Going from Russia to Poland for IR-1 Interview

[belgorod 0]

My wife's interview is scheduled for the end of March in Warsaw. Unfortunately, Poland still has very strong COVID restrictions in place. They are not giving tourist visas to Russian citizens.

 

I imagine we are not the only ones that are confronted with this problem since the Warsaw embassy took over visa processing for the embassy in Moscow last spring.

 

My question: How have other Russian visa applicants entered Poland to attend their interviews?

[Boiler 45,486]

There have been recent developments that imply visiting Poland could be very tricky in the near future.

[powerpuff 6,697]

~ Topic moved from AOS work/tourist/student to Regional Discussion: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus ~
 

I know that before Russian applicants applied for a tourist visa through Greece and then traveled to Poland from there. As @Boiler said, due to recent developments, I’m not sure if getting a visa that way is doable anymore.

[millefleur 5,046]

So far I've only heard of Czechia actually banning Russians from getting visas, any kind of visa at all. It's possible that other Schengen countries are still issuing visas but Covid restrictions I don't know about, you'll have to do research since those also change all the time.

[Incrediblestan 19]

A Russian? I highly doubt you will get any type of torist visa

[millefleur 5,046]

24 minutes ago, Incrediblestan said:

A Russian? I highly doubt you will get any type of torist visa

Sorry but where's your source for this? Apart from Czechia, no other Schengen countries I've read so far have flat out banned civilian Russians from obtaining visas. The Schengen zone is made up of individual countries which all issue visas by their own laws and discretion. There's been no blanket ban of Russians getting Schengen visas.

 

Source here: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czechs-shut-russian-consulates-recall-ambassadors-stop-visas-russians-2022-02-24/

Edited February 26, 2022 by millefleur

[slavaskii 886]

On 2/26/2022 at 12:14 AM, millefleur said:

Sorry but where's your source for this? Apart from Czechia, no other Schengen countries I've read so far have flat out banned civilian Russians from obtaining visas. The Schengen zone is made up of individual countries which all issue visas by their own laws and discretion. There's been no blanket ban of Russians getting Schengen visas.

 

Source here: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czechs-shut-russian-consulates-recall-ambassadors-stop-visas-russians-2022-02-24/

I think that, potentially, it could become extraordinarily difficult for a Russian to find their way into the Schengen Zone, particularly if they don't already have a visa. Flights themselves are another barrier. While still operating, they're getting booked - fast. A lot of routes are also purely uneconomical and I'm not confident they'll even be flying soon. 

 

I heard Greece was being quite nice with distributing Schengen Visas. But, again, that was back in summer 2021 when 'things were looking up' and people just wanted to go back on vacation. In wartime, who knows if they'll be as lenient...

 

But regardless, OP, if your wife can score a Schengen Visa from *any* participating country, she will be able to enter Warsaw. Do know that she'll still need to quarantine for 10-or-so-days because she almost certainly doesn't have a western vaccine. Hopefully her interview is late late March or can be rescheduled, because all of these steps will take very long. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by slavaskii

[millefleur 5,046]

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

I think that, potentially, it could become extraordinarily difficult for a Russian to find their way into the Schengen Zone, particularly if they don't already have a visa.

I can confirm that for Russians who already have a Schengen visa, you can get on a bus right now and ride over the border. My sister-in-law just did this a few days ago, she crossed into Estonia and she's on her way to Austria as we speak (her final destination.) Also for anyone who wants to know: trains are running between Russia and Finland but I'm not 100% about if you need a vaccine to enter or not.

 

I suggest anyone right now to seriously consider road and rail routes out of Russia. Do not limit yourself to flights. Think outside the box and look into other ways to exit and enter the Schengen zone. Covid requirements are also still changing from day to day, so keep checking that. The whole situation is evolving so it's always good to check the news and official sources first before making plans.

Edited March 2, 2022 by millefleur

[To_the_moon 94]

On 2/25/2022 at 8:53 PM, Incrediblestan said:

A Russian? I highly doubt you will get any type of torist visa

On 2/25/2022 at 9:14 PM, millefleur said:

Sorry but where's your source for this? Apart from Czechia, no other Schengen countries I've read so far have flat out banned civilian Russians from obtaining visas. The Schengen zone is made up of individual countries which all issue visas by their own laws and discretion. There's been no blanket ban of Russians getting Schengen visas.

 

Source here: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czechs-shut-russian-consulates-recall-ambassadors-stop-visas-russians-2022-02-24/

 

I think that is a hate comment and should be flagged. 

[TBoneTX 45,273]

6 minutes ago, To_the_moon said:

I think that is a hate comment and should be flagged. 

The subsequent posts dealt with it.  You have two site moderators reading every thread and post in this forum.  

[Zoothie 8]

OP, when did you get DQed at NVC? I am waiting for an interview date in Warsaw as well, the spouse is in Belarus right now, so was curious how quickly they schedule...

[belgorod 0]

On 3/7/2022 at 4:31 PM, Zoothie said:

OP, when did you get DQed at NVC? I am waiting for an interview date in Warsaw as well, the spouse is in Belarus right now, so was curious how quickly they schedule...

My wife has been document qualified since 2020, but getting the interview has been very difficult because of events in Moscow and Covid. Now there is this. We are scrambling to find a way into the EU so she can attend the interview as scheduled. I wish I could be more optimistic.

[Zoothie 8]

Gotcha. And when was the case transferred to Warsaw?