Obtaining Private Visa for Russia

[bobb]

If anyone is ever interested in how to obtain a Private Visa this is how I obtained mine.  I would assume it is the same for anywhere in Russia.  I obtained a Private Visa because I stay with my fiancée and in January 2009 on my visit I had a tourist visa.  Not really knowing the full details, and not realizing I should have registered it differently , we went to OVIR and were chastised for me having the wrong type of visa.  They told L if it happened again they would fine her.  Maybe in a city other than Izhevsk there might have been other problems, I don't know.

I scanned my bio page from my passport and sent her this in a pdf file.  I could have sent a jpg file just as easily.  L  went to OVIR and she had to complete the following questions:

1. Country of birth.
2. The exact place of birth (City, State).
3. Where would I obtain the visa: Country, City, where there is a consulate of Russia.
4. Place of work: the full name of the organization (firm).
5. Position at work – job title.
6. Employer's address (full address of the organization, company)
7. Type of work of company.
8. Cities to visit in Russia.

She knew these answers but did not know how to give the answers in Russian.  She had to have her English teacher help her.

It took three weeks for her to obtain the visa.  She sent it about a week later by Global Express and I received it in about 6 days.  Sent to SF and used normal 6 day processing - no need for a rush.  Had my passport back with visa 13 days later.  Figure 2 months, less or more depending how sent from Russia and the processing speed.  Company I use in SF cost me $160 - I receive $10 off each time after the first time.  They also send me coupons I can give to others to receive $15 off.  I paid UPS ground (next day for me because of my proximity to SF) both ways which cost less than $10 total. 

The cost for her to obtain the Visa is minimal.  Even with her sending it like she did I feel it costs less than paying someone additional for the tourist invitation AND paying someone to register it for you.  But, it is obviously not as quick. 

I'll black out some sections and post a photo in a few days to show you what the Private invitation I sent with my visa application looks like.

[bobb]

Photo below is what the invitation looks like.

[MatryoshkaMan]

Hi Bobb just to clarify:

1) After you got this document THEN you sent it with your passport to the russian embassy/consulate?
2)It took 2 months from the very beginning until you had the necessary visa? Is that form the visa or do they stamp your passport?

Seems to me that even if you are essentially going as a private visitor is much easier to get a regular tourist visa? What's your take on this?

Thanks!

[Ade]

Seems to me that even if you are essentially going as a private visitor is much easier to get a regular tourist visa? What's your take on this?

That is most definitely the case. I think Bob's case is a little special and everyone else should go the tourist or business visa route first as these are so much easier on everyone concerned.

[I/O]

I've done this visa thing both ways. The private invitation is a PITA for the Russian citizen. Bob's costings seem high. The Russian citizen effectively invokes an official letter of invitation which you attach to your visa application. At the Russian end it is 30 days maximum processing for the letter. Waste of everyone's time and effort. We did that once. Never again.

Various processing times for the visa application apply depending on which consulate you use but for us it is about $80 USD for a 7 day turn around. Couple the 2 together and it is the better part of two months.

Go to anyone of a million websites offering visitor invitations to Russia. Pay your $15 - $40 depending on the host and have your invitation letter emailed within 24 hours. Attach it to your application and you can turn it all around in 2 weeks with ease.

Regardless of the invitation host you need to register where you stay (if more than 3 days) and you need to do this within 3 working days of arrival. The post offices seem the best option (If staying with friends or family) but your personal host will need to provide all their details including a copy of their Russian passport and the post offices WILL mess the host around. We went through this 3 weeks ago. MIL was technically our host and they rejected 3 sets of papers she completed before they provided the certification.

Ironically, when I handed over my migration card (no stamps as the registration paper covered all), passport and registration paper on the way out, passport control handed the registration paper directly back to me, never looked at it and it is still in my jacket pocket. I seriously doubt they knew what it actually was. They keyed in the migration card number, stamped my passport and that was that. Typically Russia, 300 systems overlaying each other and nobody actually knows how they are supposed to work.

I/O