Russian Visa
 

I applied for my tourist Visa from Travisa. I didnt want to wait for my friend in Russia to send invitation so I went through travisa. Were they also suppose to send a invitation voucher or is there something on my visa that represents this?

I've never heard of that company. In any event, you should get a copy of your tourist voucher back with your visa.

http://www.consulrussia.org/eng/visa...ml#TouristVisa

The official site from the Russian Consulate SF has 4 companies listed. I had downloaded the wrong visa app, got a phone call, downloaded the correct one and they took it by email. I hope to get everything back this week.

No i never sent in a tourist voucher. They said they can create me one for a fee. I understand for me to get a tourist visa I would need like a hotel reservation but do I need that along with my Passport and visa to enter Russia?

Places that sell you "invitations" also set up the "reservations" that back them up.

Russian Visa
 

This is my 6th trip to Russia and I have always used http://gotorussia.com/ for my invitation\visa. The laws change every time Igo. Last time I registered at the OVIR office for a couple of bucks. I get a tourist visa but I have an apartment in Russia with my wife. Sometimes I had to register at a hotel.

CD

Right i know. But I guess for travisa you have to request they email/fax you the voucher back. So ya now im square away!

Was this the wrong application? I hope I haven't wasted time.

Also if you put together your own tour, what did you put down for "Russian institution or organization to be visited? and "Name and reference number of the tourist group"?

Thanks

If you're a US citizen you need the form you linked to. As far as your invitation is concerned, you can't just go to Russia. You need to be invited. You can get an invitation for $20 or so from one of the visa processing agencies. The resultant document will assure the government that you have reserved and paid for your hotel, tours, etc. Of course, you never intend to go to said hotel, etc. and they are not expecting you to show up. Everyone knows this, but you need the document to get a visa. That is how the game is played.

Thanks for the quick response xyzzy. I am a US citizen. I reserved my hotels (one in Moscow, one in St Pete) and they each faxed me a two page "Tourist Voucher" per person. Do I also need an invitation? Can you recommend a reputable place?

I believe that those vouchers can serve as your invitation. IMHO it's better to pay $20 and pad the dates of your stay in case your plans change. If your visa expires you can not leave Russia without getting another one. Also, you can not stay in a hotel without a valid visa. I've used www.russia-visa.com a few times. It was (and from what I can tell still is) the cheapest place. I have no idea at all about your legal issue.

Not sure, but if u look at my post above, ive posted the correct one I believe.

I know it's been a few days since your question but here's my info: I just went to the consulate in DC (I work in the city) on Thursday and delivered my Russian visa application. You have the correct application. I left blank the "institution or organizaton being visited" and the "name and reference no. of tourist group." For itineray I just put tourist sites in Moscow. The app was accepted and my visa will be ready in about 10 days (the staffer was pretty vague:eek:). Was at the consulate less than 10 minutes. Took longer to go to/from my office!

Hi, Can you help, I am going to Moscow Tuesday out of DC. Whats my best bet for a good currency exchange rate to rubels? Regards Ian.

Find an ATM when you arrive. There are ATMs at SVO and DME.

Thanks for that, is the exchange okay via Visa or Mastercard? How will it compare with the likes of www.xe.com s rate that day? Regards Ian.

That's what I am planning on doing ... ATM at DME.

There are a couple of ATMs right behind the immigration booths at DME.

The Airports usually give a lower rate of exchange than most other banks. If you're leaving the airport and going into Moscow, plan on exchanging most of your money in Moscow. Better yet use your credit card. Credit cards offer the Moscow Bank exchange rate which is higher as no money actually changes hands. Todays bank rate is 33.2615 RUB to the USD.

Depending on how much you will spend, a 1 or 2 RUB difference per dollar adds up

If we're talking about ATMs at airports, these give exactly the same rate all other ATMs of said bank do.

Some data FIY:

Central bank rate: 33.4095
Best retail rate for today (under $1000) : 33.20
Worst retail rate for today (ditto) : 32.65 (notice the difference is nowhere near 1-2 RUB to the $)

Now everybody just call your bank and ask them how much they'd charge you if you withdrew say $1000 in Russian roubles in Russia, conversion and withdrawal fees and all, and what the rate would be. Then do the math

(I don't really know if it's your US bank or the local Russian bank whose ATM you use that sets the exchange rate. If it's the latter, the bank I use here, for instance, gives 32.85 for the dollar)

RIP OFF $ to RUB
 

I called the exchange place at the airport at Washington DC yesterday, they quoted 28 RUB to $, RIP OFF merchants.

Yeah, that was a fun stop. ;) Kind of a "welcome to Russia" thing.

I found the guy working security at the front door to be actually friendly and helpful. Heck, he even smiled when he saw me. They you go the visa room (just a couple couriers there -- nothing like the mad house I've encountered at the nearby China consulate), and it's a bit freaky. There's a modern hi-def TV playing Russia Today. When it's your turn, you go up to a bulletproof glass window (are consulate officials often attacked, even after a metal detector check at the door?). There, an unsmiling, relatively young woman leafed through my paperwork. When she was satisfied, she picked up this 70s era intercom phone and I could talk to her through the glass, like we were in prison. She mumbled something about being able to pick up my passport in 10 days, and then passed a claim check through the little window that said the same thing.

I get the feeling Russia is going to be a bit different. :)

Ahhh, funny! Sounds like it is the EXACT same occurrence daily there! Although, when we walked in there was noone sitting by the metal detector. So we walked right thru. Nobody came running at us. When we left the security guy was back in the chair and just smiled at us. ... I also went thru the China visa thing two years ago (got there before the Olympics). Yes, much different at the Russian consulate.

[QUOTE=apoivre;11530530]If we're talking about ATMs at airports, these give exactly the same rate all other ATMs of said bank do.

Some data FIY:

Central bank rate: 33.4095
Best retail rate for today (under $1000) : 33.20
Worst retail rate for today (ditto) : 32.65 (notice the difference is nowhere near 1-2 RUB to the $)

Now everybody just call your bank and ask them how much they'd charge you if you withdrew say $1000 in Russian roubles in Russia, conversion and withdrawal fees and all, and what the rate would be. Then do the math

(I don't really know if it's your US bank or the local Russian bank whose ATM you use that sets the exchange rate. If it's the latter, the bank I use here, for instance, gives 32.85 for the dollar)[/QUOTE

ATM cards in USA have started charging 3% for "bank" rates and 2% if processed through VISA, on Foreign transactions. I have never used an ATM in the airport, so I stand corrected, thanks. Todays CB of Moscow is 33.4095 and worst retail is 32.105 which is a 1.3 rate difference.

You, living in Moscow would know better all the inside info. I merely was expressing my experience of finding better rates in Moscow vs Airport. I mostly travel through Moscow onward to Kurgan where we have family. My Capitalone doesn't charge me a fee and thus I lose sight sometime that other cards do charge.... Thanks for your insight & corrections.

FWIW, like xyzzy, I used www.Russia-visa.com full service option

It was $189.95 (I paid an extra fee for second day service so I could get shipping signatures on both ends).

The process is very easy: fill out web fields and it produces a .pdf that you print out and ship to them along with your passport and a photo. Paid online with credit card.

My passport was only out of my hands for a total of 8 days including shipping, which was pretty key to me since I tend to get twitchy when my passport is not in my bag! :)

Anyway, I'm sure most of the visa services are basically the same, but if you don't feel like dealing with any paperwork hassle other than what I describe above, I do recommend their service.

I ordered an invitation from russia-visa.com and then called them to ask what to put for "institution or organizaton being visited" and "name and reference no. of tourist group" and they told me. I also dropped off my application at the DC consulate but they gave me a specific date that it would be ready (6 business days later). The issue date on my visa is the same date that I dropped off the application!

Was this at the Embassy in Washington? Because that's exactly how the Embassy is set up. Even as to the flat-screen TV playing Russia Today. I was up there on Monday for the first time.
The guy in front of me had a giant box of applications (at least a dozen), and the box wouldn't fit through the door, so the woman came around outside (from behind the bulletproof, soundproof glass) and took it. The woman rifled through my papers multiple times, then gave me a little card and told me in English over the intercom that I could pick up my passport on the 9th. (I payed for 3-5 day service for the extra $19 because I've heard it's more reliable than the other service that can sometimes take two or more weeks and I leave in about a month.) Since I live in North Carolina, I wanted my friend to pick it up and mail it to me, so I started to ask, "Можно мой друг..." She interrupted me and told me in Russian that he could with the yellow card.

Visa
 

FWIW... obtaining my visa experience

I started by going to the SF Russian Consulate website, and looking at their requirements.

http://www.consulrussia.org/eng/visatype.html

I booked my hotel, HI Sokolniski, and immediately requested from them any information I would need for my visa. Within 2 hours, they had sent me a form to fill out, and I returned via email for my voucher. I received the voucher within 24 hours.

I completed all the documents, requirements for the visa, and sent Fedex 3day on March 27th. It was signed for on the 30th (early). Enclosed a prepaid Fedex 2 day, which mailed on 4/7, received today (4/9) with my passport/visa, and a page explaining the visa.

Total cost: $160.
Total time from hotel booked: 2 weeks
Total time consulate had passport: 6 business days

Thankfully, there wasn't any issues. That said, I did notice that there was not an invitation number listed on my visa. Wonder if that will be an issue later????

The San Francisco consulate still accepts applications by mail? How odd! If they do it, and they're not picky about that you need to live in their territory, maybe we can all start mailing our applications there.

FYI, I went in person to the New York Consulate to hand in my paperwork. It's an absolute disaster there... there's no line, it's totally disorganized, there are several windows and the same people keep popping up at different windows so you have no idea what window you're supposed to wait for. You need to be on alert and make sure people who came after you don't get to the windows in front of you.

I was there for about 100 minutes. Once I got to the window, it was very smooth and took about 10 minutes. I guess all my paperwork was in order (cashiers check in the exact amount, all the visa support letters from hotels, etc.), because other people were getting rejected and arguing with them over all sorts of technicalities. I'm told that it will be ready 6 business days after I dropped it off. I had paid the $131 minimum price.

The best part is that when you're done, you're trapped in the building and can't get out. You have to find the one guy who has the key, and he has to open the door and let you out. Talk about a fire hazard.

Visa "Invitation Letter" questions
 

A couple questions:

1 - Do I have to have every single day accounted for with "invitation letters" for my visa application?

2 - How do I handle one night on a train? (I don't have to do it, but it does seem to be part of a Russian experience and I'd like to do it at least once.)

I have a 12 day trip to SVO booked in late August.

I made reservations at a Holiday Inn in Moscow for the first 4 and last 3 days.

The middle 5 days I plan to go to Saint Petersburg - 4 hotel nights and 1 overnight train night.

Upon my email request the Moscow Holiday Inn sent me a form to fill out and send back to them, and they will in turn issue an "invitation letter" to me so I should be OK there. It is the other 7 nights I'm concerned about.

Thank you,
Romelle

I just clicked on the link TelevisionTdTina supplied for mailing visa applications to the San Francisco consulate. The following text was on their front page:

"In order to streamline and improve the visa obtaining process as well as for security concerns the Russian visa section is no more processing visa applications by mail.":(

They did then show a couple links for services who do the process for people.

Sorry to burst anyone's bubble.

Though it probably saved me, as if I possibly can take a run at something and do it by myself, that is the usual choice. And I probably would have gotten in trouble doing it.:D

Romelle

However, I believe you can still go to the San Francisco consulate in person to apply for a visa (yeah, I realize that's only useful if you live in, work in, or visit SF).

I looked over the application at http://www.consulrussia.org/docs/Vis...eng_letter.pdf

...and had a laugh over some of the questions. The whole process and the application sound like a holdover from the Cold War era. ("30. Do you have any specialized skills, training or experience related to fire-arms and explosives or to nuclear matters, biological or chemical substance? If yes, please specify." Plus other rather paranoid-sounding questions.)

They don't supply enough space to answer question 25 -- "List all countries you have visited in the last ten years and indicate the year of visit." Jeez! I've probably visited at least 20-25 countries in that timeframe.

They don't even give enough space to list more than two "educational institutions" under Q28 -- "List all educational institutions you ever attended, except high schools."

Are you supposed to attach a continuation page if there's not enough space on the application? After all, they do say "all countries" in the last ten years and "all educational institutions you ever attended" -- not just some of them. :eek:

How do you spell "reciprocity"?
 

You may be even more amused to learn that it's but a faithful replica of the US State Department's DS - 157, Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application ;)

Oh, OK. Yeah, I know about "reciprocity" -- I've been to Chile. ;)

And that's a Cold War era skill the Russians have mastered . . . so you can be assured that they will strive to provide you with an authentic experience that is steeped in same indignities that are generously doled out by the US Embassy in Moscow, down to the prison-style bullet-proof glass, the courier services...I am honestly surprised they haven't yet set up a 1-900 number for telephone inquiries and fingerprint scanners ... that was perhaps too much even for them :D

If you haven't gotten your visa yet, you want want to consider paying the extra money to one of the visa services. No documentation (plane ticket, hotel) is required.

Last week, I FedExed them my application (planning two days in Moscow on the way home from a Gulf vacation). They called me to confirm that everything was in order, but they wanted to confirm I hadn't made a mistake in my dates on my application. When I told them that I was going to be in Moscow for just two days, they said, shouldn't we make it for a month, and so they decided to make my entry date about two weeks before I will arrive, and my exit date about two weeks after I would leave. They also confirmed that I need not arrive on the first day of validity; I just need to arrive and depart within the validity

Spent_All_My_Miles

Thanks for the info. While I'm sort of a confirmed DIYer, I thought this too fraught with peril so did submit my application to a service. It actually is supposed to come back June 29 (this coming Monday). I'll report what the results are. The web site shows "approved", so I am hopeful. No phone calls.

Romelle

Got my Visa
 

I applied via computer to www.gotorussia.com Jun 10.
Mailed in my passport Priority Mail Jun 12.
The GotoRussia facility received it Jun 15.
I think it was the next day my file with them was marked "approved".
Also, the file said I would get my passport back with the visa Jun 29.
It arrived yesterday, Jun 29!

My trip is not until Aug 18 so there was no particular rush. They may well have turned it around faster if time were tighter?

I had asked for the $190 tourist single entry type visa. Had authorized an additional $15 for FedEx return. Had also authorized $45 for them to do the "check-in" thing one is supposed to do while in Russia. For some reason, they only charged me for the $190 and the $15, so I will do the check-in process myself via my hotels in Russia??

They had asked that I include a photo, which I did via the computer submission. It doesn't appear on the visa that was returned, just a silvery stamp. Not sure why they wanted the photo.

So, now to learn a little of that daunting alphabet, the basic phrases starting with please, thank you, yes, no, etc., and study some guide books. I have 12 days there so plan to go from Moscow to St Petersburg and back. Hotels are already reserved.

Romelle

I did the same thing, except I sent my questions by e-mail and they didn't reply. I guess I could call them, but in the meantime, I did my own sleuthing, studying the document carefully and deciphering some of the Russian on the left-hand side (which is entirely in Russian, unlike the right-hand side). The organization is apparently Europlaneta (that's shown in both languages), its "reference number" 0014 (in Russky only), and the place I'm supposedly residing is the Izmailovo Hotel (in Russky only). (Through Google, I learned that the Izmailovo is an enormous complex that was built in 1979, was used to house athletes in the 1980 Olympics, and has 7,500 rooms. :eek:)

So it looks like my only remaining question in filling out the visa application is this: for question 34, should I list the Izmailovo as my hotel, or the actual hotel I intend to stay at? Do they care? The Russian visa process is so Byzantine (hmmmm.... imagine that!) that it's hard to know what is important and what isn't!