Obtaining Shengen Visa for Russian Nationals

[Yeen225 4]

Hey guys, I would like to hear from people about the difficulty of getting a shengen visa for Russian citizens. I cannot find reliable information when I search online. My fiance is Russian and lives in Siberia, we have been sent to the consulate in Warsaw, and this looks to be the best option for us currently. She has never traveled anywhere before. We are going to apply for her to try to get the shengen visa to Hungary. Is it likely she can get the visa, and how long do you think it will take? Any opinions or advice is great, I see that other people have done this exact plan recently. 

[Dashinka 24,635]

Here is the most recent thread I could find. 

 

Good Luck!

 

 

[Yeen225 4]

9 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Here is the most recent thread I could find. 

 

Good Luck!

 

 

Wow 6900 Euros seems like way too much. No one has ever mentioned that much before. My fiance in Russia said it would take 3-4 months to get a shengen visa and I think that is definitely not correct information. 

[k0nstantin 7]

As far as I know, all Schengen countries require visa applicants to have some amount of money in their bank accounts. This amount will depend on how long the applicant intends to stay in the Schengen area. For someone who's requesting a month-long visa, 6900 euros doesn't sound too outrageous.

 

As to your original question, I believe Hungary is one of the friendliest Schengen countries for Russian citizens. Other relatively friendly countries are Italy and Spain. Poland and Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) are the most hostile and do not issue tourist visas to Russian citizens at all. The post, which was mentioned in this thread, talks about a Belarusian citizen, and the situation is somewhat different for them.

 

Keep in mind, that your fiancee shouldn't fly directly to Poland, because the airline will not let her board the plane to Poland with a Russian passport, even with a valid Schengen visa. She should fly to some other Schengen country first (preferably to the country that issues the visa) and then travel to Poland from there. I believe inside Europe she can travel by plane, because AFAIK they don't check passports for flights within the Schengen area. The ticket to Poland should however be booked separately from the ticket to the transit country.

 

The amount of time it takes to get a visa can vary, and right now I believe it does take several months.

Edited April 16 by k0nstantin

[JayFromTexas 69]

11 hours ago, k0nstantin said:

As far as I know, all Schengen countries require visa applicants to have some amount of money in their bank accounts. This amount will depend on how long the applicant intends to stay in the Schengen area. For someone who's requesting a month-long visa, 6900 euros doesn't sound too outrageous.

 

As to your original question, I believe Hungary is one of the friendliest Schengen countries for Russian citizens. Other relatively friendly countries are Italy and Spain. Poland and Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) are the most hostile and do not issue tourist visas to Russian citizens at all. The post, which was mentioned in this thread, talks about a Belarusian citizen, and the situation is somewhat different for them.

 

Keep in mind, that your fiancee shouldn't fly directly to Poland, because the airline will not let her board the plane to Poland with a Russian passport, even with a valid Schengen visa. She should fly to some other Schengen country first (preferably to the country that issues the visa) and then travel to Poland from there. I believe inside Europe she can travel by plane, because AFAIK they don't check passports for flights within the Schengen area. The ticket to Poland should however be booked separately from the ticket to the transit country.

 

The amount of time it takes to get a visa can vary, and right now I believe it does take several months.

I agree with almost everything you wrote including considering Hungary and Spain as countries to target for the Schengen, but I've read several posts that it doesn't take several months. I know of a couple men with Russian fiancé's who got a Hungarian Schengen within 2-3 weeks. They all used a service and were located in either St. Petersburg or Moscow. I don't know about the availability of such services elsewhere in Russia.

[Yeen225 4]

18 hours ago, k0nstantin said:

As far as I know, all Schengen countries require visa applicants to have some amount of money in their bank accounts. This amount will depend on how long the applicant intends to stay in the Schengen area. For someone who's requesting a month-long visa, 6900 euros doesn't sound too outrageous.

 

As to your original question, I believe Hungary is one of the friendliest Schengen countries for Russian citizens. Other relatively friendly countries are Italy and Spain. Poland and Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) are the most hostile and do not issue tourist visas to Russian citizens at all. The post, which was mentioned in this thread, talks about a Belarusian citizen, and the situation is somewhat different for them.

 

Keep in mind, that your fiancee shouldn't fly directly to Poland, because the airline will not let her board the plane to Poland with a Russian passport, even with a valid Schengen visa. She should fly to some other Schengen country first (preferably to the country that issues the visa) and then travel to Poland from there. I believe inside Europe she can travel by plane, because AFAIK they don't check passports for flights within the Schengen area. The ticket to Poland should however be booked separately from the ticket to the transit country.

 

The amount of time it takes to get a visa can vary, and right now I believe it does take several months.

Thank you for this information.