Russian LOI & Visa (again! sorry)
 

I know this has been done to death, but things change fast. I have done a lot of reading but obviously dont have all the answers!

This post relates to the 12 month ME BV or equivalent.

Has anyone had/gone for a 'cultural' visa? Stantours have recommended one if supplying 'company' details is difficult.

I could say I am self- employed and supply statements showing the £££ in my ISA but what happens with the 'inviting organisation'? how and what do I do to get around this?

Other things regarding supporting docs for MEBV are HIV cert? needed?

and this has popped up again - 'Applicants should also have a single or double Russian visa in the last 1 year, without which they cannot apply for multiple entries.'

I did email VFS Global (The UK Visa application company) a while back and they said it wasn't neccessary.

Does anybody have recent experience of applying?

We will be starting ours next month but I just want to get everything lined up prior to applying mid November.

My plan was LOI from Stantours then postal application to Russia Visa Information - UK - Home Page for our Visas with supporting docs.

G

Hi there

I cannot give you any info on Cultural visa but we applied for 6 month ME BV in March of this year and got it - we had never been to Russia before. I had left my job so was unemployed when we applied but I got my ex boss, who has his own company, to 'lend' me his letterhead. I did the letter and he kindly signed it.

We used the visa agency Real Russia in London for ours and found them really helpful. They supplied the LOI and I transfered that info into my letter. I was forever emailing and asking questions and asking them to change information already submitted and they always answered promptly.

Hope you get the visa you want.

Debz

Thanks Debz,

Did they 'contact' your old boss in any way? I could use the letterhead for the company I am with now but they don't yet know I'm leaving in December! Last thing I want is for the Russian Consulate to ring up and start asking questions :( I might have to risk it, or come clean earlier than planned.

G

No risk - in my mind.

Russian burocracy is about paperwork matching and then they accept the previous steps must be OK because someone else approved it. It is not for the Officer in current step in the process to query his predecesor but to look at only the paperwork appropriate to his part.
Not their responsibility to check up on the decisions of others !!

And I have never heard of them checking outside parties. For example, back in my Visa days, I regularly provided an "employers letter" from a Company of mine that was dissolved years earlier and had an address which had been demolished as part of the very preliminary Olympics redevelopment about 8 years ago!
Never a query.

As Tony says, I don't think there's any risk they'll contact them, they certainly never contacted my ex boss.

I used the same letterhead and content for me and my partner, who has never worked with my ex boss, I just gave him a different job title but everything else was pretty much the same. Although I did use different home addresses - I only did this because that's the way we ended up splitting our banks/mail, mine to my folks, his to his.

+1 for Real Russia

Last year we got a 6 month multi entry business visa. LOI from Stantours and visa application from Real Russia. Worth paying their fees just for peace of mind.

Just for your all information as i was again last weekend in Russia and had a chat with a guy who run into problems when riding in Russia with motorcycle using business visa.

If your going to Russia with motorcycle you need to always have culture visa. Motorcycle travelling in Russia using busines visa is against legistlation and can get you into trouble (not big ones but means some extra money loss) I know VISA's are not checked very regularly by police anymore in Russia (and i doubth if even all regular police knowns this) but to stay on safe side i in future always apply culture visa for motorcycle travelling.

Business visas are cheaper to apply and issue so that is reason why most agencies deliver them to traveller. I have also had one as i used different agent i normally use. Now it is culture visa.

Reference to this please, so I can check it out locally.
 

That is news to me and the many riders I meet on their way through or are staying/living here under Business Visas - not to mention the buddies I have travelled with all over the country.

I have been stopped many, many times on a moto when having 12 month MEB Visas (I now have Residency Permits). That included the ever-sensitive North Caucuses area including the edges of Chechnia and Dagestan. Also as far away as near Vladivostock, so close to the Chinese border that my mobile phone got messages welcoming me there, along the east BAM where there had only ever been 2 foreign motos before (they even took our passports to the Police Station to photocopy them never having seen foreign ones before) and at very regular intervals westwards in both remote communities and large cities.



I would like a direct reference to this claim please (not a second hand tale of an 'encounter' by someone else). Then I can check it out elsewhere, including at my local УФМС office that I am visiting in the next week or two on other matters.

We travelled the width of Russia from Vladivostok to Rostov via Volgograd and riding our two motorcycles on a business visa was not an issue - we met many others (none of whom had a cultural visa) also with no problems.

Are you saying that Russia legislates that you cannot come on business riding a motorcycle ?

I will also ad here that we travelled in and out Russia on ME business visa with no problems, including a very through passport check in Vlad just before APEC.

All no issue what so ever.

What if your business was exploring overland travel for motorcycles?

I imagine that if business visas were such an issue guys like Tony and Walter would have told us well before now as they would have run into it.

I have also travelled on Russia with motorcycle using both visas (busines and cultural) and havent never had any problems with visas.

This claim comes from a finnish guy who i spoke with last weekend. Several of them had to travel to local police station in Carelia as they were stopped by police and passports were checked. They got fined for travelling with Business visa using motorcycle. This happened some time ago. I think last year. Other members of group who had culture visa didnt get any interest from police.

So i trust this as they got fined and i make sure next year i am applying again multientry one year visa i mention i am travelling with motorcycle and that i need cultural visa.

Friend also asked from finnish travel agency which has organised Russian visas 15 years (Lot of them as travelling between Russia&Finland is now active and there are lot of people crossing borders all the time) which visa should be used when travelling with motorcycle in Russia. Answer was "definately cultural visa".

That said its up to anyone to make up their mind. Most likely you wont have any problems travelling with business visa but there is always a change for that. And Russia is Russia, in good and bad. Thats why i like it so much.

Looks like we are going with 'Cultural' from Stantours. I just need to sort out the Bank Statement bit of it. The current account is good for 2 months but I may need to wait till the end of November to get the 3rd :(

Has anyone supplied a bank statement for a savings account? Is that acceptable? I have plenty in there since 2009!

G

The business visa was fine for me also, one border guard going from Kazakhstan into Russia (near Pavlodar) raised in conversation "Commercial visa?" to which he shrugged when i said a bit of business a bit of pleasure using gestures and pigeon russian.

Who's to say you could not come across business opportunities while enjoying a nice ride anyway?

You would not need bank statements if a covering letter (on headed paper of a company that will never be contacted) states the applicant will carry enough cash and credit cards to fund the trip...

:mchappy:

Good news. I got the original LOI through the door today and am putting through the visa application online now.

1 more stumbling block is the need for insurance. We have yet to order any for our 12 months away as I was going to max out its length by leaving it till the last week. However It seems that it is 'strongly recommended' to take some out and to send a copy along with your visa.

Should I do this 1st? or have people applied and been granted WITHOUT taking any insurance?

Cheers, nearly there :)

G

and what is with the 'have you visited any countries in the last 10 years'!?

When we applied I gave them the details of the policy we had, no Cert of Currency or anything like that.

So I guess in theory you could just make it up!

Thanks Craig,

I did a bit more reading and it looks like its not required by UK nationals as we have a reciprocal agreement to use each others health care services.

I put in the notes that we would be taking out comprehensive medical insurance prior to leaving the UK at the end of January as I wanted the insurance to last the 12 months duration of our trip.

Fingers crossed that this will be ok.

Going to post it off today. Both visas and checking etc took us 3 hours last night.

cheers

G

Passports are back and Visas are inside :D

All the details look correct except the 'Duration of Stay' says 90 days. Nowhere (I can see) does it say multientry. Im guessing that dates 01.01.13 to 01.01.14 means that it is multientry and that the 90 days is max stay within the 180 day limit.

EDIT: Found it, right at the top.

Bit of a guide here: http://www.realrussia.co.uk/visas/ru...VisasExplained

Cheers,

See you all in the Siberian Summer 2013!

G

it is multi entry if it says Mnogokratnaya (M) on it in the top right in Cyrillic.

Yes 90 days means max 90 days out of the previous 180 days.

.
Well done Griff,

What the total costs for the LOI, the visa, et al.

vette

Total cost was about £750 for 2. This was everything including the LOI, bank transfer rates, postage rates to have the LOI retuned to us. Visas, service charges, postage, postal order and return postage.

I would guess, with the charges you would be looking at just shy of £400 for a single visa.

This was for a 12 month multi-entry 'cultural' visa.

bier

G

Thanks Walter,

Is the 90/180 rule reasonably relaxed?

We will hopefully be dropping into St Petersburg for a couple of days then about 2 months later transiting Georgia -KAZ (a few days?) then we wont be back in RUS until we cross the Altai (June) and finally Siberia (August/September).

Just curious on the mechanics of them adding it up. I'm hoping the transit and St Petersburg will drop off leaving 3 months for the Altai/Siberia?

G

.
Thanks Griff,

Not quite as cheap as I was hoping, but any way.
The rest of your plans still on track?

vette

Yes, think so.

All cold weather gear sorted for Nordkapp next month :freezing:

Picking up our Central Asia Visas in Ankara.

Truck and trailer nearly done.

Just need to email a few contacts with regards to shipping from Siberia to Aus

RUS visa and Aus working visa secured so those are the main ones for us beer

Just demolishing the inside of the house now. We are sleeping on the floor at the mo and handing it back end of the month. Leave UK on 26th January :thumbup1:

G

insurance
 

We were in Russia last year, and went without insurance, brought in on the border.

Wow, brave man, sure going to be cold up there.
Are you aiming for the top, or the “Very Top” ?

I am sure the cold weather gear is going to be properly tested.

Excellent, any hassles there, or is it like a “Bought visa”?

Are you using the Sankey as your base, with the roof-tent on top?

Hope the shipping from Siberia to Aus works out.
Are you staying in Aus, or planning a return?

Vette

Very top mate ;) Its about 71 degrees north IIRC so well inside the Arctic Circle

Think the Visas are straight forward. David at Stantours mentioned a LOI for UZB but I have not seen it on the Caravanistan website.

Sankey chassis yes, custom body and its been lengthened to match the wheelbase of the 90. Running same wheels/tyres to. We sprayed it this weekend gone and its looking good. Just need to finish the kitchen area and seals for the doors then give the hubs/bearings a service.

Shipping is quickly becoming my next main concern! We will see. Not planning to return to the UK but you never know. see what happens. If we like it we like it, if we dont we will be back in 12 months. jeiger

my life is currently in limbo, but im loving it :thumbup1: :funmeteryes: bier

G

We needed an LOI as Australia citizens - but it appears some nationalities don't

see this EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN TO THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

I have heard it is not the strongest focus they have ... provided no single stay is more than 90 days ... that i understand is a big no no. Also if you are entering and exiting at the same border then it looks like you are abusing the terms of your visa. If you are entering and exiting at different posts it will illustrate you are travelling rather than trying to overstay in one place (maybe because working etc).

So you SHOULD be ok\\

That's kind of how I read it from other posts and your postings etc. We will see once we are on the road. I didn't want to have to rush through Siberia once we got there because we spent 'a few days here and there'.

Will you boys be out there next summer?

G

Stantours/Online vs Real Russia (or other)
 

Hi Griff,

I'm sure you're busy sorting last minute stuff but if you do happen to read this then I have a question for you (or anybody else who's made this decision).

I'm about to go through the same process myself so...

What made you go down the Stantours LOI/Self-Application Online route rather than hand the whole process over to Real Russia?
It looks as though the prices would be virtually identical.

I ask because I've recently been in contact with Stantours regarding other visa's and David offered his services for a Russian LOI.

Cheers and Safe Travels

Adam
PS...I'll keep an eye out for you on the road this summer

I have used David in past also over the others. For me it was because even before I even spent a cent with him, he provided excellent information on my many questions, gratis. From my point view I saw benefit in keeping him in business for both myself and others.

Hi all,

We both live in China.

So the preferred is either an "Auto-tourism" visa, or a business visa.
Both multi-entry.

This is a reply I got from Real Russia. on 14th January 2013.

My question:

Hi Real Russia,
We plan to drive our Land Cruiser through Latvia to enter Russia.
We plan to be in Russia for about 15 days, then enter Mongolia.
We will then plan to enter China.
Then we will return, entering Russia a second time.
The time between the first entry, and the second entry will be less than 3 months.

We therefore need "Auto tourism" visa's? double entry.

Is that correct?

Their answer~~~~~~~

Hi Vette,

Please note that 'auto tourism' visas can be valid for 30 days only, both single and double entry.

We got the information that now people can enter Russian with any type of a visa, so it is better for you to get a cultural or a business Russian visa, double entry, valid for 90 days. But please note that you will need to enter and leave Russia twice within a 90-day period.

You should apply for your Russian visas either in a country of citizenship or past 90-day residency. So you can apply for them in China or you can send your passport to us and we will help you with a Russian visa. Please note that we could not help your wife with a Russian visa unless she is 90-day resident in the UK.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Anastasia Pashovkina
Visa Support Administrator

So for us, it seems we can quite easily get both our Russian visas in Beijing together.

It appears that Real Russia are confirming that there is no need to use the "auto-tourism" visa, or "cultural visa", and that any visa is now OK.

vette

I don't know Adam. Same as Craig, David has been an excellent resource and helped/reassured us along the way. I heard good things in the past about him so went with it. I don't see how Real Russia can process your visa application any differently as all of the questions are personal. For example, your last 2 employers, previous addresses, 10 year travel history etc. What do you gain from using an agency anyway? Get the LOI from David then print out the visa forms, its pretty easy.

I also like to be in control of things so if it got denied I would know why. If an agency is doing it for you, you dont know what they are writing!

what do real russia charge for LOI and visa?

EDIT: I just looks. Seems we saved about £65 each overall so its not a bad saving considering the extra work required is very little and you have some scope for movement. As I said above, you would still need to provide them with bank statements, visa application etc. I guess they just fill some things in and do your LOI processing so it does remove a step I guess.

G

Stantours it is...
 

Good answers guys, thanks...

I've been in contact with David for the first time this week and had exactly the experience described by Craig (above). For that, and your comments, I'll give him my Russian visa business.

Cheers

.
Hi Griff,

Can I go back to the Russia visa please...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffdowg http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...s/viewpost.gif
Total cost was about £750 for 2. This was everything including the LOI, bank transfer rates, postage rates to have the LOI retuned to us. Visas, service charges, postage, postal order and return postage.

I would guess, with the charges you would be looking at just shy of £400 for a single visa.

This was for a 12 month multi-entry 'cultural' visa.

bier

G
.
I live in China, and have asked my wife (Chinese) to check the Russia visa services, as well as a whole lot of others bier

Her has told me that the agents in China can do us a double entry visa into Russia for £143 each.
This is 3 (?) months duration, with 30 days stay each time.
Her will double check with the agents on Monday, but this looks like the going price.
All we need to do is secure send our passports to the agent, they take care of everything, and secure return our passports to us.

Did you apply for Mongolia visa, or is Mongolia not on your route?


vette

Note .. there was NEVER a need for an auto tourism visa.

A plain tourist visa or plain business visa is ALWAYS what I use. Every year without fail since 1998. Never had an issue.

.


Hi CB,

That's the exact information reply I got from the visa people.
Tourist or business visa.

Job done.

vette

Just an FYI for the Americans reading this. It is now possible to get a 3 year multiple entry tourist visa. I'm not sure if this will work for other western countries. I should be getting my passport back soon with this visa. I used Rainier World Travel Inc. in Seattle. They got my invitation letter also. Cheers.

different rules for each nationality ... French and Germans can get 5 year business visas. Brits and Australians can only get 1 year business visas.
I have also heard that Americans, as you mentioned, can now get 3 year visas. - tho I heard it was business visas.

Both might be possible? They told me to fill out the forms for Tourist visa. In any case, seems to be a better option then the 6 moth business visa Barton and others had to do a few years back.