Russian visa

[JohnM]

Aahh, that’s right - it was bank transfer for payment.

Interesting about the due date - mine was also a Friday and I received the invoice about Monday or Tuesday of that week. I think they may have a system - of sorts .

 

[Chief Wiggum]

Closing the loop update: Got my passport back today in the mail, complete with shiny Russian Visa. So that's all done The only thing I would change for next time, thinking about it now, is to add another 1-2 days at the end for contingency, in case flight gets delayed. Instead, I have my visa ending the same day I fly out of VVO to NRT.

Overall happy with the process. Not the easiest. Not the hardest. A bit costly. Hopefully, DFAT can get Australia onto the approved list soon for the new free Russian e-Visa about to start. Considering we pay so much more for our Passports in AU compared to nearly every other country.

 

[VPS]

I don’t want to scare you but I have heard of people who get delayed having problems with Russian visas

 

[rginoz]

It's six and a half years or so since I visited Russia, to travel on the Trans Siberian Railway and spend some time in a few of the major cities along the railway line, plus some time in Moscow and St Petersburg. But it seems that not much has really changed in terms of dealing with the bureaucracies and their requirements.

I rechecked my travel notes about the visa application process and obtaining the travel invitation. All you need is a series of hotels, not necessarily covering every night - for example, the train nights don't get listed and no one worries about that. Also, plans can change, and that seems to not be a problem. Don't arrive before the visa becomes valid, and it's wise to have a bit of flexibility with the visa being valid for a couple of days after your intended departure date. I got my invitation to visit from a travel agency in London, all done by email, with the invite coming a millisecond after I paid the fee.

It's a very interesting country to visit, and you probably will be surprised (mostly positively) with events along the way. I experienced no problems in Russia, other than finding the limited use of English, but you can be surprised by how fluent some young people will be in English. I think it is best also to be generally accepting of things as they are in Russia, rather than how you might ideally want them to be.

 

[kpc]

I don’t want to scare you but I have heard of people who get delayed having problems with Russian visas

You have to list the dates you will be in Russia on your Visa application (i would add a couple of extra days at the end if I ever apply for a Visa again), and the Visa issued expires on the last day so no room for flight delays etc...I remember being quite relieved when our Tg flight left DME on time!

 

[Jacques Vert]

You have to list the dates you will be in Russia on your Visa application (i would add a couple of extra days at the end if I ever apply for a Visa again), and the Visa issued expires on the last day so no room for flight delays etc...I remember being quite relieved when our Tg flight left DME on time!

And if you are leaving by train, you have to be across the border before the visa expires, not just board the train. At least that's how I understand it.

I suspect that it is technically the same for the ferry although from memory, we passed through immigration before boarding and were not checked again.

So as kpc says, add a couple of extra days at the end onto your visa travel dates to allow for any delays.

 

[OATEK]

You have to list the dates you will be in Russia on your Visa application (i would add a couple of extra days at the end if I ever apply for a Visa again), and the Visa issued expires on the last day so no room for flight delays etc...I remember being quite relieved when our Tg flight left DME on time!

Not such a worry if you are in St Petersburg for the last day, as you have either the train or ferry to Helsini as a fallback.