| Russian Visas and RYH Visa Support (Invitation Letter) |
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Almost all foreign visitors need a visa.
To apply for a Russian Tourist Visa to the Russian Consulate you need to have a visa support letter (invitation) from a Russian Tourist Company or Hotel. We can provide Visa Support to all our guests as well as non-guests. Our Russian visa support is valid for travel in all of Russia. Our company is officially registered with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our visa support is recognized by every Russian Consulate in the world.
A Russian Visa is a passport-sized document (see picture). A visa lists entry/exit dates, your passport number, any children travelling with you, cities to be visited and visa type (Tourist visa or Business visa). It's an exit permit too, so if you lose it (or overstay), leaving the country can be harder than getting in.
Tourist visas are issued to tourists who have booked accommodation in Russia for non-business reason. Typically this is issued for a maximum of 30 days. A tourist visa is best when you know exactly where and how long you will be staying without diverting from your planned itinerary.
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Officially you must have confirmed accommodation or transit information for every night you will be in the country. But don't worry, our visa invitation will confirm accommodation for every night you plan to stay in Russia so that you will have no problem when applying for a visa at the Russian Consulate.
Double-entry tourist visa support is possible with some Russian consulates (not all) but it costs more and you must give us the exact dates of both entries/exits to/from Russia.
NOTE! Tourists don't need to provide an AIDS test to the Russian Consulate. Foreign visitors don't need an AIDS test if their Russian visa and planned stay is for less than 90 days.
Ordering Visa Support
We can send you your the visa support letter by fax. Most of the time Russian Consulates will accept a fax copy of your visa support invitation. Although rarely, some Russian Consulates may accept only an original of the invitation. Check with your local Russian Consulate on this matter.
You must not alter your visa support invitation in any way! We send a copy of each invitation we issue to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If there is a discrepancy you will not be issued a visa.
Visa Processing
You must process your own visa. To obtain your Russian visa please give the Russian consulate your original valid passport together with photocopies of both your passport and your approved visa support invitation, a completed consular questionnaire, three passport-size photos and consular fees. Please contact the Russian Consulate in your country for a consular questionnaire and information about consular fees and other specific requirements.
PLEASE NOTE: As of May 01, 2002, US male citizens age 16-45 seeking a Russian entry visa are required to attach a supplement form to the standard visa application form. Please click here to download this Supplemental form. (This is in response to a new procedure introduced by US Consular Service for Russian citizens seeking non-immigrant entry visas to the United States.)
For an in depth explanation about how to process a Russian Tourist Visa please click here to download this text file.
NOTE!
- In the USA we do not recommend the Russian consulate in Washington D.C. Many people have had problems getting their visas from this consulate on time. We recommend the San Francisco, Seattle or New York Russian Consulates.
- In UK (London) we recommend to ask for help of our partner company "Scott's Tours" before applying for visas.
- In Germany (Berlin) please contact to "Reise-Service Rusland"
Contact name: Mr Popow.
- In Japan please contact your local HI office before starting the visa processing.
Visa Registration and Common Problems
According to the Russian law all visas should be registered upon arrival in Russia.
Please note: our rates for visa support include the obligatory visa registration fee whilst most of the tour companies will ask you to pay it additionally (around 1 500 RUB) upon arrival.
Visas are accepted for registration only if you have MIGRATION CARD which MUST be obtained on the Russian border. Please REQUIRE the cards when entering Russia to escape problems with registration.
According to the new regulations You ought to bring your documents for the visa registration right on the day of your arrival in Russia. So please visit our office the 1st day you come to St. Petersburg.
We can only register the visas that were issued with our visa support. We make the visa registration only for the days you stay in St. Petersburg.
The company or organization that invited you to Russia is responsible for your registration. This also means that we can not register visas issued by another company. When proceeding the visa support documents through any of Russian tourist companies please require the information about the visa registration in advance.
To register your visa you will need to bring us your passport with Russian visa and the migration card. We'll make a copy for us and return these documents to you. Within 3 working days we'll process your registration. After that you would need to visit our office once more to get the registration mark from us.
You are allowed to stay in Russia without the visa registration for 3 working days. So please keep your travel documents (train, air tickets) with you to show them to the Police authorities to confirm the duration of your stay in the country.
You will not be allowed to leave the country with an expired visa. Russian customs officials will send you back to St. Petersburg and you will have to pay a fine to get an exit permit.
Many of the overnight trains from St. Petersburg and Moscow to the Baltics and to Europe cross the Russian border after midnight. Make sure your visa does not expire at midnight before you cross the border or you may have problems leaving the country.
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