Do I Need a Russian Visa Invitation?
Foreign citizens who wish to visit Russia, a destination famous for its rich cultural and historical heritage, will need a Russian visa and Russian visa invitation letter, to enter the country.
To apply for this visa, you must possess an invitation letter for visa.
If you are a citizen of a country with which the Russian Federation has a visa-free entry agreement, you do not need a Russian invitation letter for visa.
Russian Embassies and Consulates issue different visas that allow you to stay in Russia for a particular duration.
The important document covers the essential travel information like your entry and exit dates, your photo (sometimes), and other passport details.
Invitation Letter for Visa is the pre-requisite for getting a Russian visa.
A Russian organization with accreditation in the Ministry of Foreign affairs and a special reference number authorized to issue an invitation letter for visa.
How Russia Visa Voucher Differs from Invitation?
Many can get confused with terms such as visa voucher,
tourist support, immigration invitation letter, and invitation letter. No worries.
There is absolutely no difference between these as they are different names given to the same mandatory document, visa invitation letter.
YourRus provides reliable and hassle-free invitation letter for visa service at amazingly reasonable rates.
Categories Visa Invitation
The duration and purpose of your stay determine the kind of invitation that fulfills your requirement.
Your intentions to make multiple entries during the period that your visa is valid is another factor in selecting the visa type.
Here is the description that will provide you with essential guidance regarding applying for different types of visa invitations.
Tourist Visa Invitation
A tourist visa invitation letter is the one you can get most easily, both in terms of procedure and finances.
The single-entry invitation allows you to stay in Russia for a specific period of up 30 days. You will have to submit the visa support documents to Russian Consular Departments,
including faxed or scanned copies of Tourist Confirmation and Tourist Voucher.
Some nationalities and some departments may demand the original document.
The visa cost varies depending on which country the tourist belongs to and the migration risk factor.
Get Visa support online at Your Rus here.
Migration Risk Countries
You may be required to pay more if you belong to a land categorized as a migration risk country.
The factors determining this migration risk element are the poor economy, weak government, and unstable peace conditions.
Visit the Consulate Russian Federation Portal to check the migration risk countries list.
The list is regularly modified as per the changing world conditions.
The visitors from migration risk countries go through
many checks and interview with the inviting party and the applicants to obtain invitations for the application of visas.
Moreover, if they desire to obtain a multiple entry visa, they have to show the previous visas.
Private Visa Invitation
For the visitors who desire to visit their family or friends,
the private visa invitation allows the travelers to stay for a maximum of 90 days with a private visa.
You can get this invitation to Russia privately and not necessarily through any agency.
The Russian Foreign Ministry or its local representatives like migration service issues the official invitation for the private visa.
You will need the original invitation to apply for a private visa.
Business Visa Invitation
This business visa invitation makes you eligible for a valid business visa for three months, six months, or even one year.
The business visa gives you the option to make single, double, or multiple entries.
During this period, you can do your business in Russia yet not be granted the freedom to do a full-time job.
It is the duty of licensed employers to provide you with a work visa if you want to work full-time.
A visitor with a business visa can stay in Russia for a maximum of 90 days in each six-month duration.
Usually, you will be required to present the original invitation for a Business Visa,
and required information must be presented to the nearest Russian Embassy or Consulate.
Get business Visa support online at YourRus here.
Transit Visa Invitation letter
The Transit Visa is applicable when a visitor traveling to a distant destination needs a stopover in Russian Federation.
You do not need to possess a Russian Visa for your transit flight if your stay in Russia will be less than 24 hours,
and you do not intend to leave the airport transit area.
If the stay is more than 24 hours, you will need a Transit Visa (and a visa invitation letter),
which is normally valid for up to three days when traveling by air.
It will be for 10 days in case you are traveling by train.
Student Visa Invitation letter
As the name indicates, a student visa is meant for students who aspire to pursue their education in top Russian universities or for a student exchange program.
Russian student visa invitation letter is an official proof of your purpose of staying in Russia as an international student, provided by an educational institute.
You can easily extend your visa duration as per your course requirement while staying in Russia.
Also, you do not even need to make an exit and re-entry.
In fact, your institute takes the responsibility to provide you with the Russian visa invitation letter
to facilitate your visa extension procedure.
Can You Travel to Russia Visa-Free?
As you know, a visa is mandatory for entry into most countries on the globe.
The same is the case with the Russian Federation.
However, citizens from some specific countries are spared from such compulsion.
These are the countries that have established a visa-free entry agreement with the Russian Federation.
And, remember that citizens of these countries still need a valid passport for at least six months after the date of their expected exit and may need other official documents.
Getting registered with the Federation Migration Service upon their arrival is also mandatory.
These visa-free countries are divided into four groups due to certain terms and conditions depending on the duration of stay.
1. Group 1:
This group includes the Commonwealth of Independent States citizens, allowing them a visa-free stay of 90 days.
The countries are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova,
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine.
2. Group 2:
The citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Israel, Venezuela, Peru,
Dominicans can stay in Russia for about 90 days in each six-month period.
However, they do not have permission to involve themselves in any business or commercial events.
3. Group 3:
The citizens of Montenegro, Cuba, Hong Kong, Serbia, Thailand can enjoy a visa-free stay of 30 days without being allowed to do any work or business.
4. Group 4:
The citizens of the Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia,
Also, Croatia can get the facility of a 30-day visa-free entry into Russia provided they show tourist documents to immigration officials.
*If you are traveling on a cruise ship or ferries from Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki, you can travel visa-free to Saint Petersburg,
the Russian port city on the Baltic Sea, for three days. But you will need to have an authorized tour guide and must be sleeping on the ship.
How to Get the Migration Card?
After you have entered the Russian Federation, the first thing to do is fill the migration card in which you may need to mention your visa information.
The migration card must be presented to the host party that provided you with the invitation letter for visa.
Then, the host can be either be a hotel or the owner of a private residence.
It is then their duty to get you registered with the migration record.
The host party is also responsible for submitting the notice of your entry to the local representative of the Federal Migration Service within seven days.
Do You Need to Register Visa?
It is mandatory for all the visitors staying in Russia to register with the Federal Migration Service within seven days of their entry.
Then, as described earlier, the host party (hotel, private accommodation owner, agency) completes the registration procedure for you.
All you have to do is deliver them your passport and migration card, and they will take care of the registration process. If it is a business visa, your employer company will manage it.
For a Russian private visa, the Russian host will be responsible for registration. Registration can be finalized at any post office or regional branches of the Federal Migration Service.
And if, for any reason, your host party does not cooperate with you in the registration process.
You can consult agencies that do it for you for some fee.