Crazy new Russia?!

[obender 0]

Hi, I think I haven't started a topic for quite a while...

but I need to share/verify the experience of getting russian visa (will be my first since I could travel there free before). I asked my parents-in-law to invite me. They went to obtain offical invitation from the local department of Internal Ministery (the only place to get it) and they were told that it'll take 30 freaking days to make it...

The story takes place in Leningrad region...

Has anybody else had a previous experience like this (timewise), could be a local freak show, or is it a sign of new emerging "bigger" and "better" russia?

Thanks,

obender

[russ 1]

but I need to share/verify the experience of getting russian visa (will be my first since I could travel there free before). I asked my parents-in-law to invite me. They went to obtain offical invitation from the local department of Internal Ministery (the only place to get it) and they were told that it'll take 30 freaking days to make it...

As Sat suggested, I tried to go down this road. It looked like it would take more like 90 days. To get the invitation, the sponsor must prove all kinds of things (they wanted notorized employment letters, propiskas, bank accounts, etc). After that 30 day ordeal, the invitation needs to be sent (by mail presumably) to the Russian Embassy in the States. After all this, it is still only good for 90 days. You still need to pay the embassy the fee for the visa here. If you can start this 6 months in advance, it is a workable plan.

I just got a tourist visa (with registration in Russia!) for $219. I had great difficulty registering it last time. This seems to vary widely by region. You can probably save about $100 by going the homestay visa route, though it is much more time consuming. It was a 1000 ruble fine when I tried to register my visa last time. I have read that this has increased to $35,000 US (though I think this is for the sponsor, not the visa holder).

Not staying in a hotel has the potential to cause all kinds of registration problems - I would advise arranging this before leaving if you will not reside at a hotel your entire stay.

If possible, also try to make sure that your visa is good for at least one day past your date of departure. The embassy made my exit date the same as my reservation, which worries me. Flight delays are common in Russia, and if a flight is cancelled you probably will not be allowed to leave the next day. It is advisable to leave the country by any means possible should this happen. It generally takes at least 20 days to obtain a new exit visa, and you will not be allowed to check into a hotel.

[billsafari 0]

Do it the easy way. I got a 3 month business visa for 465.00(recieved it in 8 days). Get the cheapest hotel and rent a room for 3 or 4 days. I got a room for 4 days at 24 bucks a night. I'll probably stay only 1 night then move in with my lady. By law the hotel must register your visa. This is much easier and less time consuming going the other routes. To me its worth the extra 200 or 300 bucks.

[russ 1]

Do it the easy way. I got a 3 month business visa for 465.00(recieved it in 8 days). Get the cheapest hotel and rent a room for 3 or 4 days. I got a room for 4 days at 24 bucks a night. I'll probably stay only 1 night then move in with my lady. By law the hotel must register your visa. This is much easier and less time consuming going the other routes. To me its worth the extra 200 or 300 bucks.

Hotels generally register your visa only for the dates you are actually staying with them. You can also register a business visa without a hotel (one of the advantages of it). For that much money, you might as well get a 1 year multi entry business visa.

[obender 0]

thanks guys,

i see this ####### has became a norm. registration shouldn't be a problem in small towns I'm visiting but the length of visa obtaining process could be...

it looks like "back to the USSR" trip expecting me. welcome childhood!

obender

[Satellite 1]

As Sat suggested, I tried to go down this road. It looked like it would take more like 90 days. To get the invitation, the sponsor must prove all kinds of things (they wanted notarized employment letters, propiskas, bank accounts, etc). After that 30 day ordeal, the invitation needs to be sent (by mail presumably) to the Russian Embassy in the States. After all this, it is still only good for 90 days. You still need to pay the embassy the fee for the visa here. If you can start this 6 months in advance, it is a workable plan.

I guess everyone's experience varies widely. When my wife did the private invitation she only had fill out a silly form, pay the central bank 450 rubles, provided her passport, and a copy of mine. Then she was contacted a month later that the invitation had arrived. She placed the invitation into a registered Russian mail for 30 rubles and mailed it off. Two weeks later I got it here. Took it, plus my passport, application, and $100 money order across town to the Russian consulate in San Francisco. 7 days later picked up the passport with a valid 90 day visa. Upon arrival in Russia, I registered within 72 hours and had no more problems in her home town. If you have time to plan your trip, this can be done at minimum cost. Don't forget that your fiancée can deal with the Russian authorities in Russia, she does it all the time, just ask her.

[bruc 0]

Hi, I think I haven't started a topic for quite a while...

but I need to share/verify the experience of getting russian visa (will be my first since I could travel there free before). I asked my parents-in-law to invite me. They went to obtain offical invitation from the local department of Internal Ministery (the only place to get it) and they were told that it'll take 30 freaking days to make it...

The story takes place in Leningrad region...

Has anybody else had a previous experience like this (timewise), could be a local freak show, or is it a sign of new emerging "bigger" and "better" russia?

Thanks,

obender

Get you a tourist visa from a visa agency here in the US....go to Russia and have your inlaws register you at the post office...nothing to it.

bruc

[Danno 1,228]

Although I would not suggest it, I was only registered for a few days out of 20 some.

Had no problem leaving Russia.

I have heard of many people just paying 50.00 at a hotel to get stamped.

[russ 1]

Although I would not suggest it, I was only registered for a few days out of 20 some.

Had no problem leaving Russia.

I have heard of many people just paying 50.00 at a hotel to get stamped.

Though there generally is not a problem leaving Russia, the question is whether there is a problem going back. When I was there, "registering" involved an ink stamp and no record of the visa being kept. Passport control left the migration card in my passport, so I don't see that they had any way to keep track of it.

[Turboguy 6]

When I have gone sometimes I spent only one night in a hotel and all they ever seemed to look at when I went to leave was that it had a stamp. Still they do make it a pain to travel there.

[mendeleev 68]

Satellite,

How recently was your last experience getting a homestay visa? There have been press reports -- in Moscow Times , for instance -- on how recent changes in law, procedure, regulation or whatever was causing lots of problems for foreigners registering their presence in Russia. It seemed to make sense, given what I was reading there, that Homestay Visas also got procedurally more difficult.

[Blues Fairy 0]

My fiance came to visit for 5 days in November. I got a tourist "invitation" for him from Star Travel here in Moscow (1 hour, 2000 rub. + 1500 rub. express mail). We did not register him and he had no problem exiting from SVO. He was stopped by cops just once (on the Red Square ) but I was with him to do the talking, so they ended up letting us go.

[Neonred 3,614]

Although I would not suggest it, I was only registered for a few days out of 20 some.

Had no problem leaving Russia.

I have heard of many people just paying 50.00 at a hotel to get stamped.

Leaving Russia is rarely a problem. You are much more likely to have a problem in some of the smaller towns with travel inside of Russia. On my first trip I also registered for just two days out of about twenty. I was stopped and detained for a while at the airport in Rostov boarding my flight to Moscow. I had to pay the fine which was only $20 but it made me very nervous about what was waiting for me exiting Russia. I had no problem, however, at passport control when leaving at SVO.

[billsafari 0]

From what I understand, If you dont leave the region where you initially registered your visa you dont have to re-register your visa when you leave the hotel. I stayed 11 of 14 days at my girls house in March and had no problems exiting Russia.

Is there a different criteria for business visas??? I thought I read somewhere there was???

[obender 0]

funny how discussions deviate... I guess my main problem was the time it takes to get russian visa or more precisely the time between the decision to travel there and actually travel there, which is natural since I'm used to travel there freely. All it took was getting the tickets (shortest time on record 20 hours before the flight) and packing (0.5 hour).

Now I just found out that I have to have at least two months in between... ridiculous considering most other countries make visas at least within a week.

as far as travelling inside russia I hope I still can do the talking myself although I presume my wife could be more effective in most cases.

obender