Positive change in the Russian visa invitation law 3/12/2010

[Varyag 0]

Looks like the Russian government is moving ahead with relaxing their visa regulations... slightly... I found this on a British website and found the official text in Russian. a.) and b.) specifically refer to the UK.

The English wording in bold is the translation of the new addition to the law.

Every consulate embassy may interpret the new law slightly differently. I haven't found anything about this at the Russian Consulate/Embassy websites here in the US, but the law is the law. Hopefully here in the US, it won't be required for the Russian citizen to be present at the time of the application.

In view of the changes to the Federal Law "On the procedure of entering and leaving the Russia Federation" on 15th August 1996 № 114-FL effective from 12th March 2010:

1. Applications will be accepted from citizens of the Russia Federation lawfully staying in UK, to issue visas for members of their families who are foreign nationals (spouses, children under the age of 18, incapacitated children of any age) to enable them to enter the territory of the Russian Federation accompanied by the citizen of the Russia Federation, who signed the visa request form.

2. The applications can only be submitted for the issuance of a single entry/double entry private visa effective for up to 3 months with the purpose of visit indicated as "private". The minimum time for processing such applications is 5 working days.

3. Requirements (passport, visa application form, photograph and other supporting documentation must be also provided- please see General Requirements section of this website. The below can only replace a private letter of invitation, issued by a Russian Federal Migration Service agency):

a.) Citizen of the Russia Federation must be present in person at the time of application submission to sign the visa request form (this must be signed with presence of the Visa Centre officer). Hence, no postal application can be accepted. Presence of their family members is not required.

b.) Documents confirming the kinship with a citizen of the Russian Federation should be provided. Only originals or legalized photocopies of marriage certificate (for spouses), birth/adoption certificate (for children), birth/adoption certificate and the medical certificate confirming incapacity (for incapacitated children of any age) must be provided together with copies of the valid passport and proof of the lawful stay in UK of the citizen of the Russian Federation.

c.) The procedure of the migration registration implies informing (notifying) a relevant territorial office of the Federal Migration Service of a foreign citizen's arrival to the place of sojourn and must be carried out in the course of three working days after his/her arrival to the Russian Federation, accompanied by the citizen of Russia Federation who signed the visa request form.

source: http://ru.vfsglobal.co.uk/

In Russian:

http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/7065

http://ru.vfsglobal.co.uk/New%20Page.aspx

http://www.rg.ru/2010/03/12/pasport-izmenenia-dok.html

[Neonred 3,553]

That's the UK and this is the US. It's all about politics, and if Hillary doesn't play nice today we could have twice as much difficulty getting visas.

[Varyag 0]

Little mistake in copying:

1. Applications will be accepted from citizens of the Russia Federation, to issue visas for members of their families who are foreign nationals (spouses, children under the age of 18, incapacitated children of any age) to enable them to enter the territory of the Russian Federation accompanied by the citizen of the Russia Federation, who signed the visa request form.

[mox 298]

Last I heard, Hillary's doing pretty good. They're close to having a new START treaty. The media are saying there are still "tensions," but quite frankly when have there NOT been tensions with Russia? The day one of our leaders has a "warm" and "friendly" meeting with Russia, we'll probably all fall over dead with shock.

Good to hear about the visa restrictions being relaxed. Russia, especially St. Petersburg and Moscow, are SO poised to be major tourist destinations. It would take some work on infrastructure and facilities, but the payoffs could be huge. They really need to start opening the country up to the rest of the world.

[Oksana81 0]

It is anticipated that the same rule will apply in the Russian Consulates in the US.

According to the new law, if your Russian relative is traveling with you, the Russian Consulate/Embassy can issue a visa based on the written request from the Russian citizen.

[Varyag 0]

This is a step in the right direction. Ideally in the future, I hope the Russian government does away with the need for invitations. To me it seems to be just a money making operation, that serves no logically useful purpose.

[slim 1,523]

I don't see this as a step in the right direction as $200 pretty much guarantees me a visa to Russia - all without my wife having to be physically present at the embassy to apply for me.

Sounds kind of like the bureaucratic BS we try to pull here in the U.S. all the time "oh, it's so much easier now... and it's free! All you have to do is show up in person, fill out a few forms and then you'll get your visa." (But they forget to tell you the office has limited hours, you must have an appointment, the office is 598 miles away, etc.)

There are sometimes when "paying the penalty" is actually a good thing. I'd gladly "pay the penalty" here in the U.S. to keep govt's hand out of anything I could.

[eekee 182]

And it's only for private visas, a route few choose to take because getting the invitation takes so long.

[shikarnov 7]

The media are saying there are still "tensions," but quite frankly when have there NOT been tensions with Russia? The day one of our leaders has a "warm" and "friendly" meeting with Russia, we'll probably all fall over dead with shock.

QFT. lol.