At the Consulate

Contact the Consulate

It is very difficult to give one instruction for Russian Consulates around the world that is why we recommend you first of all - contact necessary Consulate and get appropriate information.

 

During the contact with Consular officer you should tell him/her: your citizenship and place of permanent residence, type of the visa you are interested in; these details help you to get exact information.

These are the questions you should inquire:
1. Working hours of the Consular section
2. List of the documents are required by Consulate for making visa
3. Which documents must be originals and which can be copies
4. Time frames for visa processing
5. Amount of Consular fee (depending on the process speed) and payment type
    (cash, credit card, check, etc.) which Consulate accepts
6. Possibility to send your documents by mail and what is the standard way to
    do it: postal address, postage class, courier service, etc.
In all cases Consulate requires the following documents:
1. Russian visa invitation (Only original in case of multiple entry visa, also
    preferably to have an original if you get visa not in the country of permanent
    residence and in the ex-Soviet Union countries)
2. Original passport with at least 2 empty pages (passport must be valid for
    6 months after expiry date of your Russian visa)
3. Two Russian visa application forms completed and signed (this form you can
    take in your local Russian Consulate or grab it from the Consular web-site)
4. Two color passport-size photo signed on the back (in different Consulate can
    be from 1 to 3 photos)
5. Paid Consular fee
Please note: Consulate can demand other documents depending on visa type and your citizenship.

	for tourist visa	for business visa
1.	copy of your passport main page
2.	medical insurance
3.	detailed program of your trip (usually in France only and for 1 month-tourist visas)	HIV certificate (for visas issued for more than 90 days and test should be done not earlier than 3 month before the application date)
4.		residence and work permit

The Consul has the right to invite you for a personal interview or denies in getting visa without explanation. But in fact it is only 1% from 100. The Consular fee can be rather different depending on several factors.
1. Type of the visa (tourist visa is cheaper than business)
2. Repetition factor (single entry visa costs less than double, and the most
    expensive is multiple entry)
3. Process speed (you can do the visa in 5 days it is the standard but also
    can get it in the same day for extra charge)
4. Your citizenship
5. Place of getting visa (in some countries the prices are less than in others)
The fee can be from 40 to 600 USD in various states for various visas that is why we suggest you to contact your local Russian Consulate and clear up the situation.  Also it is important to know the type of payment this fee. It can be by cash at the Consulate or by certified check in case of applying through mail.
  After picking up your visa make sure right at the Consulate that all of data are correct. You should check:
- your name and surname
- date of birth
- nationality
- passport number (only figures)
- Sex (ÌÓÆ - male, ÆÅÍ - female)
- Entries (ÎÄÍÎÊÐÀÒÍÀß - single, ÄÂÓÊÐÀÒÍÀß - double,
  ÌÍÎÃÎÊÐÀÒÍÀß - multiple)
- Arrival and departure dates (from, to).
If there are mistakes bring them to the attention of the Consulate staff immediately. They should correct it without problems and with minimal delays.
Please note:
- mistakes in the visa are found while crossing frontier control can entail the problems: fines, delays or refusal to enter to Russian Federation. - together with the visa, the Russian Consulate provides you with an Arrival/Departure Card. This is presented to the passport control authorities when crossing the Russian border. If you have multiple-entry visa make enough copies of this card for all possible border crossings. To avoid the loss of this card, we recommend you staple it into your passport.