Visa to Russia

[Kotenochek 0]

Just a friendly reminder, in the U.S. you can get by with spelling words incorrectly..... but if you put a comma where a period (decimal point) goes..... you could lose thousands of USD!!!!!

You'll start to notice all kinds of little things like this now that you're here. Most of them are actually pretty stupid, but that's how we do things here. "So what if the rest of the world uses the Metric System. We're going to stick with this antiquated imperialistic numbering system because that's the way we've always done it and the rest of the world should too. And while they're at it, they should all start speaking English, too!"

It drives my wife bonkers how we do stuff here. I've probably told her a thousand times "well, that's how it works here and there's no way to change it. You have to do it that way or else you can't do it." Just be flexible. That's all you really can do. Good luck. Oh, and good luck with the temperature too, that's always a fun conversion.

Yeah thats hard yet:)))

My man installed in car the temperature in C so I can learn F in comparisson:)

Thats funny i have no clue everytime they say pound or inches lol

Hey but I am learning:)

[slim 1,530]

Yeah thats hard yet:)))

My man installed in car the temperature in C so I can learn F in comparisson:)

Thats funny i have no clue everytime they say pound or inches lol

Hey but I am learning:)

Temperature-

There's really no good way to convert the temperature. I don't even try. All I know is if it's 30 or over, it's hot and if it's around 0 or minus something, it's cold. For you, it's maybe a little easier, the closer to 100 it gets the hotter it is and the closer to 0 the colder it is. (Just keep in mind that magic number of 32 which is equal to 0 for you.)

Weight-

For pounds/kilos, it's a 2.2 conversion, so the quick and easy way is to multiply the weight in kilos by two, then take whatever that is and move the decimal place one spot over and add that to your original sum. Sounds complicated.... is really simple. Example: 100 kilos - Take 100 X 2 = 200 move that decimal place over one spot (200. moved over one spot equals 20.0) and then add it to your original sum. 200 + 20 = 220 pounds. 100 kilos = 220 pounds. To convert pounds to kilos, it's the exact opposite. 100 pounds divided by two is equal to 50, move that decimal one spot over and you get 5, subtract 5 from 50 and you get 45. 45 kilos is appx. 100 pounds. It's not exact, but for a quick "do it in your head" reference, my system works pretty well. (For me anyway, my wife is always telling me my head isn't normalna.)

For super-quick reference, just think about a pound being 500 grams. (Technically, it's 454 (453.7) if you figure on 28.375 grams in an ounce but most people just round up to 30 and then take the pound as 500 grams.)

Distance-

Inches/centimeters. There really aren't a whole lot of instances where you're going to have to use this, so that's pretty nice. The biggest thing you'll probably need this for is clothing/shopping. 2.54 is the magic number. For ease of converting, I usually just try to remember about 5 cm for 2 inches. Since most American sizes aren't going to be right for you anyway (too tight on top and bottom, way too loose in the middle) you'll just have to find your size and stick with it or if you're lucky enough, you'll see the metric equivalent inside the tags. Shoes are the same way. For quick reference on short distances (under a meter) do the 5 cm = 2 in conversions in your head. (If you're not sure what that means.... take whatever your measurement in cm is and divide it by 5, then take that and multiply it by two. Ex: 40 cm divided by 5 equals 8, multiply 8 times 2 and you get 16 inches. 16 inches is appx. 40 cm.)

As for measuring stuff around the house, seeing if stuff like beds, couches, dressers, etc., will fit in your rooms you can buy a tape measure with metric readings on it for under $5 at your local hardware store.

For quick reference on intermediate distances (around town, down the street, sports) you can keep in mind a meter is just a little more than a yard and a yard is three feet. So, a meter is just a little bigger than three feet. It is approximately 3.3 feet so every three meters you have, you have to add one extra foot. You'll probably use this for saying things like "the market is 300 meters away from the pharmacy." To convert that to California language you'd need to say "the market is 400 yards away from the pharmacy." (And since you're in America now, you'll be driving that 400 yards instead of walking.)

For longer distances, like when you take a trip somewhere you have to figure in miles/kilometers and the magic number there is 1.6 and since that's hard to do in your head (for me at least) use 1.5 and then round up or down. "Los Angeles is about 80 miles from TJ." 80 X 1.5 = 120. Round up a little, and you can figure around 130. (128 km if you do the 1.6 km/mi conversion) Doing it quickly with the 1.5 will get you in the right ballpark.

Time zones are cool too. Flip night to day or day to night and add/subtract however many hours away from your time zone they are. (Keep in mind their relation to GMT or international date line.... oh, and daylight savings time.)

There are a whole lot more out there. For a really interesting (or very boring) read, pick up a copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac. They've got hundreds of interesting (or boring) charts, tables, graphs, etc. dealing with all types of weights/measures, times, and the like.

[Marc and Olga 0]

During my trip to Russia, I used russia-visa.com...it was quick and easy!

I also found a slight error with my original visa and they corrected it free of charge! (it said I was born in 1900)

Only issue I had was at migration control where the lady asked my purpose and I said tourism, see sights and what not but it came out that I was to meet Olga and she told me I got the wrong visa "wait here", at which point I thought for sure I would be on the next plane back. She found Olga then returned and let me through! That was the worst part of the trip I am happy to say and we are planning a trip in 2009. =)

[gogal2020 0]

Thank you all for the replies. I think I'll use the russia-visa.com service and see how that goes. Hopefully we won't have any problems with my visa and Elena's AP.

Mike.

[obender 0]

Guys thanks,

lots of usefull information! one question though:

what do one needs to do to register that tourist visa (say from russia-visa.com ) in Russia?

Usually tourist visa is registered at the hotel... but what if I'm not planning to stay at the hotel?!

(having my wife's and my own appartments there sort of eliminated the need...)

should be some ways around it, shouldn't it?

getting private invitations from russia is real pain! visa itself though is quite easy but that's may be the result of leaving next to embassy in DC...

obender

[Satellite 1]

Usually tourist visa is registered at the hotel... but what if I'm not planning to stay at the hotel?!

(having my wife's and my own appartments there sort of eliminated the need...)

should be some ways around it, shouldn't it?

getting private invitations from russia is real pain! visa itself though is quite easy but that's may be the result of leaving next to embassy in DC...

Traditionally by definition a tourist someone who stays at a hotel or rents an apartment. If you aren't either of those you are not a tourist. Getting a Russian private visa invitation is whole lot easier and faster than getting a US K1.

[mendeleev 68]

Yeah thats hard yet:)))

My man installed in car the temperature in C so I can learn F in comparisson:)

Thats funny i have no clue everytime they say pound or inches lol

Hey but I am learning:)

Temperature-

There's really no good way to convert the temperature. I don't even try. All I know is if it's 30 or over, it's hot and if it's around 0 or minus something, it's cold. For you, it's maybe a little easier, the closer to 100 it gets the hotter it is and the closer to 0 the colder it is. (Just keep in mind that magic number of 32 which is equal to 0 for you.)

Temperatures aren't so hard if you can memorize a few.

40C = 104F

28C = 82F

10C = 50 F

0C = 32F

-18C = 0F

-40C = -40F

Then, each one degree C is about 2 F. So, 76F is about 3C less than 28C or 76F = 25C. ACtually every change of 18F is a change of 10C.

[Neonred 3,614]

Guys thanks,

lots of usefull information! one question though:

what do one needs to do to register that tourist visa (say from russia-visa.com ) in Russia?

Usually tourist visa is registered at the hotel... but what if I'm not planning to stay at the hotel?!

(having my wife's and my own appartments there sort of eliminated the need...)

should be some ways around it, shouldn't it?

getting private invitations from russia is real pain! visa itself though is quite easy but that's may be the result of leaving next to embassy in DC...

obender

Obender

I'm headed over to Russia next week so I will be able to tell you what I did to register my visa. By the way, I also used Russia-visa.com and they were very good about sending me e-mails about the progress of my visa. If one is lucky enough to be staying near Moscow or St Petersburg they have someone there that can take care of it for you. My wife headed over to our apartment two weeks ago and I had asked her to check on the new registration process but all I have heard so far is "we will take care of it when you arrive, I have necessary friends..." Somewhere online I found the paperwork for registering at the local post office. My wife seems to think that it can still be taken care of at the OVIR but I am not so sure. We will see.

I agree about the private visa. Did it one time and decided it just wasn't worth the trouble. The other 8 times I used a tourist visa and never had any trouble even when the lady at the OVIR knew us and knew why I was there.

[obender 0]

Satellite,

I just visited Russia on private visa... at the end it costs more than $160 and takes several months to get alltogether. Try to buy best price plane tickets, to organize your vacation time, and at the same time try to obtain that damn invitation and get it across the ocean. So in most cases, this getting across the ocean would cost you no less than $100 unless you plan your trip 7-8 mounths beforehand. I planned mine 6 months in advance and yet OVIR made it so that I got the time for a single attempt to mail the invitation here before I was to lose my tickets...(and I was not about to risk my whole trip for $100)

You might be too far from russian reality by now, Satellite, no offence... While dealing with russia one should never follow its law that is on paper. At the end it always costs you more there (time and money). You find someone to pay what on paper looks more than stated by useless law (russia-visa.com for example) and that is the way to actually pay less on the long run.

Well my question remains: how does russia-visa.com handles registration in russia? do they tell you what to do? I mean they have to state for the russian embassy where you're going to stay... so what do they tell them???

and how one supposed to go along with it?

Neonred,

how did you register previously with that visa from russia-visa.com? Our appartments are indeed near Moscow and St. Petersburg and we have lots of people willing to register us but wouldn't it be private visa registration?

Private registration is very simple there now (done it two weeks ago), your landlord goes to post office and lets State know about you. You yourself have to do absolutely nothing. No OVIR visit necessary unless you're in deep russian provice... (I experienced that one too)

thanks,

obender

[gogal2020 0]

I'll be stopping by in Moscow for a day or so and heading further east to Siberia. I don't know if I need to get the registration, but I think in smaller cities noone really checks for it, it's mostly Moscow and St.Petersburg is where it could be a problem. Although I am not positive myself, but at least i hope its that way. My wife has an apartment there and that's where we will stay, probably will not even register anywhere.

P.S. I am planning on applying with russia-visa.com this week.

Mike.

[Satellite 1]

I just visited Russia on private visa... at the end it costs more than $160 and takes several months to get all together.

Sounds about right give her take a few dollars. Here is how it worked for me.

Sample Timeline with Cost Detail:

In January I plan a trip from June to August. Start looking for cheap tickets, because I AM GOING.

1. Scan / Email my vital passport page to fiancée - cost free.

2. Fiancée Receives Email / Prints out page. Cost - $0.10.

3. Fiancée goes to OVIR and fills out the appropriate forms - cost bus ride.

4. Fiancée pays the central bank 400 rubles. Cost - about $15.

5. Fiancée waits 2 months. Cost - free.

6. Fiancée receives private visa invitation. Cost - bus ride.

7. Fiancée places private invitation in regular rate envelope and mails it to me. Cost - $1.50 in postage.

8. Two weeks later I receive the invitation. [Requires Luck]. - cost free.

9. I fill out the consulate application. Cost - free.

10. I visit the consulate and give them passport, application, picture, and money order. Cost $100 + (gas and picture).

11. I pick up the visa in one week with visa.

Total cost. About $130 in comparison to $250+ for a business visa through a third party to cover me for 2 months.

12. If May comes around and still no visa, I go online and pay a third party. Loss of $20 to fiancée. No biggy.

13. Save on hassle free registration and peace of mind that I have the right visa for staying with my fiancée at her residence.

You might be too far from Russian reality by now, Satellite, no offence... While dealing with Russia one should never follow its law that is on paper. At the end it always costs you more there (time and money).

I can only speak from my personal experience on this subject. I have had success with this visa twice in 2003 and 2004 following the steps above.

I agree that in Russia you can pay with only two things:

1. Time

2. Money.

Being a poor student with plenty of time, I chose the former. Then there is personality; I despise the middle man. And will go out of my way in Russia to make sure someone like a scalper / third party does not profit. I had no choice at the Bolshoi theater, because we came for two weeks and had no way of buying tickets directly from the cashier months in advance.

But if you have been reading my posts, you will know I am huge critic of Russia for all of its inadequacies. The person who is far from Russian reality is my wife, who believes all is swell there, even in the deepest parts of Siberia.

Well my question remains: how does Russia-visa.com handles registration in Russia?

Try emailing or phoning them. I don't think anyone here can speak for them.

I'll be stopping by in Moscow for a day or so and heading further east to Siberia. I don't know if I need to get the registration, but I think in smaller cities no one really checks for it, it's mostly Moscow and St.Petersburg is where it could be a problem. Although I am not positive myself, but at least i hope its that way. My wife has an apartment there and that's where we will stay, probably will not even register anywhere.

I believe you have 72 hours to register your visa. Therefore, showing your visa stamp of a recent arrival will excuse you from registering in Moscow. The problem only arises when you travel from Moscow by train. Based on observation I saw a Ukrainian grandmother get slapped with a 1000 ruble fine for not registering her passport in Siberia because it took the train 5 days to make it from Kiev.

As for random checks, of course Moscow leads the pack. No 4th Amendment there (unreasonable searches and seizures). But in the deeper parts of Russia you can be checked at airports and if you drive a car and get randomly pulled over. Otherwise you are fine.

Edited October 2, 2007 by Satellite

[obender 0]

Satellite,

you shouldn't have gone to all the trouble of listing the visa algorithm

we would have belived your arguments anyways but we here know you as a thorough and methodical person...

well you only won $30 over the price of tourist visa at russia-visa.com (and a piece of mind about clean registration procedure - but that's what I'm trying to find out here if it can be as clean with russia-visa.com tourist visa)...

in my case OVIR lost initial application for invitation so it took additional month or so, then if post office would have lost it too (and that's better than 50% chance with ordinary mail) my vacation plans and tickets would have gone to hell...

so even for a student (which can't afford to lose plane tickets, for example) getting visa through this agency seems a good idea...

as far as not paying middle man... that is one of the reasons I wouldn't go back there however as they say: being in Rome... dealing with russia you better off (when possible) to play by their rules and not those they write in official documents (very special country).

obender

[Satellite 1]

you only won $30 over the price of tourist visa at Russia-visa.com

Total cost. About $130 in comparison to $250+ for a business visa through a third party to cover me for 2 months.

Because I was staying for 2 months a tourist visa was the most expensive option. Leaving Siberia and returning with a new visa even to the nearest third country was just too crazy. But for those going on short trips, of course it makes sense not go through the extra hoops of a private visa. I needed the clean registration due to my lengthy stay there.

so even for a student (which can't afford to lose plane tickets, for example) getting visa through this agency seems a good idea...

12. If May comes around and still no visa, I go online and pay a third party. Loss of $20 to fiancée. No biggy.

If you plan well ahead, like I stated, the worst thing that happens is your fiancée is out $20 in trying to get you the cheaper visa. Because both of my trips were planned for June, if nothing came by late May, I'd have used a third party just like everyone else here. But surprisingly the thing came in a regular envelope in mid March!