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Visa Invitations for a Visa to Russia
It is important to understand that a Visa Invitation is NOT the same as a Visa. In order to obtain a valid Visa to visit Russia, you must first obtain a valid Invitation to visit Russia. Invitations come in a variety of types for the different reasons that people travel to Russia, but the two types that we will deal with are Tourist Visa Invitations and Business Visa Invitations. Once you have obtained your Visa Invitation, you then must apply to your local Russian Embassy or Consulate for your actual Visa - by submitting the appropriate application form and other documents, along with your Visa Invitation.
Tourist Visa Invitations
Tourist Visa Invitations are exactly that, they are issued for people travelling to Russia, ostensibly as Tourists. As they are relatively simple and quick to obtain, not just Tourists will use them, but they have limitations on their use and duration and there are certain procedural requirements that may not suit every visitor. To obtain a Tourist Visa Invitation: (1) you are required to have a return ticket to Russia; (2) your stay cannot be for longer than 30 days; (3) you are only allowed to use it once to enter Russia (please note the one exception below); and (4) you must have hotel accommodation booked for the entire duration of your stay and have a voucher from your hotel to confirm that booked accommodation
But you want to stay in a Best Moscow Apartment Rentals, Moscow apartment and not a hotel?!. That is okay and you can still do that. When you receive your Tourist Visa Invitation, you receive two documents - one is the Tourist Visa Invitation and the other is a hotel voucher (usually for the Arbat Hotel if you use our service). When you apply to your local Russian Embassy or Consulate for your actual Tourist Visa, you will submit both documents (the Invitation and hotel voucher), but when you arrive in Russia you can stay wherever you would prefer. The hotel voucher provided with your Tourist Visa Invitation is just a document provided to comply with the formalities of obtaining your Tourist Visa. Your Tourist Visa Invitation and hotel voucher will be sent to you by email and you only need to print them off and lodge the printed copies when you apply for your Tourist Visa.
(Note: The exception being a double entry Tourist Visa Invitation, which can only be used to get a Double Entry Tourist Visa where you intend going from Russia to another CIS country and then back to Russia before your final departure. Despite what it is called, the Double Entry Tourist Visa does NOT allow you to generally come and go from Russia twice.)
Our price for a 30 day Single Entry Tourist Visa Invitation is US$30. Your order will be processed within 24 hours of receipt.
To order your Tourist Visa Invitation, click here ...
Business Visa Invitation
Business Visa Invitations are generally for people who wish to travel to Russia for business purposes. They cannot be used for working in Russia. The benefit of a Business Visa is that you do not need to have a predetermined schedule and hotel reservations for your trip to Russia. Business Visas vary in length from 1 month to 5 years and they can be from single entry to multiple entry. Apart from the different lengths and amount of entries with a Business Visa, the primary difference between them and a Tourist Visa is the cost and time required to obtain them. The same applies to the Business Visa Invitation - it will cost more and take longer to obtain than a Tourist Visa Invitation. It is often a requirement of the Russian Embassy or Consulate where you obtain a Business Visa, that they will require to have you lodge the original of the Business Visa Invitation with your application, which means the additional cost of having the Business Visa Invitation posted or sent to you by courier from Moscow.
For a schedule of the types of Business Visa Invitations available and their prices, click here ...
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