it absolutely true that once you are registered once, lets say in Moscow, and travel to lets say Nizhni Novgorod, you don't have to register in Nizhni again?As per the rules, you must register in each and every city you visit (unless your stay there doesn't exceed 72 hours).

See also: http://www.waytorussia.net/RussianVisa/Registration.html

As per the rules, you must register in each and every city you visit (unless your stay there doesn't exceed 72 hours).

See also: http://www.waytorussia.net/RussianVisa/Registration.html

Good find! Now I just hope my initial registration will be sufficient, if not, I need to find an agency in Moscow that will do it for me. Any clues?

Thanks to KVS post, I found the following info on WayToRussia website:

"You just go to any hotel (the cheapest one), buy a room there for one night only, and ask stamp a registration in your passport for the whole period of your visa. Not that they're obliged to do it, but they can. If they don't want to (for example, because you pay for 1 night only), try to persuade them refering to Federal Law #115 (26/07/02)."

As always in Russia, MAYBE i'll be able to convince the staff into registering, maybe not. If not, then I try some other small cheap hotel. If not, the travel agency the site mentions, if not, OVIR. Complete predictable unpredictability.

Greetings,

I've been to Russia and the Ukraine several times to date. I leave again in October for a week visit. My wife is Russian and will be there too. She has a flat in a city just outside of Moscow and I will be staying with her. We run a k1 visa firm with my law partner and we are always giving advice to our clients on such matters.

Our clients usually use a dating agency and there is one if just about every city. Those agencies know how to register a visa. I use a local hotel in town and I don't need to pay for 1 night (30 bucks) but I do pay about 20 bucks to register the visa once for my entire stay.

If you stay at a hotel they almost always require your passport anyway whether it is a 3 day visit or less. Only a few less reputable ones may not to do so. If I heard otherwise I would be surprised as most of clients report this to us.

So to summarize if you are not staying at a hotel for at least 1 night somewhere then find a hotel that will register for you for a fee using a dating agency etc. In the Ukraine back in 2001 I went to the OVIR myself and it cost too much compared to a hotel and was a pain in the you know what.

That is my advice.
Best of luck

:confused: I am planning a week long trip to Moscow and staying at a Holiday Inn. Trip is vacation and I am not going with a group and am not using a tourist agency.
I live now in MD and according to the DC consulate this is what I need:

"A standard tourist confirmation from a hosting authorized Russian travel agency or a hotel, registered with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a voucher from your hotel or travel agency in Russia."

The NY consulate says:

"Standard tourist confirmation (visa support letter) from the authorized hosting Russian travel agency, registered with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The confirmation must contain full name of the traveler, date of birth, passport number, date of entry/departure, itinerary, the agency's reference number, registration number, official seal and signature of the authorized person;
Hotel reservation alone is not valid for obtaining a tourist visa.

Voucher issued by an authorized travel agency, indicating full name of the traveler, date of birth, passport number, dates of entry and departure, name of the hosting Russian Tourist Company."

So, which is it? NY is much more detailed. Or are they saying the same thing? And can my hotel provide all the information I need since I have no invitation or sponser?

Thank you

So, which is it? NY is much more detailed. Or are they saying the same thing? And can my hotel provide all the information I need since I have no invitation or sponser?They are both referring to the same thing. You would need to contact the hotel directly so that they can issue you with the Tourist Confirmation and the Voucher (there may be a charge for this service).

Hi

I had the same dilemma 2 days ago. While it is easy to make reservations, getting a voucher is time-consuming and may also lock you into a hotel committment. The embassy web site does list a number of agencies that can handle your visa application for a fee, but without needing air/hotel reservations, ticket or voucher....just passport w/ 2 blank pages, 1 photo, completed form and the fees. Plus saves you the hassle of money order, embassy trips etc.

I found the following to be very easy and cheapest to use...just $60 on top of the $100 visa fee:

http://www.cinderellatravel.com


:confused: I am planning a week long trip to Moscow and staying at a Holiday Inn. Trip is vacation and I am not going with a group and am not using a tourist agency.
I live now in MD and according to the DC consulate this is what I need:

"

The NY consulate says:

"

So, which is it? NY is much more detailed. Or are they saying the same thing? And can my hotel provide all the information I need since I have no invitation or sponser?

Thank you

My husband and his business partner will be going through Moscow on their way to BKK next Feb. They have a 12 hour layover on the way over, and a week later, a one night stopover. What is the way to handle this? They'd like to get out of the airport just for the day on the outbound and obviously they'll be leaving the airport to spend the night on the return. Can one visa do the trick for both, or do they need two? If you don't have a hotel reservation at all, how do you get the visa registered? Can you do it at the airport? 12 hours is enough time to get to the city, see a few things and get back if there's no hassle with paperwork.

Can one visa do the trick for both, or do they need two?A normal visa is valid for 1 entry/exit only, so they would need either 2 single-entry visas, or 1 multiple-entry visa.

If you don't have a hotel reservation at all, how do you get the visa registered?If their stay does not exceed 72 hours, they do not to register the visa, but should carry copies of their tickets, as proof of their intended departure date.