Russian visa from Dushanbe

The consulate processes visas, not the embassy.

It would help to know your passport. Some passport holders are required to show proof of health insurance that is valid in Russia. There is a list of some of these countries on my website. See link below.

Ruth

Thanks, and sorry for the delayed response! Apparently the old consulate was shut down anyway and relocated adjacent to the embassy (or perhaps I was misinformed in the first place - always hard to tell here).

After an hour of frustration trying to find an internet cafe fast enough to print the forms, I successfully dropped everything off at the consulate yesterday and should get the visa next week. I think this may have been one of those rare cases where the language barrier worked in my favor - they tried to give me some BS about requiring the original LOI (rather than a scanned copy, as my husband had been told over the phone) so they could head home for the night, but eventually realized it would take longer to communicate that excuse than to just file the darn thing.

I'm an American, for whatever that's worth, although a legal resident of Tajikistan (where I'm conducting PhD research). Frankly, that's a technicality that seems irrelevant in countries like this where almost everyone needs to register with OVIR, though...

On a related note, an American friend is travelling with us and trying to get her visa from Paris, where she is currently on a student visa (also for PhD research). The French government apparently doesn't require a residency card for students, at least not for her length of stay; however, do you think that the Russian consulate in Paris will entertain her visa application under the circumstances? If not, would you advise sucking it up and dealing with two bureaucracies to get the residency card and then apply for the visa in person, or should she FedEx it back to the US via a service? Our trip is in 5 weeks, and she is planning to go to the UK on December 1.

It is hard to say whether the consulate in Paris will process the application from a US passport holder in France for less than 90 days. I don't think she would be able to get a residency card for less than 90 days either. This may present a problem. The only way around it that I can imagine is to apply for a business visa. It would appear that business visas are easier to obtain away from the country of your passport or official residence.

You are correct in thinking that the other alternative is to apply in the US. Since they don't accept applications by mail, one must use a service in the US.

Ruth

Edited by: everbrite

Don't know if this helps anyone, but for a decent internet connection there's an Internet café on Rudaki, on the far corner on the lefthand side, 2-3 blocks northwest of Hotel Dushanbe/Poytaht. There's a small sign outside and it's located on the third floor. The guy working there at the time I visited spoke some English.

I was there in September -10.

Edit; Actually I can't say for sure how many blocks it is from the hotel, but it's definitely not a long walk (~3-5 mins) and for me the connection speed was quite a surprise. Uploaded tons of pics (using my laptop) and paid only a few TJS.

Edited by: fetzky