Do you think getting a Russian Visa is difficult?

Aby The Liberal · #1 (**permalink**) 07-02-2007, 09:23 AM

Being a passport holder and national, I have never had Visa issues going back to Russia from where I reside. But I have come across many, both among my friends and colleagues who face problems getting a Visa particularly the need for sponsors and the long waiting period. Do you think the Visa for Russia is too cumbersome and should be eased? I still find it surprising that more than 16 years after the disintegration of USSR people still have to undergo such hassles in getting a travel permit to Russia.

BZM · #2 (**permalink**) 07-02-2007, 07:51 PM

Personally, I have never felt obtaining the visa was the difficult part. The much harder part is the visa registration if you are not staying in a hotel. The requirement for a sponsor can easily be met by using a visa service. Such services do not charge much and it certainly makes things easier. I do think that the process for registration should be dropped or simplified, but that is highly unlikely considering that the US State Department not long ago openly admitted trying to interfere with Russian internal affairs.

By the way, many Russians also complain of the short periods that they receive visas for when coming to the United States. For example, I know Ukrainians who have received 10 year multiple entry visas, which is much longer than a Russian can receive one.

However, the US Embassy says that it is due to Russia only giving one year visas to US citizens for business purposes and only 30 days for tourism.

Quote:

(03.03.06) Dear Ambassador Burns, how soon it will be possible that Russian citizens may be issued visas for 5 years like citizens of many other countries?

Answer: The United States, like many countries, pursues a policy of reciprocity when it comes to the granting of visas. That is to say, as a general rule, we issue visas to citizens of another country that are valid for the same amount of time as the visas that country issues to citizens of the United States. As Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Harty recently said while visiting Moscow to hold talks with her counterparts, the United States is quite prepared to move from where we are now towards a five-year validity visa for Russian citizens, but this will depend on Russia moving beyond the one-year maximum that the Russian government normally issues for American citizens.