HOW TO GET A VISA FOR RUSSIA (ALL OPTIONS)

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Russia has become one of the fashion destinations in recent years, and that visiting it is not so easy. It is worth it that there are low-cost flights that reach one of its two most emblematic cities: Moscow and St. Petersburg, and that accommodation and prices in general are affordable. But at the moment to enter Russia it is necessary to apply for a visa in advance (at least for Spaniards). Here we tell you how to get a visa for Russia for free, and how to do it with agency.

In this case, most countries in South and Central America (except Mexico, Dominican Republic or Haiti) will be exempt from visas for trips of up to 90 days. All the countries that we see in green on the following map will therefore not need to apply for a visa before traveling to Russia. Congratulations!

Spaniards, like many other nationalities (the ones we see in gray) we need to get a visa before traveling to Russia in order to enter the country.

EYE: if your intention is to visit only St. Petersburg, since the end of 2019, a e-visa for the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions (where St. Petersburg is located). Everything is processed online through this website without the need for invitation letters and it's free!

Wikipedia.org

But before getting into flour, you have to know that in order to apply for a visa, one of the documents to provide is an invitation letter. What is the invitation letter to travel to Russia? It is neither more nor less than that: an official invitation to visit Russia. But, if I don't know anyone there, how do I get it? There are two ways:

That the hotel where you are staying will send it to you. Get in touch with the hotels where you plan to stay and ask them about the “visa support letter”. Even some of them have on the website a form with which it is obtained directly, on other occasions they send you the letter by email. This procedure may have an extra cost to the reservation of € 5-10 per letter. It is necessary to have an invitation letter from all hotels and cover the entire stay.
Do it through a specialized agency. It is the easiest way, there are many online agencies that for a price of about € 15-20 make this document. In this case you will only need a letter for the entire trip, so you can go to account if you had to ask several of the hotels.

What information Should you bring this invitation letter?

From applicant: name and surname, date of birth, sex, nationality, passport number, dates of entry and exit of Russia and reason for the trip.
Of the organization: full name, address, name and position of the person signing the application, and tax number and registration number.

Please note that the visa will be issued with the dates shown on the invitation letters (with a limit of 30 days if it is a tourist visa). In that case it will always be better to stay long than short, I explain: if you have invitation letters for a trip from 1 to 15 of the month, you can enter any day after 1, and leave any day before 15. But never get ahead of that date of entry or extend the stay beyond 15.

It is not necessary to buy airline tickets in advance or submit hotel or flight reservations when applying for a visa.

It is a somewhat cumbersome process that, depending on where you are, you can do it yourself. Let's see step by step how to do it:

1. Where to do the procedure

The first thing you will have to do is inform yourself of what is Russia's diplomatic mission in the country where you are (embassy and / or consulates). In the case of Spain, a few years ago it could be done in one of the two consulates:

Consulate of Russia in Barcelona. 34 Pearson Avenue. Tlf: 93 280 54 32
Russian consulates in Madrid. C / Velázquez, 155. Tlf: 91 562 22 64

But since 2011 the Russian Federation itself has delegated this procedure to the official agency Russian Visa Center, the only one for the Russian visa application (the rest of private agencies work with it). The objective is to expedite the processing of visas from Spain (although now the price is somewhat higher).

They have an office in both Madrid and Barcelona, but the courier delivery option is also available (extra cost of € 40).

2. Documentation to contribute

These are the documents that you will have to deliver in person or send by courier:

Original passport, valid for 6 months from the date of departure from Russia, which is in perfect condition and with at least two adjacent faces without seals.
Letter of Invitation officer of a Russian agency (hotel or through agency).
Application form of the Russian consulate. You will have to do it online and print it. You must have exactly the same information as the invitation letter (check it well because an error in the data is fatal for your visa to be processed).
A Photo in color and card size attached to the form. Without glasses (if you do not carry them in your passport) or part of your face covered (throw your bangs back!), It is recent and of good quality (no shabby photocopies).
Copy of the policy of safe and travel hired. This information must appear: expiration date (after the day of departure from Russia), written that the coverage is for Russia or Worldwide, and personal data. How to choose the best travel insurance (with discount).
Copy of proof of payment Through transfer. If the procedure is done in the office itself, you can pay by card right there at the time of delivering the documentation.

For those who process it in the office of Madrid, they will also need these two documents (which you can find on their website and download):

Create a delivery note with the request information.
Sign and present the data processing consent personal

For requests in BarcelonaYou also have to present this document:

Stuffed sheet of I received + consent of data processing. Here you can download it.

On the other hand, It is not necessary you buy or present flight reservations of entry or exit.

3. Payment

If you choose the option to send the documentation by courier, you will have to make the payment in advance. It is done through transfer bank, in the account number indicated on each of the two websites. You must include proof of transfer along with the rest of the documentation.

If you do it in person, you may have made the transfer in advance or pay by card at the office at the time of delivery of the documentation. You can never pay in cash.

4. Rates

The price of ordinary processing is 58€, while urgent processing costs 113€. To which we must add 40€ by the courier (€ 20 for each trip).

5. Deadlines

With everything already done, the process should not last longer than 10 business days for ordinary people, and 3 working days For the urgent. To which we must add two days of messenger (one way and one back).

Unable to go to either of the two cities to do the paperwork in person, we decided on an online agency specializing in the processing of Russian visas and invitation letters. There are enough (just do a quick search on Google), but we did it with todorusia.es, who complete the complete procedures for visas (from Russia and other countries such as China or India) and also the invitation letters. It is one of the companies that works with dozens of visa agencies in Spain, as well as individuals. We thought they work very seriously and keep you informed by e-mail of the steps they take.

This is how we did it:

Enter your website and choose the kind of Procedure (They have different visas with one or several entries, for longer, normal and urgent work stays, with an invitation letter and insurance, etc ...).
You do the order, putting your information and you do the payment by bank transfer to the account indicated and with the reference generated.
You send a e-mail to “[email protected]” with proof of payment and passport delivery by messenger is agreed
The passport is delivered to delivery courier on date and place agreed.
After a period of 10 to 12 days, the visa passport already glued
Prices range from 90€ for the normal tourist visa to 127€ With invitation letter and insurance. There are other prices for urgent procedures (three days at the Consulate).

The interesting thing about this option is that these types of specialized agencies are experts in these procedures and are well aware of the requirements they put in the Visa Central of Russia, where they all do. We believe that, like us, you don't have the possibility to do it in person, it's the best option.

And you will have your long-awaited visa to travel to Russia in your passport! It's pretty, and with an extra gift: you'll know how to spell your name in Cyrillic!

These are the options you have to apply for a visa for Russia. We hope that it has been clear and we answer the big question before the trip of “¿how to get a visa for Russia?”