24 Days To Go!!!

Less than a month left to go so I figured I would take some time to explain the visa process.

First, you will need a letter of invitation. The letter of invitation confirms to the government that you will have a place to stay and that you have means of support while in Russia. The letter can be acquired through a university, business, hotel or a citizen of Russia can get a homestay invitation for you. There are internet-based tourism groups which will help you get the letter of invitation, but you have to book a hotel first and the visa will only be good for as long as you stay in the hotel.

Second, you will need a visa application and 2 passport photos. The application needs to be typed or printed with perfect handwriting. The application is pretty standard. It requires much of the same information needed to obtain a passport but also employment information, where you attended school, criminal record, if you're a member of the armed forces or if you're trained to use a gun.

Third, if you're planning on staying in Russia for more than 3 weeks, you'll need proof of an HIV test with negative results. With the visa I'm getting (student), I will another test in Russia administered by Russian doctors and I'll probably need another one for the second semester.

After completing the application head on over to an embassy with your letter of invitation, application, photos, passport, negative test results, and money (somewhere around $120-$200 depending on the visa) and complete the process. Likewise, you can mail your materials to a visa service and they will take care of everything for you.

In just 6-7 weeks (normal) or 5 days (panicked, expedited like last year), you will receive your new Russian visa pasted inside your passport ready to go. 

An entirely new process begins once you arrive in Russia. Two main things need to happen – migration card and registration.

The migration card is a two-part sheet of paper, each side identical. One side is kept by immigration when you enter the country and the other side stays with you until you leave. The card itself is pretty easy to fill out. You must keep your migration card as you will need it to leave and it is a rather annoying process to replace it.

Migration Card

The final step is registration. I do not have fond memories of this process from last year. I remember spending a couple hours in a really hot, crowded post office (where patrons have an interesting concept of forming a line), filling out the same form multiple times due to the smallest mistakes. The form must be filled out in ink and it's to the official at the desk's discretion whether they accept it. I hope this year it goes better. Regardless, it's probably best to set aside a few hours for this experience.

While in Russia, you must have your passport, your half of the migration card, and your registration with you at all times. The police are known to do 'random' identification checks and to not have one of these pieces would cause quite the inconvenience.

I'm probably forgetting something in there and the process seems to change frequently. Either way, I find it to be horribly stressful.