VISA SUPPORT

To enter Russia, citizens of all states other than CIS countries must purchase a visa. This can't be done at the port of entry, but rather only in a Consulate of Russia in your country.
Upon arriving in Russia a tourist must have the visa registered with the local Visa Department (OVIR).
Visa application must be supported by an authorized Russian hosting company.
GOOD NEWS: we can help and make the often confusing procedure simple for you! Our Full Visa Support and Registration Service costs $40.
Follow these steps:
1. Download a consular visa questionnaire form (in .pdf format) from here: visa application.
  Or call the nearest Russian Consulate in your country (click here for addresses and phone numbers of Consulates of the Russian Federation) and ask them to send you the questionnaire (separate one per each visitor).
2. Fill out and submit to us Visa Support request form on this site.
3. The same or the next business day you will receive from us by fax a visa support letter. 1-2 days later Russian consulate in your country will receive advance visa approval cable from the Visa Department of the Russian Ministry of Interior.
4. Fill out one consular questionnaire per each applying person and send (or hand deliver) it to the Russian consulate.
5. Along with the questionnaire send (1 set per each person):
6. Photocopy of the passport front page (and any other pages, that may contain personal data of the bearer – legal name change, corrections, etc.). The original size copy must be stapled to the upper left-hand corner of the questionnaire form.
7. Three identical passport size pictures of the applicant. Attach (staple) 2 pictures to the passport copy page, and the 3rd one to the marked space in the upper right-hand corner of the application form.
8. The visa support letter you received from us (you don't have to make copies, just 1 original letter for the group of travelers is fine).
9. Medical insurance valid in Russia for the whole duration of your visit (EU, Estonia and Israel citizens only!).
10. If you're applying by mail, you have to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope, or a prepaid waybill bearing your postal account number and indicating yourself as both shipper and recipient, regardless of delivery address. Russian consulate WILL NOT ACCEPT waybills marked "bill sender", "bill third party", "bill credit card", or "C.O.D".
11. A order or a certified check payable to the Russian Embassy for visas processing
  (NO CASH or NON-CERTIFIED PERSONAL CHECKS!)
  - Upon arrival to your destination in Russia, you must register your visa with the local Visa Department (OVIR) within 72 hours.
    MORE GOOD NEWS: we'll do it for you at no additional charge.
IMPORTANT:
In case you decide not to use our Visa Support service, but rather purchase your visa from a travel agency in your country, make sure they give you all contact information of the Russian travel agency, that supported your visa application. To register your visa with the local Visa Department in Russia, you will need to provide a cover letter from this Russian travel agency. Some of our guests, who came on a visa they purchased from a US travel agency, experienced problems locating their supposed supporting Russian agency, and effectively spent almost their entire time in Russia working out the problem with the Visa Department.
Registration stamp on your visa is a must when you leave Russia. If you fail to register your visa, you will be fined at the port of departure. The amount of fine is determined obituary and often ends up quite sensitive, not to mention time and hassle – you can even miss your flight!
We can provide visa support also to those, who are not planning to stay at our apartments. Just fill out the VISA SUPPORT AND REGISTRATION request form and don't forget to contact us about the visa registration when you arrive in St.-Petersburg.
Make sure to do entire filling out and stapling on your consular visa application very carefully! During a high season, when consulates are overloaded with visa applications, even a minor failure to obey these rules may serve the reason for your application to go directly to the waste busket.
After you receive your visa, make sure to check all information in it (names, passport number, date of birth, entry/exit dates) and, if necessary, return it to the Consulate for corrections. The Consulate will not admit responsibility for any mistake in your visa, which was discovered and brought to the Consulate attention after your departure for Russia.
If you wish to amend entry/exit dates on your visa, you will need to receive a new visa support letter from us, and to submit it along with the visa to the Consulate. The consular charge for this service is $40.00, we do our part for free.
Please, note, that schedule of consular fees and other guidelines may vary from consulate to consulate. For example, we were told that the Russian Consulate in Stockholm, Sweden does not accept applications delivered in mail, but rather only in person or by a courier.
All information above is correct to the best of our knowledge in regard to the Consulate General of Russia in New York, NY as of November 2002. Call the Russian Consulate closest to you for updated regulations and schedule of fees.
Addresses and phone numbers of Consulates of the Russian Federation >>>