In and Out of Russia,best visa and total cost
Replies: 2 - Last Post: Jun 28, 2012 4:17 AM Last Post By: everbrite
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In and Out of Russia,best visa and total cost
In and Out of Russia, best visa and total costI want to enter Russia from Mongolia, about August 15, 2012, and go to Irkutsk Russia. Then travel West on the trans-Siberian Railroad most of the time an exit from St. Petersburg about October 1, 2012, I would also like to stop off at 2 countries, Kazakhstan and Kiev, for five days each, along the way and, be in Russia roughly 45 days.
Questions 1-- can I travel as I please, as a single person or will I have to go around Russia as sort of a single person group tour, with a pre-determined plan before I enter Russia- or can I set my own pace and not be tied down to any pre-determined plan except the beginning entry date about August 15, 2012 and ending exit date about Oct 10 2012?
Question 2- assuming about 45 days in Russia, and going out 2 times, to Kazakhstan and Kiev, while traveling from entry to exit in Russia --- what is the best visa to get and what are the total costs?
1
You can travel freely around Russia without a fixed itinerary.What do you mean by going out two times? Will you be entering Russia two times or three times? If you will be entering Russia two times, the best visa would be a 3-month double-entry business visa. If you want to enter Russia three times then you will need a 6-month multiple entry business visa or a 1-year multiple-entry business visa.
Costs vary depending on your nationality and how quickly you want your visa to be processed. If you get an invitation prepared over 17 working days then a visa over 5 working days and go to the embassy yourself it can be as low as $230 (what I pay as a Brit) for a 3 month double entry visa + invitation). If you want it all rushed and you want to do it all through an agency then it can be up to $700 for the same visa and invitation.
It also depends on where you apply for your visa as a lot of embassies only offer same day or next day visa processing, which for me as a Brit automatically raises the cost of my visa by $175
2
Whenever you ask visa questions, it is imperative that you indicate your passport and where you are hoping to apply. Cost is absolutely impossible to provide without this information.I would also like to stop off at 2 countries, Kazakhstan and Kiev, for five days each, along the way and, be in Russia roughly 45 days.
Neither of these countries is on the way and getting to both will be a detour. Going to both will complicate your travel plans and significantly increase the cost of your visa. Is there some reason that you must exit Russia near St. Petersburg? It would make much more sense to visit Petersburg while in Russia and exit through Ukraine. If you really want to head back north, get a Belarus transit visa and then take a train from Kyiv to Vilnius (train takes 17.5+ hours and requires 1-2 connections compared to Kyiv to Moscow which is 13.5+ hours) assuming about 45 days in Russia, and going out 2 times, to Kazakhstan and Kiev, while traveling from entry to exit in Russia --- what is the best visa to get and what are the total costs?
If you enter Russia on three occasions, then you would need a 6 month multiple entry business visa. Doesn't really matter the length of stay in Russia as long as the total is under 90 days. The issue is the number of entries. The official invitation necessary for this type of visa is pretty expensive. The cost of the visa is expensive. If you have a US passport then visa cost is the same and this type of visa would make sense and the route through Belarus suggested above would make no sense because of the cost of a Belarus transit visa.BTW 5 days in Kazakhstan makes absolutely no little sense unless you plan to fly to one city. It takes 60 hours by train from Moscow to Astana and ~77 hours by train from Moscow to Almaty. Rethink this part of your plan.
Even a 5 day trip to Ukraine makes little to no sense unless you only plan to visit city as train takes 13.5 plus hours on the fast overnight train just to Kyiv which is probably the closest city to Moscow that would be of potential interest.
But you know all this because I have answered your questions about visas twice previously: here and here. But please, feel free to ask again and get the same information again.
Ruth
