Invitation to Russia
Whatever type of Russian visa you need, (with the exception of a transit visa), it will always require a specific visa support document - a visa invitation. This is often called “visa support” or "invitaion letter" and has to be issued by the party inviting you to Russia - tourist company, employing company, educational institution, relative or a friend.
We have to reiterate that the validity and type of the Russian visa should be strictly adhered to. When in Russia, you cannot neither change your visa status (i.e. from tourist to business or from business to educational and vice versa) nor make it valid for longer period (with the exception of emergency). To do that, you have to leave the country and re-apply for a different visa.
Our company can provide you with single or double entry tourist invitation within 24 hours. Our service rate is one of the lowest offered on-line - 18 Euro for single entry Russian tourist visa invitation and 23 Euro for double entry visa invitation.
Order registration in St.Petersburg together with your tourist visa support and save your money! We offer 50% discount for tourist visa support for every client booking accomodation in our hotels - Greenwich, Silver Age and Abat-jour, our Abricot or Friends hostels or our apartments.
| Visa Type | Type of Invitation | Corresponding Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist visa | Tourist Confirmation and Voucher | A Russian travel agency which is properly registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and which also possesses a valid "tour reference" number. Make sure you are dealing with a reliable travel agency which can provide you with your registration once you are in Russia, and which will also provide other support services on your arrival. |
| Business visa | Business Invitation | The local department of the Passport and Visa Service (PVU) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for paper invitations, or the Department of the Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for telexes. The sponsoring organization should be officially registered with the PVU in order to apply for an invitation (according to the new Federal Law from Nov 1, 2002) |
| Private visa | Private Invitation
(the so-called "izveschenie’) | The local department of the Passport and Visa Service (PVU) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, or the OVIR. Allow 4-6 weeks for approval and obtain the original invitation to apply to the Russian Consulate/Embassy. |
| Transit visa | No invitation is required.
Present your travel tickets and visa to the country of destination. | |
| Student Visa | Invitation issued by the "foreign department" of the University | The "foreign department" of the university should take care of all the formalities. It submits the student’s data to the immigration officials and will have a student invitation ready in 7 to 10 days. Then the invitation is sent by post, by fax or by telex directly to the Consulate where a student applies for his/her visa |
It’s worth keeping in mind
• It is always better to ask the Russian consulate whether they accept copies of invitations which have been sent to you by fax or e-mail, or whether they only accept originals. You should specify this to the company or individual who arranges your Russian visa invitation to ensure that your invitation and visa are processed without problems or delays.
• The cost of visa can vary, as well as the processing time. For instance, a tourist invitation costs about $30 US and takes from 1 hour to 1 day to be issued; while a business invitation is more expensive (from about $50), as it requires some fees to be paid to the Russian Interior Ministry and takes longer to issue (as a rule leave 15-30 days).
• Please take note that a letter from your friends or business partners cannot be regarded as official support documentation and is therefore not valid for obtaining a Russian travel visa. The invitation can be issued only by a registered Russian travel agency or by a company or organisation authorized by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
• Choose a trustworthy agency/company/partner to provide you with Russian visa support. Before placing your order, make sure that the agency can be easily contacted and provides its address and valid phone number; has experience of at least several years of work with Russian visas and will be able to provide you with your registration in the city, where you will be staying. It must also be able to help you in exceptional cases.
