The one year multi-entry visa...?

[ecr844]

Hello Everyone,


   I'm finding that since I've been traveling abit more and with my itinerary filling up quick for next year as well with as of yet unannounced events and plans I'm starting to wonder if perhaps the hassle of a one year multi-entry RU visa wouldn't be the convient way to go. Since a number of expereinced frequent RU travelers post here I figured I'd ask the 'experts'. What do you think is this a convient way to go which is worth the hassel and wait? Business or tourist? Does anyone know if they are actively enforcing the max time on the ground requirements? Any other info or advice on this?

Thanks,
ECR844

[roykirk]

I don't believe a multi-entry one year tourist visa exists.  I think your only option is a business visa.  If I'm wrong on that, someone will correct me.  I've been playing with the idea of doing a business visa as well, and waytorussia.net (the company I use for my invitation letters for tourist visas), says they can also provide letters of invitation for business visas and also state you don't need to have real business in Russia to get one.  It's expensive, and a bit of a hassle, but a big money saver if you can get one.  Also, when I inquired about a business visa with waytorussia, they warned me that Russian customs is very particular about making sure you abide by the conditions of the business visa.  They said that if I had a business visa and stayed in a private residence (and they discovered it by looking at my registration), that there was a real chance they would revoke my visa and make it very difficult for me to get future tourist visas.  I don't know if they really care about it that much, but it's something to consider.

[Phil dAmore]

Roykirk is correct, there is no such thing as a multi-entry tourist visa.

Biz visas are more expensive to get but are cheaper in the long run if you make several trips per year.

Be advised that the new rules state you cannot remain in Russia longer than 90 consecutive days.  At the end of the 90 day in-country period, you must leave Russia for -you guessed it- 90 days, after which you may re-enter.

The rules regarding the required time of abscence for  those who do NOT stay for the full 90 days are unclear, but I think that if you stay for shorter terms you are exempt from the 90-day out-of-country rule.

Registration:  This is kind of a crapshoot and whether or not you have trouble with your visa really depends on who's looking at it and what they want from you. 

I haven't been asked to show my documents for almost 4 years.   Only once did I encounter an issue with a missing registration and that was taken care of with a $50 bill. They will invariably quote some absurd sum, which they simply pull out of their ass. You can negotiate with them.  My guy initially wanted 4000 rubles, but I got him down to $50!

Just FYI, border crossings into and out of Russia are MUCH easier over land than through the airport. If you are coming to  St. Petersburg it's worth your while to fly into Helsinki and take the train to Petersburg.  You will save a couple of hundred bucks on airfare too.

Good luck.

[ecr844]

     Thanks for the replies guys. I made some calls today and it seems that your right no more 1 year multi-entry tourist visas. That leaves the one year multi-entry business visa. It seems the price quotes for the 4 places I've called today for the invitation, visa, and 30 day processing are running about $650-850.00.

     I'm also told they discontinued the need for HIV tests on the one year visa and that registration consists of getting the land lord or flat owner to register for you. You got to either the post office or the old OVIR get a form. The land lord of where your staying completes the top, and you the bottom. They mail their portion by registered mail to the included address within 3 days of your arrival. Then with in 24 hrs of your leaving (the country)you give them the bottom half to send by registered mail as well. It was reccommended to me that I keep the "postal reciepts" to show it was mailed and that I shouldn't expect a hassel making multiple trips of under 90 days or in regards to the "3 day registration rule". 

Hope this helps anyone else who may be considering this,
ECR844

[roykirk]

That's a little steep on the business visa price, imho.  Waytorussia.net charges you about $200 for the letter of invitation for a business visa, and then the Russian Embassy will charge you another $200 or so.  That's only about $400. 

As to registation for your stay, I've done the post office registration, and they told me to hold on to the receipt that they tear off the bottom and said nothing about mailing it.  They said it was my evidence that I had registered if they asked me upon leaving the country. 

[OlgaH]

Multiple entry visa can be only business visa (as the website of the Russian embassy says). Also you can find the fees for expedited visa processing on the website

http://www.russianembassy.org/ 

[Chicagoguy]

I have used the 1 year Business Visa several times and I have a valid one now. It is welcome news about the HIV test.

It is a little expensive but very convenient. The hitch for me was always the registration. Outfits like www.GoToRussia.com will not only get you the visa but they will register it for you when you arrive. Again there is a fee. I think Moscow Rick will also help if you are renting one of his apartments.

It must be that they used the new "good for 90 day" rule and forced the head of BP to go back to London.

[TwoBitBandit]

I also used gotorussia.com.  I think I paid around $375 for a one-year visa with a 5-week or so turn-around.  That included everything including the invitation and consular fees.  I was happy with gotorusia.com and got my visa on time without problems.

[ecr844]

I spoke with Glav's they quoted the 650 "all inclusive", and at the other end of the spectrum was Intl visa services at about 800 "all inclusive" not including shipping..I'll give Got To Russia a shot. Thanks for the tip I'm also going to call RA Consulting as well.

[Phil dAmore]

FYI, If you can get someone who is already IN Russia to obtain the invitation for you it's a LOT cheaper.  They are less than 100 rubles when you apply for them here and it takes about a month for them to process it.

The visa itself never cost me more than $100 when obtaining it directly through the Russian Consulate in Seattle and they processed in 10-14 days.

Registration can be done at any post office if you choose to bother with it.  I don't register my visas and have never encountered any problems that couldn't be corrected with a small bribe. 

$850 for a visa is bullsh!t. 

[BC]

What about traveler's health insurance?  Was required for my last tourist visa.

[Jooky]

Phil, are you staying with a visitor's visa and leaving the country every 90 days to renew?

I've been staying in Novosibirsk with a multi-entry business visa obtained through Go To Russia. I haven't stayed quite 90 days at a shot (60 to 80) but I've been returning home for only one or two months at a time, not 90 days either. I haven't had any problems with this.

Although Go To Russia insists that you can register your business visa at post office, I've been unable to do so here in Novosibirsk. The post office tells me I must have my inviting business sign and stamp some papers, not my landlord. OVIR said the same as did some immigration lawyer here. Go To Russia told me I should have insisted that I was correct at the Post Office, but one look at the Post Office hags tells me that I'd have better luck telling the fat lady at the DMV that I don't need to pass a test to get my driver's license.

The end result is that I register in Moscow, just in case, but have never registered in Novosibirsk. I haven't had any hassles travelling recently except for once this winter. My Moscow registration was botched and two weeks were unaccounted. The sharp militsia at the Omsk airport took notice. He said I must have bribed someone in Moscow to do this BS registration. Good call. He got sick of my half English half Russki arguing insisting I did nothing wrong and let me off with a promise to 'do things right next time'. 

Aside from this one militisa in Omsk nobody has even looked at my new style registration form.

Overall I think the multi-entry business visa is the way to go if you plan on multiple trips. It also allows you to travel to nearby countries and back without a hassle if you plan to do so.

[roykirk]

You also have experience with the post office hags in Novosibirsk, eh?  They're a fun lot.  I enjoyed watching my girlfriend argue loudly with them when registering my visa on my last visit.  I don't know what the post office hags were arguing about, but my girlfriend eventually won out because they let me register.   

[Jooky]

Were you registering a business visa?

I brought a guy (worker of mine) to help me argue (I knew arguing would be part of the usual process). I should have brought a Russian lady. My mistake! 

[roykirk]

No, just a tourist one.  One of the things that's held me back from getting a business visa is that I'd heard there could be problems with registration. 

[Phil dAmore]

Jooky:

I'm on a one-year multi-entry biz visa that was issued about a week before the new rules (90 in, 90 out) came down so I'm not subject to them.  Part of the reason I am leaving Russia is because the new rules make it virtually impossible for me to stay here ( 20 days and I"m outta here)

BC:

Americans are not required to provide health insurance prior to having a visa issued. In the past it was necessary to provide an HIV-certificate but I believe that is no longer required.

[BC]

Jooky:

I'm on a one-year multi-entry biz visa that was issued about a week before the new rules (90 in, 90 out) came down so I'm not subject to them.  Part of the reason I am leaving Russia is because the new rules make it virtually impossible for me to stay here ( 20 days and I"m outta here)

Phil,

Is citizenship an option for you?

[TwoBitBandit]

I've been warned about the "register in the city where you are" rule.  Last time I was in Russia my driver told me that a lot of foreigners would previously just register in some other city.  Because of that, some central authority has ordered the militsia at the airports to check foreigners' registrations right at the airport when they try to fly out.  He explained that the fine is about $200.

Jooky, kudos to you for avoiding the fine lol.

[Phil dAmore]

BC:  I am eligible for a Russian passport but it would require me to give up my U.S. citizenship as Russia does not allow for dual citizenships. It wasn't always that way, but when Putin first took the presidential office it was one of his first directives.  I could be an American, or a naturalized Russian, but not both.

Much as I love living here and even though I have some significant issues with the U.S. (mostly related to the way it's being run) there is no way that I am giving up that blue passport.

[ecr844]

Jooky,

  when you use "GotoRussia," and register in Moscow are you using their "registration" offices which they offer for a small fee or by other means?

[Jooky]

Eric, yes. There's a Go To Russia booth at SVO where you can drop off your information and then pick up your registration the next day. The cost is around 40 bucks and I just register for my whole trip. There are other methods, but for me it's worth it.

[ecr844]

sweet, thanks jordi.

[ScottinCrimea]

BC:  I am eligible for a Russian passport but it would require me to give up my U.S. citizenship as Russia does not allow for dual citizenships. It wasn't always that way, but when Putin first took the presidential office it was one of his first directives.  I could be an American, or a naturalized Russian, but not both.

Much as I love living here and even though I have some significant issues with the U.S. (mostly related to the way it's being run) there is no way that I am giving up that blue passport.

Would you actually be required to surrender your US passport?  If so, what's to prevent you from going to the embassy, claiming it was lost and being issued a new one?  Since the US recognizes dual citizenship this shouldn't be a problem, even if they were to learn that you obtained Russian citizenship. Is there any requirement that you inform the US, or do they do this? I'm sure the US doesn't notify Russia every time they replace a lost passport, so how would Russia ever know that it happened?

As I recall, one female American basketball player at the Olympics who plays in a league in Russia got Russian citizenship so she could compete for the Russian team.  Was she required to surrender her US citizenship?  Nothing I read mentioned this.

[Phil dAmore]

The rules for surrendering a passport, or in the parlance of Embassy-speak ' renouncing citizenship' are pretty clear and spelled out inside the U.S. passport itself (the section on 'while in the foreign country, section 8, 'Loss of U.S. citizenship)  I imagine it's a rather serious process that would require a sit-down with a consular or embassy official to make absolutely sure that is what you want to do.

No doubt Russia would require an official document from the Embassy or Consulate stating that the citizenship had been renounced.  Replacing a passport is very different from turning one in. 

As for the basketball player, yes she was granted Russian citizenship but given the lackluster performance of Russia's team plus her own stated desires (she had said that she had no loyalty to Russia, or the team) I imagine that her 'citizenship' was quite temporary.

The U.S. of course does allow multiple citizenships... I know of one man here who has an American, Canadian and UK passport. 

As stated earlier, if it were possible to retain the U.S. citizenship I would have become a naturalized Russian long ago... but that was simply not possible under the new rules. 

[ScottinCrimea]

It appears from the following statements from this link that unless you formally renounce your citizenship before a consular official, it will be assumed that you wish to retain your US citizenship, even if you take an oath of allegiance to Russia.

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html

The Department has a uniform administrative standard of evidence based on the premise that U.S. citizens intend to retain United States citizenship when they obtain naturalization in a foreign state, subscribe to a declaration of allegiance to a foreign state, serve in the armed forces of a foreign state not engaged in hostilities with the United States, or accept non-policy level employment with a foreign government.

In light of the administrative premise discussed above, a person who:

is naturalized in a foreign country;
takes a routine oath of allegiance to a foreign state;
serves in the armed forces of a foreign state not engaged in hostilities with the United States, or
accepts non-policy level employment with a foreign government,
and in so doing wishes to retain U.S. citizenship need not submit prior to the commission of a potentially expatriating act a statement or evidence of his or her intent to retain U.S. citizenship since such an intent will be presumed.

When, as the result of an individual's inquiry or an individual's application for registration or a passport it comes to the attention of a U.S. consular officer that a U.S. citizen has performed an act made potentially expatriating by Sections 349(a)(1), 349(a)(2), 349(a)(3) or 349(a)(4) as described above, the consular officer will simply ask the applicant if there was intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship when performing the act. If the answer is no, the consular officer will certify that it was not the person's intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship and, consequently, find that the person has retained U.S. citizenship.

Now the question is whether you are required to provide a statement from the US consul stating that you have done so before the Russian passport will be issued.  If such a formal document isn't required, it appears to be a loophole you can crawl through.  I haven't yet found the official requirements and whether a document from the US consulate is required or merely your signature on an application where you agree to renounce your US citizenship.