Russia visa support
 

I am going to Russia on an escorted tour but have added three days onto the beginning. The visa support letter from Gate 1 has dates on there only for the tour portion of the trip.

Do I need to get another visa support letter from the hotel we are staying at for the first three nights? Or do I just need the one from the tour company? Gate 1 wasn't able to answer this question for me so I was hoping someone who had already done this might know.

Thanks.

Ask your tour company for your visa support letter to cover your dates, if they don't want to do that get one from your hotel. Russian visa have specific dates and you cannot enter prior to those dates.

Do they now put the visa inside your passport? The website is saying that I need a blank page in my passport for the visa (which I don't have), last time we went it was a separate paper visa. Does it take up a full page?

The new visas are a sticker type document that take up 1 entire page of your passport. On the facing page they will also staple the migration card of which they'll take one half of it on entry, you'll register the other half (the hotel will do it) and it will be taken upon exit. The dates on your visa will reflect the dates on your invitation so I would contact your tour company to find out. Another option is to not use their visa support and get your own that will cover your entire stay, including tour. Try ryh.ru for their support(you don't have to book accomadation there, just register there possibly). There might be a leeway on your visa of a day on either end for travel but don't count on it. The D.C. embassy seems to do it but I don't know about the others. They will not allow you to enter the country prior to your visa and if you try to leave with an expired visa you're liable to a fine, amount to the discretion of the border guard, but most likely sent back to either St. Petersburg or Moscow to get an exit visa.

Thanks Vagabond, it looks like my passport needs to take a journey to get some pages added. :-( Not a blank page in the entire thing.

And I will look into the visa support services if I can't get Gate 1 to issue a visa support letter for the whole thing. Don't see why they wouldn't since they booked the airfare but they don't seem to understand the process. They've already made two mistakes on the visa support letter!

Argh! This is turning out to be a very very expensive and time consuming process.

Kristi, I'll be glad to help if you need any more info. I've been through the process a couple of times and understand and sympathize with what you're going through. With Russia, never take anything for granted, even though 99/100 it all works out okay anyway. I'm going back to Russia next week and can hardly wait. Good luck.

This is actually our third trip to Russia, it seems to be more work each time we go. But I am looking forward to it, once I get past all this paper work

Have a great trip, what cities are you visiting? We are just visiting Moscow, St. Pete, Novgorod and Tver.

I'll be spending most of my time in St. Petersburg as that's where my friends all live. I'll be going to Moscow for a few days, a day or two in Vyborg, maybe Novgorod for a day and a couple of days at their dacha in Zelenogorsk.
I agree, the paperwork is awful, and with the changes that the State Dept. is making to the US visa process that take effect in Sept. (which the Russians say they were never informed of) in which all applicants(from all countries) have to be interviewed by a US consular official and where the rejection rate has been almost 25% for several years, we can look forward to probably a more of a pain in the zhopa next year as the Russians will probably play tit-for-tat, or very close to it. I wonder if this is the 'easing of visa procedures' that Pres. Putin and Bush have spoken of? Funny, that. I do believe the State Dept. has run amok.

Kristi,
I think I am going on the same trip as you but am leaving next week. I'm arriving in Moscow one day ahead of the group. Gate 1 sent a support letter that included those days.

Are you going on the September trip?

By the way Kristi,
Do you have any suggestions for packing for this trip in August?

How hot will it get? I'm used to NY summers

Yes, we are joining the Sept 1 trip, arriving in Moscow 3 days before the group. I'm a little leery of group travel but I thought it would be easier than arranging on our own. We can always stray from the group if need be.

I have not been to Russia in August so I'm not sure what to tell you to pack. I find it a good idea no matter where we're going to pack at least a water proof coat and one sweater/sweatshirt so that I'm ready for anything. I don't think I wore shorts in Russia on our July visit, I don't think it was that hot.

What I would advise you to pack is lots and lots of film, some small US currency if you are looking to buy cheap souvenirs for people back home (great market behind the Church of the Spilled Blood in St. Pete) and some tissues as they don't always have them in bathrooms in public places.

If you are planning on spending any time away from the group, I thought the Eyewitness guides were great as they have good street maps.

Please do let me know how the trip was when you return. I couldn't find anyone who had traveled to Russia with Gate 1 so I'm anxious to know if the tours are any good. I have already stayed at their hotels, Cosmos in Moscow, Pribaltistya (Sp?) in St. Pete. Both are a good distance outside the main cities, the one in Moscow is right near a metro station though and I believe there was a tram or bus that went to the one in St. Pete.

Have a great trip!

You too Vagabond!

This is my first time on a tour. I usually travel independently. But since I'm traveling solo, I felt a tour would be better. I don't think we're going to be in one place long enough to explore on my own.

I am coming into Moscow a day earlier than my group. Any suggestions for must sees that Gate 1 isn't going to? Can I explore these alone (I'm an independent, New York woman and an experienced traveler) or should I take a guided tour.

Any info would help.

Thanks

I'm an experienced traveler too but if I was traveling on my own and money were not an issue, I would probably go with a private guided tour, especially since I don't know the language. There's also been a few murders recently of younger women in Russia, Moscow is denying that it's a serial killer, but I would rather be safe than sorry I suppose.

We hired a private guide in St. Pete a couple of years ago and they were able to cut the lines and we saw an awful lot in one day. If you are not able to arrange something before you go, perhaps they could help you arrange something at the hotel.

The tour description says nothing about "visiting" St. Basil's or the Kremlin so that might be a couple of places you'd want to see. The metro stations are also quite something to see. And I thought the circus was a lot of fun.

If you are staying at Hotel Cosmos, it's about 8km from the center of Moscow.

You might try taking a look at some of the tips over on www.VirtualTourist.com, there are several people who live in Moscow that post over there.

esny21, can you tell me what documents you sent to the Russian Embassy/Consulate? I have the visa support letter which was extended to include the additional days (well, not really, they screwed up my husband's birthdate for the second time!)and an invoice from Gate 1. Did you send anything additional? The Embassy page requests a standard tourist confirmation, original voucher and cover letter and I'm not sure what to include.

Thanks!

Check out Tourist Visas under the consular division of the Russian Embassy at:

http://www.russianembassy.org/

If you have time in Moscow here are some other places you might want to consider.

Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, located not far from the south-west corner of the Kemlin. Also nearby is the Okhotny Ryad Shopping Mall, also look for the fountains and sculptures on the Kremlin side of the mall.

A walk south from the Kremlin across the bridge below St Basil's Cathedral will take you into an interesting area of Moscow, in the area is the State Tretyakov Gallery.

To the left of St Basil's towards the Hotel Rossiya is St Barbara Street which houses a number of old interesting churches. Below Hotel Rossiya you can catch a boat and take a trip along the river.

A trip on the subway with stops at some of the stations is worthwhile. The most interesting stations are the ones in the downtown area and on the Ring Line.

Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery are both worth a visit, they can be reached from the Sportivnaya Metro Station on the Red Line.

Kolomenskoe Museum - Reserve, an ancient royal country estate located above the Moscow River, can be reached from Kolomenskaya Metro Station, on the Green Line.

Many other sights in Moscow are worth a visit among them Tsaritsino, Kuskovo, market and park at Izmaylovo, Arbat Street, Christ the Saviour Cathedral and many others.

Kristi, assuming you're from the USA:

Go to the following link for adding pages to your passport:

http://travel.state.gov/extra_pages.html

Garfield, not bad -- seems like you've been to Moscow more than once. Just reading about all these places makes me want to go back. These are all really great places to visit

Thanks DB, I've already sent it off to get the pages added. I'm just bummed because I had to pay the $60 expediting fee :-( I ordered a new 48 page passport for my husband which you can do anytime you renew.

Garfield, thanks for posting all that information. I have checked out the Russian Embassy site, but was curious as to what Gate 1 sent esny21 that she used as documentation. Gate 1 hasn't been much help (file this one under you get what you pay for).

For my first couple of visits to Russia I used the full visa service of http://www.gotorussia.net/, they did everything.

Now I only use them for the voucher and confirmation letters, which they sent by email and deal directly with Russian Consulate in Toronto, I am Canadian. The only documents that I sent them was Form 95 (application) and voucher and confirmation letter, $75CND, passport, one photo and a return prepaid post envolope.

I go to Russia again in Sept, river cruise from Moscow to Rostov on Don, on M/S Yesenin. I book directly with the Russian cruise line Orthodox Cruise Line, the same one that Uniwold uses.