Russian Visa questions

[tdew]

Hi,

When in Helsinki, a possible short visit by train to St. Petersburg would be very interesting, but the whole question of a Russian Visa appears to be very complex.

This is what I think I've learned:
Evidently you need an invitation to visit before you can apply for a visa.
The invitations are issued by a hotel that you've booked a room with.
Even after all that, it's possible that the visa will be refused.

Does anyone have experience in this area?

Terry

[nobody122]

Yes the VISA process is hard, but if you book with a relatively large hotel chain, Mariott, Hyatt, Hilton, ect the odds of getting your VISA rejected is almost 0%. Russia is a unique country that is generally misunderstood. One thing that you should know of--you made a good choice by train (or flying) because you can't really drive in Russia without a HUGE hassle of permits and everything.

[Eileen Sellers]

http://www.cibt.com/cibt2005/home.aspx?Login=60010


I've posted a link for info. Hope it helps you. Please feel free to contact me
for information.



Regards,
Eileen Sellers

[tdew]

Hi Eileen,

We've given up the idea of visiting St. Petersburg.
For this trip we'll have to be content with seeing a little of Helsinki.
There's too much already on our schedule to fit it in.
If there was a way to just zip into Russia and then back out again the same day it might have worked.

By the way, I DID try to contact you by email this morning, but didn't hear back.
I used the email address that's listed here on Tripso - is that a good one?
Terry