So, you have decided to outsource or relocate your business, services or department, you have chosen the local Russian partner and you are ready to start outsourcing. You probably need to meet your partner face to face and visit mother Russia. Unless you are one of those lucky few citizens of these former USSR countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan, you must obtain a visa to travel to Russia.

If you are a newbie to Russia travel or it is your 10th trip to Russia, I believe our new Russian Visa Demystified corner will teach you the Russian visa process from start to finish. I really believe that each of you will learn something new about Russian visas from the articles. They will become useful reading to save money.

Russian visa types

If you want to be precise, there are 11 different types of Russian visa:

* Diplomatic visa,

* Guest visa/private visit,

* Tourist visa,

* Work visa,

* Business/commercial visit visa,

* Student/education visa,

* Government business visa,

* Humanitarian visa,

* Transit visa (valid up to 72 hours),

* Temporary stay visa,

* Refugee visa.

Each visa type corresponds to the stated purpose of your visit. During my professional experience, I realized that about 90% of all issued Russian visas belong to TWO main visa categories:

Tourist visa:

is your first choice for short, one-time visits of up to 30 days to Russia, even if you are traveling for reasons other than tourism (eg business meetings, conferences, visiting relatives, etc.). Unfortunately, you will need a business visa if you intend to stay for more than 30 days.

According to the Russian bureaucracy, the TOURIST visa can be obtained with an official letter of invitation/sponsorship/support (more on this in the next article) from a hotel or a travel agency, registered with the Consular Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (abbreviated as AMF).

The same law says that it is illegal for a qualified travel agency or hotel to provide you with an invitation if you are not staying at a hotel. Fortunately, this word of the law is broken more often than not because virtually all travel agencies can obtain a visa sponsorship document and then register your Russian visa without you reserving a single night in a hotel. The same goes for hotels, they will register your visa not just for the nights you stay with them, but for your entire trip. Just don’t forget to ask! (more about registration in future articles)

Business Visa

gives you much more flexibility: multiple entries to and from Russia, valid for up to a full year. The business visa is ideal for frequent business people or those who stay in Russia for a long time. Officially, business visas are intended for business travelers who are traveling to carry out commercial transactions (for example, negotiations, contracts, exhibitions, etc.). But then again, it’s more of an exception than a rule: you don’t need to travel on official company business, it could be personal travel. You also don’t need to plan a hotel reservation or your itinerary. Please note that the business visa does not imply a work permit. You should apply for a work visa if you are about to receive money for your services.

Since other types of visas are not as common, I will not cover them.

How and where to get a visa for Russia?

Normally, you must apply for a visa at a Russian consulate in the country where you reside. If you are currently traveling to a foreign country, you can apply at the Russian consulate in that country in most cases. You must present several documents at a Russian consulate, depending on the type of visa and the processing time you want:

1. A valid passport: Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the indicated date of departure from Russia. For example, if you plan to leave Russia on February 1, your passport must be valid until at least August 1. Also, you need to make sure you have at least 2 blank visa pages in your passport. If any of these are true, you should renew/add pages to your passport; contact your country’s embassy/consulate.

2. A passport size photo: I advise going to a passport photographer as he is familiar with the passport photo requirements.

3. Questionnaire/Visa Application. The questionnaire has to be signed by you. A question-by-question guide will be published in future articles.

4. Russian Visa Sponsor/Invitation Letter: You must obtain the type of invitation letter that corresponds to the type of visa required. For example, tourist invitation letter for tourist visa, business invitation letter for business visa, private invitation letter for private visit visa, etc. In most cases, a photocopy of your visa endorsement will suffice, but you need the original invitation letter if:

* apply for MULTIPLE entry visas,

* applies in one of these countries: Australia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Sweden,

* you are a citizen of certain countries with which the Russian government has tense diplomatic relations (eg China, India, Nigeria, to name a few).

5. Visa processing fee: All Russian consulates charge a certain visa processing fee. It varies depending on the type of your visa and the speed of processing. In general, the longer the visa and the faster you need it, the more you will pay. The Russian consulate in each country has different rates. For example, visa processing fees in the US range from as low as $100 to as high as $450.

6. Self-addressed/prepaid envelope: If you are applying for a Russian visa by mail, you must include a prepaid envelope. We recommend using a certified or confirmation delivery since the package has your passport and visa. If you choose to apply in person, you will collect the visa yourself, without the need for a return envelope. In some countries you can only apply in person.

7. Additional documents: For certain types of Russian visas for citizens of some countries, Russian consulates will require additional documents:

* Mandatory travel/medical insurance is required for citizens of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

* A Human Immunological Deficiency (HIV) AIDS Certificate is required for multiple entries and visas longer than 3 months. You can find a local US HIV testing center here.

* Proof of permanent residency (photocopy of green/residence card, if applying from the US) is required for citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Iran , Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria , North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam. Otherwise, citizens of these countries must apply for the Russian visa in their home countries.

* Proof of sufficient funds for your stay in Russia.

* Any other document that the Russian consulate deems necessary.

As you can see, it is possible to process your own Russian visa. In practice, however, most travelers choose to hire a professional visa travel agency to do the legwork. For an additional $30-$70, the agencies will prepare, review, and submit your documentation to a consulate on your behalf and send you your passport along with the Russian visa. Some companies even take care of registering the visa when you arrive in Russia (more information on registration in the next articles). Since each Russian consulate has different tastes and temperaments in interpreting visa processing requirements, it usually pays to have someone who knows how to deal with bureaucrats.

The only problem with hiring someone to handle your visa is figuring out who to hire. Among hundreds of honest agencies, there are many scammers who seem to disappear as soon as you give them your personal information. However, that shouldn’t stop you from seeking out a professional visa agency, just use a healthy dose of precaution.

What are the Russian visa processing times and fees?

Visa Processing Times:

By now, you may have noticed that you cannot apply for a visa unless you have your visa invitation ready. Therefore, you should allocate enough time to obtain a visa support letter. It can range from 1 hour for tourist invitations, 18 business days for commercial support and 60 days for private invitations. I will write more about invitation letter processing times and fees in my next article.

Once you have an invitation letter, you can send the invitation along with other documents to the Russian consulate or a certified visa agency. According to Russian law, the visa must now be issued in more than 20 business days (excluding weekends and national holidays). Fortunately, most consulates issue visas from 1 to 14 days (depends on how much you pay). It is good to remember that if you apply for the visa by mail, you must allocate at least TWO more business days:

(1) Overnight shipping from your home to the consulate and

(2) Mailing paperwork from the consulate to you.

Please refrain from submitting your documentation to the consulate or visa agency more than 45 days before the expected date of departure for BUSINESS TYPE VISAS and 90 days or more for all other TYPES. Consulates do not process orders that far in advance: they will return your package and ask you to send it at a later date.

Russian visa processing times and fees vary from country to country. The processing fees are the highest in the US because the US government has the highest fees for Russian citizens applying for US visas. As a result, the Russian government imposes the same fees on US citizens applying for Russian visas. Such diplomatic policy when a country places the same travel barriers, fees and procedures for citizens of two countries is known as reciprocity laws.

Unfortunately, Russia religiously follows such policies. Therefore, you may have to pay more or less for your Russian visa depending on your citizenship and where you apply for your Russian visa. For example, if you are an Australian citizen applying for a Russian tourist visa in the UK, you will pay a standard consular fee of £30 (for 7 day processing) and an additional £18 surcharge due to reciprocity laws between Russian and Australian governments.

The Russian government requires all its consulates and embassies to issue Russian visas in no more than 20 business days. Therefore, each consulate has some leeway in how quickly visas are issued, as long as they don’t breach the 20-day limit. Again, it varies from country to country.

If you need more information about Russian visa processing fees and time requirements, please call us at 888-470-8472.