Russian Visa - Business, Tourist or Private?
Apr 8th, 2002, 12:01 PM
#1
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Russian Visa - Business, Tourist or Private?
Question for Marc David Miller (and other experts).<BR><BR>I will be traveling to Russia (vacation) in mid-May. What kind of visa should I get? A tourist visa would be the obvious choice (although, as I understand, the requirements will change as of May 1). However, the firm I work for has offices in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and they can probably provide me with an invitation required for a business visa. Likewise, obtaining a private visa (to visit friends/relatives) is also a possibility. <BR><BR>Is there one type of visa considered advantageous in terms of custom clearance, the necessity to register with Russian authorities (OVIR), etc.? Any thoughts?<BR><BR>Thank you in advance.
Apr 8th, 2002, 01:09 PM
#2
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Tourist. It is getting too late for a private visa, and often the potential for problems for your employer exist (and there is no real advantage to getting a business visa unless you are going to be staying for more than 30 days or going several times in one year). <BR><BR>You still have to register with Ovir no matter what visa you get (and in theory register in each city you visit for more than three business days). The Business Visa used to give flexibility in the sense that you didn't have to stay in just the cities listed on your visa, but that is no longer the case (neither the Business nor the Tourist Visa restrict you to a pre-planned list of cities, and at least last year the tourist visa did not list the planned itinerary).
Apr 8th, 2002, 01:26 PM
#3
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Marc,<BR><BR>Thank you for your response. How does the requirement of "Ovir" registration work in reality? I remember that when I visited St. Pit three years ago (on a business visa sent to me by the firm) I was also told that I had to register, etc. However, people in our office there told me not to waste my time since, under the worst possible scenario, I would have to pay a few dollars' penalty at the airport (that didn't happen).
Apr 8th, 2002, 01:34 PM
#4
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I wouldn't play games with registration (at least with the first registration). If you look at some other boards that make comments about police harrasing foreigners in Russia probably 90% of those problems begin with unregistered visas (and not having your passport/visa with you). Especially in Moscow people do get stopped and asked to present ID. At the very realistic worst the passport control agent could cause you to miss your flight.
