Russian Visas

How to get a Russian Visa for educational and research visits. 

(This information is up-to-date for October 2008, but fees and some other details can change abruptly. The principles of the method will continue to apply.)

You have two choices – a visa obtained with an official invitation for the institute/university where you will be studying or a visa obtained through a commercial firm.

(1) Commercial visas. There are several websites of companies that have working arrangements with the Russian Consulate. I recommend   RealRussia.co.uk  They are extremely helpful and do what they say they will. However, even  for a commercial visa, unless you want to pay over the odds, you need at least three weeks  to be sure of getting one at the cheapest price (around £105 + special delivery postage). Cheaper for 'Schengen countries' citizens. For multiple-entry visas or ones obtained within a day or two you will need to pay much more. Don't forget that they do not start the process until they have been paid, so if you are paying by cheque, allow another couple of days. It's possible to pay online.

(2) Official visas. These are cheaper, and they ensure that you are the responsibility of the institute that you are attending; but they are a hassle. Start doing something about it at least three months before you want to go to Russia.

(i) In order to get a non-commercial visa in this country, you need an official invitation. So you must identify and keep in contact with the person responsible for arranging  invitations in the Russian institute where you are going. Usually this is the International Officer. Make sure that your emails reach him/her.

(ii) Send him the following information and make sure that the information (e.g. where you were born) corresponds with what is written in your passport. N.B. You must have a valid passport for a minimum of six months after the date of your departure from Russia.

Full name; Nationality; Date and Place of Birth; Passport No.; Date of issue and expiry; Issuing authority and place of issue.

Home Address and Home telephone

Work address, and work telephone  If you are not at work give a brief note of the circumstances (e.g. student + address).

You must also send him  a scanned page or faxed photocopy of the main page of your passport – i.e. the one with a photo.

And you must give him the dates when you want to come. You can give an earlier 'arrival date' and a later 'departure date' so that your actual visit fits inside these dates. But if you want to go for longer than sixth months, other regulations apply.

(iii) It will take the International Officer  ONE MONTH to get an official invitation. At present, it does not seem possible to get an invitation more quickly for a UK citizen though it can sometimes be easier for citizens of other countries.

Make sure (politely) that the International Officer (or other)  is requesting your invitation at OVIR (Ministry of the Interior office) – you don't want your application to get lost.

(iv) When the official invitation arrives at the International Officer's office it can be (a) posted to you – that can take weeks; (b) sent by special delivery – which is very expensive; (c) brought to you by someone who is coming to England from that Institute. Scanned copies of the invitation are usually not acceptable.

(v) Once you have your invitation, go online to www.rusemblon.org

The consular section.

Go to visas. You will need a business visa.

Complete the application form

You need to fill in everything.

When complete you will be able to print it out, following the instructions.

Print out and SIGN!

You will also need a photo glued in the proper place on the application form,

                               the invitation

                               a letter from your college or department.

                              A note attached to the letter with a contact number for yourself so that they can contact you if there are difficulties.

                               Postal order to the value they ask for  (currently £45 for a single entry)

                               Special delivery envelope addressed to yourself.

                               AND YOUR PASSPORT

Check and put everything in a Special Delivery Envelope.

Now you can post it to the address given on the website (the Russian Consulate in London)

OR you can send it to the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh. They are more helpful and accessible, and I have had a long relationship with them. But there's a catch. You have to remember to ask the International Officer to ask OVIR to put a special number in the invitation which allows it to be processed in Edinburgh. Otherwise they may regretfully reject it.

If you remember to do that, you then send the documents and passport to:

The Russian Consulate

       58 Melville Street

        Edinburgh EH3 7HF

There must be at least one full blank page for them to stick the visa into your passport.

Then you wait for two-three weeks with your fingers crossed.

[If you think this is a bureaucratic nightmare, you should remember that the British Embassy in Moscow makes it much more difficult and expensive for Russians.]

contact karen.hewitt@conted.ox.ac.uk for details