I wonder if any of you experts you can help me with a query? I'm on a tight schedule to get a visa sorted for travel to Moscow next week (I won't bore you with all the background). I travel to Denmark on Monday then Wednesday morning I'm flying CPH to LHR and onto DME. I'm using an agency to get the visa (as I have in the past) and the plan is that they will get my passport with the visa in to me at my hotel in CPH on Tuesday. However it is a bit tight as they might not get my passport back until 1630 on Monday and may not be able to get it to me on Tuesday. One option i discussed was for me to meet them at T5 on Weds when I fly from CPH to LHR. I then had a thought about whether, as the whole CPH-LHR-DME trip is on the same PNR, if I would maybe have to show the visa in CPH to allow them to check my bags through and issue both BP. My question is that if I need to collect my passport and visa at T5 can I do this either by just collecting both BPs at CPH and then going out airside to landside, meet the courier and go back airside or will I be able to just check in as far as LHR (either picking up bags or getting them checked through) and then check in for DME flight at T5?

Any help would be gratefully received.

I don't have any experience connecting in LHR on the way to DME with BA, but I do have experience with other carriers such as LH (DUS, FRA) MA (BUD) and others... My experience has always been no check of passport / visa on the first leg. Always checks of Russian Visa at check-in (overnight stay) or gate (transfer) on the leg that ends in DME. That has been true when I have had bags checked through too.

When flying on BA from LHR to DME, you have to get your passport/visa checked at the passport check desk. The desk is used for all destinations where passport checks are needed, but they have a special Russian "expert" they call to check the Russian visa.

My guess is that the BA outstations will not have the skills needed to check Russian visas and they will delegate that to LHR, on the basis they could off load your bags if you failed.

So I am going to guess that you will be okay....

It is only a guess though !!

Silly question, but how are you going to get on the plane at CPH if your passport is in London? Have you got multiple passports?

Cheers,
Rick

LOL yes have 2 passports. Thanks for help. I have decided to leave CPH on the last fligt Tuesday eve and the agency are couriering my othet passpost with the visa in to my hotel in Heathrow.

Just to say that they seem to be relaxing about this check - last Sunday I went to DME and the special check-desk in LHR looked bemused and just said, don't worry they'll check it at the gate (which they didn't).

OT again, note to travellers, it appears that the Russian Consulate in London has dropped same-day Visa processing. Agent told me it's now a next-day service only. So add another day's planning to your Russian Visa tedium.

A visa for Russia can be a hassle! You need typically a so-called invitation together with a visa application some visa fees and one or two passport size photos. And it can take up to four weeks. Good luck ^

Thanks. It wasn't an issue about the right paperwork etc - I had all that, it was getting the visa in my hand as the company in Moscow sending the invite got my name spelt wrongly on the letter which meant a day's delay and I was laready on a tight itmeframe cos of also travleling EDI to CPH-LHR before going onto DME.

That's correct.

If people need an agency, I always have gotorussia.co.uk handle visa for friends/family/colleagues and works really well.

That's what "visa agencies" are there for. For a little fee... Those folks at the consulate want to live, too.

These agencies also take care of the invitation/official hotel confirmation. I have fond memories of a rather adventurous trip to a travel agent's near Leninskij Prospekt Metro, located in a tower block, who stamped my visa with the stamp of the hotel I was allegedly staying at. Was staying with a friend who was on a short-term business visa and thus unable to invite me. It's a funny feeling when the visa arrives together with an A4 page containing instructions to learn the name of the hotel by heart, in case the border police ask you, but NOT to take that sheet of paper into Russia. You feel like it's going to self-destruct in ten seconds or something.

I want to travel to Moscow by plane, up to St Petersburg by train and then across by ferry to Helsinki. If I can do this in three days or less, does anyone know whether I will be OK with just a transit visa or will I need a proper tourist visa together with a letter of invitation and all that?

Welcome to Flyertalk adamadam. "can be" a hassle, "so-called" this, "one or two" of that, "some" sort of fees, maybe "up to four weeks". Thanks for clearing that up

Thanks tom tulpe. I always use Visa agencies, they're great. However, the extra day on the consulate timescale now means the agency takes a day longer too. That is worth knowing. If you are not in London, you need a clear week to turn around a postal application safely even using an agency. Frequent travellers with only one passport may be in trouble - I nearly was!

We'll move this over to the Russia boad as it probably fits best there.

You could check with the Consulate in EDI (http://www.russialink.org.uk/embassy/), they should be offering a same day service. It means a BD trip CPH/EDI and then EDI/LHR to meet the DME service.

G-MAC