Payment
I would like to use your services but at the moment I can’t pay with my credit card. Can I use someone else’s credit card?
For security reasons, we prefer that our customers pay with their own credit cards. You may also pay with a credit card of your co-traveler – a person you are traveling with. If both options are not available, we may offer that you pay through bank transfer (please ask your order manager to send you our bank transfer form).
I want to pay by bank transfer. Please advise the best way.
If you would like to pay by bank transfer, please contact us and we will send you an invoice with our bank details. Your order manager will advise the terms of payment.
Can I pay by credit card for the balance of your services when I arrive in Russia?
For tours, cruises, hotels, tickets and visas we require 100% prepayment before arriving in Russia.
Visas
We can send you a visa invitation (sometimes called a voucher) – the main document that you need to apply for a Russian visa. The invitation is needed when you submit your visa application forms to the Russian Consulate in your country. For the application forms, see the visa section of our site where you can download them and learn more about the process of applying. You can either mail in the forms to a Full Visa Service Company or visit the Consulate in person. We can issue the visa invitation during 1-2 working days. If you need your visa invitation urgently, we can issue and send it to you on the same day. We usually send scanned versions of the invitations by email. Sometimes, Consulates in certain countries require the original invitation. In this case, we can mail you the original by Federal Express. Please check with the Consulate to know if you need the original. Postage is an extra charge.
Usually the documents consist of: your original passport, 1-2 passport photos, 1-2 Russian visa application forms, an HIV test if you are applying for a business visa (tourist visa applications do not require this) and the visa invitation (voucher) – this is the document that we can supply you with. However, to be 100% sure of what documents are required at specific Consulates, we suggest that you contact the Consulates directly.
Yes, you can make an order on our website in advance. Our tourist visa invitation will be valid for more than 6 months (with business invitations, we can only issue you a visa within 45 days of your planned arrival in Russia). But it is important that you actually apply to the Consulate within 4 months of your arrival in Russia – for example, trying to apply at the Consulate 6 months in advance is usually a problem.
If you are applying in the country of your citizenship, the invitation copy will be enough in most cases, but please check with the Consulate first as they might have slightly different rules by region.
In accordance with the agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on the simplification of visa formalities for nationals of the Russian Federation and the United States effective September 9, 2012, US citizens shall as a rule be issued multiple-entry business, private, humanitarian and tourist visas for a stay of no more than 6 months starting from the date of each entry. The visas shall be valid for three years (36 months) from the date of issue of the visa.
It is only possible to apply for a Russian visa in the country of your citizenship or in the country where you have a residency permit valid for longer than 90 days. Therefore, if you are planning a long journey, you should always apply for the Russian visa before you leave. Applying in a different country may cause problems, for example, the original invitation might be required. We always recommend contacting the Consulate first to confirm if you are allowed to apply there and obtain the list of specific documents you will need to submit your application.
All foreigners staying in Russia for more than 7 working days, excluding holidays and weekends, must have their Russian visas registered for the entire period of their stay. You must register on the day of your arrival or you may be required to pay fines or may experience trouble when leaving the country. If you are staying in a hotel, the hotel will register your visa.
No, you need to register only if you are staying in Russia for more than 7 business days.
The confirmation number is the number of your voucher (invitation), you can find in on the top of the document.
The invitation that we send to you is comprised of a tourist voucher and a reservation confirmation (all in one document). This document can only be issued by a Russian travel agency registered with Rosturism (the Federal Tourism Agency). This satisfies the requirements of the Russian Consulate.
Once you have received your Russian Visa, no cities are stated there, so you can travel almost anywhere in Russia, except to restricted areas (closed cities and regions)
Unfortunately, we do not issue visa invitations to citizens of certain countries. Please check the list under the price table.
This option is available for USA citizens only. If you are traveling for tourism or if you do not want to receive a business or private visa, you can still receive a standard tourist invitation letter (up to 30 days) and then use this to apply for a long-term 36-month tourist visa. Please check with the Russian Consulate in the USA for more information.
According to Russian law, a hotel reservation for the entire period of your stay is required for a tourist visa, so we recommend that you to have a real hotel booking when you order your visa invitation and apply for the visa. Once you obtain your Russian Visa you can stay elsewhere.
Please note that we always send an invitation within the requested period. If you have not received the email, please check your spam folder and contact us by chat, email or phone.