Museums
Food
Planning the Trip
Visas and Invitations
Airline and Accomodations
Our Arrival and the Apartment
Transportation
Miscellaneous
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St. Petersburg - Visas and Invitations |  |
Many thanks to Tell The Truth Traveler Bob93_2 for this write-up of his trip!
Visa Application Forms
You must obtain an application form for a visa, one form per person. The form is in Russian and English. To get the latest you should contact a Russian Embassy or Consulate or a travel agent who deals with them.Visas and Invitations
Visas: We found that a visa is required to enter and LEAVE Russia. When you plan your trip you must know the exact arrival and departure dates and these will be on your visa. If you arrive before the visa says you should you probably will not be able to enter Russia (or leave the airport). If you try to leave Russia after your visa departure date you may be subject to fines or at least a big hassle at the airport. It is much easier to make your dates firm, there apparently is no wiggle room on this. Our visas cost $105 per person.Invitations - Staying at a hotel: To get a visa you must have an invitation! Most hotels will issue you an invitation when you make a reservation so you can apply for a visa. You must have your letter of invitation before you can get your visa. The hotel may charge you anywhere from nothing to $25 for an invitation.
Invitations - Staying at an apartment: The apartment agencies we contacted did not offer an invitation letter but they did instruct us to use the Russian Visa Service to get an invitation. An invitation letter costs $29 per person and they will either e-mail it to you or Fax it to you. This company only accepts credit card as payment. You must have one for each person in your party. We dealt with the very helpful Tatiana.
To the Russian Embassy or Consulate: These documents (application form, invitation, 3 photos, and payment) must then be sent to the Russian Embassy or Russian Consulate to obtain a visa.
Important: When you get your passports back with the visas you will also receive an ‘ARRIVAL’ AND ‘DEPARTURE’ FORM - MAKE CERTAIN YOU HAVE THIS DOCUMENT AT ALL TIMES IN RUSSIA. YOU WILL NEED IT WHEN YOU ENTER RUSSIA AND WHEN YOU LEAVE! DO NOT LOSE IT.
Once you get to Russia you will have to register your visa within 72 hours. A hotel will probably handle this for you. If staying at an apartment, the apartment agent will probably handle this for you for a charge (ours was $24/person).
You have to plan your arrival and departure dates quite carefully.