Visa informationPassport holders of most countries require visas in order to travel to Russia. A Russian visa can be obtained from the Russian Embassy/Consulate in your country of residence. There are currently two types of visas issued: (i) ordinary humanitarian visa (also known as business visa) and (ii) tourist visa. Visa requirements and fees vary from country to country; please check with the Russian Embassy/Consulate in your country of residence. Tourist visa (see below) can also be obtained on a commercial basis at many tourist agencies in your country. Please note that the Russian Consulates (or tourist agencies) can refuse to issue a visa for you if your passport is valid for less than 6 months before the start of your planned trip. Please do not postpone the visa application till the last moment! The EIMI stuff can assist you in obtaining the ordinary humanitarian (business) or a tourist visa by providing you with a visa support document of a particular type. This support document does not allow you to enter Russia: you need to apply for a visa at the Russian embassy/consulate in your country of residence on the basis of this support document. The support document is to be prepared in accordance with the information you have provided in your registration form; please make sure you have filled in this form correctly. Tourist visa1. In many countries AGENCIES ASSISTING IN VISA APPLICATION FORMALITIES offer their help with obtaining a tourist visa for a reasonable charge. Some of these agencies are listed below. In this case you will not need any help from us. You may find this to be the easiest option. GERMANY: http://visum-centrale.de/ (and numerous other)USA: http://www.russianconsulate.com/e/home.htm http://www.russiavisa.com/ UK: http://gotorussia.co.uk/ http://www.visitrussia.org.uk/ THE NETHERLANDS: http://www.visum.nl http://www.rnvb.nl/index.phtml FRANCE: http://www.alsvisa.com/ http://www.homevisas.com/ 2. You can also obtain a tourist visa at the Russian Embassy/Consulate in your country of residence. In this case you will need a special kind of invitation - a tourist voucher, which EIMI stuff will produce within a few days after receiving your registration form. Normally it suffices to have a copy (not necessarily the original) of the tourist voucher in order to get a tourist visa. Such a copy can be sent to you as a scanned pdf file. If the original is required (please check with the Russian embassy in advance), this adds the time of mailing and postage costs, depending on your country of residence. Please note that when applying for a tourist visaThe goal of your trip should be stated as "tourism". The dates of your trip should coincide with the dates in the voucher. Ordinary humanitarian/Business visa for citizens of the EU countries (except UK, Ireland, Iceland)A support document for this type of visa is an official invitation from the Euler Institute. Preparing it usually takes up to one week after receiving your forms. However, you will need the original of this invitation in order to apply for a visa, which implies mailing (time expenditures may be up to one month) and postage costs (additional costs for express mail can be added at registration upon your arrival).Ordinary humanitarian/business visa can be single, double or multiple entry. Ordinary humanitarian/Business visa for non-EU citizens (and UK, Ireland, Iceland)A support document for this type of visa is an official invitation from the Russian Ministry of Interior. For this kind of invitation it is also necessary for you to send us a scan copy of your passport together with your registration form. Obtaining such an invitation from the Ministry of Interior takes at least 4-6 weeks. A copy of this invitation as a scanned pdf file will be sent you as soon as EIMI stuff receives an invitation from the Ministry of Interior. In many cases, this copy is sufficient to obtain a visa at the Russian Consulate (please check with the Russian embassy in advance). If the original is required, this adds the time of mailing and postage costs, depending on your country of residence.Accompanying personAn accompanying person has to fill in the separate Registration/Visa form (see http://www.pdmi.ras.ru/EIMI/accvisa.html)We can include an "accompanying person" in your business visa support document only if she/he is your close relative, e.g. wife, husband, mother, father, son, daughter, brother or sister. In case your surnames differ it may be necessary to send us a scan copy of your marriage or birth certificate (as well as to produce it at the Russian Consulate). If the accompanying person is not your relative we provide a tourist voucher for him/her to apply for a tourist visa. Please note that producing a tourist voucher for an accompanying person can involve a fee of approx. 300 RUBL. Police RegistrationOnce in Russia, all foreign nationals need to register within 7 days of the visit. This is usually done at your hotel and costs about 1000 RUB. |