Visa Russia - some questions

im planning an individual trans-siberian railway trip in
august/september. i would need information about visa and especially
registration of the visa in russia.
is it necessary to register the visa only one time or must it be
registered in every new city one arrives? i`ve searched the internet
about this and received lots of different answers, so im very
confused.

is there anybody (best if EU-citizen) who has recently travelled
(individually) through russia and who can tell me about dealing with
all this registration stuff in practice?

i`m planning not only to stay in hotels who can do the registration
but also in appartements and in private homes. what about registering
there?

would be very glad if someone with russia experience could help me.

thx in advance
t.

tom wrote:
: i would need information about visa and especially
: registration of the visa in russia.

: i`ve searched the internet
: about this and received lots of different answers, so im very
: confused.

Second-hand experiences might not be bad, but you should really consider
first-hand experience first. So go and ask the Russian embassy in your
country and the foreign ministry of your country.

Regards,
soenk.e

--
Germany sucks.

tom schrieb:

im planning an individual trans-siberian railway trip in
august/september. i would need information about visa and especially
registration of the visa in russia.
is it necessary to register the visa only one time or must it be
registered in every new city one arrives? i`ve searched the internet
about this and received lots of different answers, so im very
confused.

is there anybody (best if EU-citizen) who has recently travelled
(individually) through russia and who can tell me about dealing with
all this registration stuff in practice?

This is information not up to date (my last trip was in '96) however
back then, the visa did indeed get a registration stamp everwhere I
stayed. I use the passive form, because I did not register myself, the
hotels did this. On one trip, I stayed in so many different hotels they
had to glue an extra piece of paper on the end of the visa so they could
stamp it.
Are you really contemplating doing the registration yourself? There
were some threads about this in the past, the general opinion was- don't
even think about it.

T.



i`m planning not only to stay in hotels who can do the registration
but also in appartements and in private homes. what about registering
there?

would be very glad if someone with russia experience could help me.

thx in advance
t.

(tom) wrote in message . com...
im planning an individual trans-siberian railway trip in
august/september. i would need information about visa and especially
registration of the visa in russia.
is it necessary to register the visa only one time or must it be
registered in every new city one arrives? i`ve searched the internet
about this and received lots of different answers, so im very
confused.

I am not sure myself and in any case you should check out this issue
at the Russian Embassy in your homecountry.

is there anybody (best if EU-citizen) who has recently travelled
(individually) through russia and who can tell me about dealing with
all this registration stuff in practice?

Let the hotel or your hostfamily do the registration for you. If they
charge you for the service, still let them do it for you. Formally you
have to book all accomandation before you apply for a visa, if
traveling on a tourist visa. Some pople state that in practice you
don't have to stick to this prebooking, but if you want to book your
accomondation as you go, you should get an business visa that gives
you the formal right to do that.

On your questions I assume you don't have much experience with
traveling in Russia. You should be aware of that it can be very
complicated to travel alone outside the big cities if you don't speak
Russian. It can even be complicated to book accomandation in rural
areas. Do you speak Russian? Do you have a travel agency to book your
accomondation?

best regards,

Jan

(tom) wrote in message . com...
im planning an individual trans-siberian railway trip in
august/september. i would need information about visa and especially
registration of the visa in russia.
is it necessary to register the visa only one time or must it be
registered in every new city one arrives? i`ve searched the internet
about this and received lots of different answers, so im very
confused.

is there anybody (best if EU-citizen) who has recently travelled
(individually) through russia and who can tell me about dealing with
all this registration stuff in practice?

i`m planning not only to stay in hotels who can do the registration
but also in appartements and in private homes. what about registering
there?

It's been a few years since I went to Russia so things may have
changed. However, at the time you were required to have the hotel
register you. They are the ones who would inform Immigration that you
had checked in. When I got my visa I had to prove a hotel reservation
before they would issue the visa.

Thomas Peel wrote in message ...

Are you really contemplating doing the registration yourself? There
were some threads about this in the past, the general opinion was- don't
even think about it.

That is still true. If you don't speak very good Russian and go
because you are really interested in how this works (and you are
probably not, don't do it yourself.

Jan

(tom) wrote in message . com...
im planning an individual trans-siberian railway trip in
august/september. i would need information about visa and especially
registration of the visa in russia.
is it necessary to register the visa only one time or must it be
registered in every new city one arrives? i`ve searched the internet
about this and received lots of different answers, so im very
confused.

This may be because there is a difference between theory and practice.
But the hotels you will stay at will know, and will offer registration
(or simply go ahead and do registration for you) if needed. Therefore,
they will borrow your passport for about half a day after your
check-in. You may want to make a photocopy of the relevant pages to
carry around in the meantime.

is there anybody (best if EU-citizen) who has recently travelled
(individually) through russia and who can tell me about dealing with
all this registration stuff in practice?

i`m planning not only to stay in hotels who can do the registration
but also in appartements and in private homes. what about registering
there?

As you already noted, the hotels do registration for their guests.
They may or may not charge a fee for this, but it's worth the fee in
any case. If staying in a private home, whoever arranged the homestay
for you should also be able to advice about (or take care of)
registration. If you are staying as someones guest, that person should
be able to help you.

Self-registration is possible in theory, but would be very problematic
in practice, unless you speak russian rather well.

Although things may seem complicated and the rules a mystery, things
tend to work out fine anyway.

Bjorn

(?ystein) wrote in message om...
(tom) wrote in message . com...

On your questions I assume you don't have much experience with
traveling in Russia. You should be aware of that it can be very
complicated to travel alone outside the big cities if you don't speak
Russian. It can even be complicated to book accomandation in rural
areas. Do you speak Russian? Do you have a travel agency to book your
accomondation?

best regards,

Jan

I'm not experienced with travelling through Russia but I trevelled
through Ukraine twice, so I know about the problems and complications
that can happen on journeys through such regions. Naturally, Ukraine
and Russia are not the same, especially concerning visa matters.
If somehow possible i don't want to book accomodation in advance
because I don't really know how long I will stay in different places.
So, a business visa should be the right thing.
Concerning language: I only speak a little Russian but the two guys
travelling with me are very good Russian speakers.

(tom) wrote in message . com...
(?ystein) wrote in message om...
(tom) wrote in message . com...

On your questions I assume you don't have much experience with
traveling in Russia. You should be aware of that it can be very
complicated to travel alone outside the big cities if you don't speak
Russian. It can even be complicated to book accomandation in rural
areas. Do you speak Russian? Do you have a travel agency to book your
accomondation?

best regards,

Jan

I'm not experienced with travelling through Russia but I trevelled
through Ukraine twice, so I know about the problems and complications
that can happen on journeys through such regions. Naturally, Ukraine
and Russia are not the same, especially concerning visa matters.

I think the rules are very similar.

If somehow possible i don't want to book accomodation in advance
because I don't really know how long I will stay in different places.
So, a business visa should be the right thing.

I agree, a business visa is the right idea.

Concerning language: I only speak a little Russian but the two guys
travelling with me are very good Russian speakers.

The point is of course that somebody speaks Russian. Remember that if
you not book ahead, hotels might be full booked. If you travel during
season and/or visit small placec with few alternatives, you should
check if there is possible to get accomondation before you arrive.
Even if you travel with somebody that speaks Russian, it is crucial
that you learn the cyrillic alphabet.

Jan

tom wrote:

(?ystein) wrote in message om...

(tom) wrote in message . com...

On your questions I assume you don't have much experience with
traveling in Russia. You should be aware of that it can be very
complicated to travel alone outside the big cities if you don't speak
Russian. It can even be complicated to book accomandation in rural
areas. Do you speak Russian? Do you have a travel agency to book your
accomondation?

best regards,

Jan


I'm not experienced with travelling through Russia but I trevelled
through Ukraine twice, so I know about the problems and complications
that can happen on journeys through such regions. Naturally, Ukraine
and Russia are not the same, especially concerning visa matters.

Hmmm.. I thought they were more or less the same. What differs?

If somehow possible i don't want to book accomodation in advance
because I don't really know how long I will stay in different places.
So, a business visa should be the right thing.

But it requires an invitation letter from a company or organisation, so
you'd need to know someone working there who could make up some excuse
for inviting you. Alternatively, in case you know someone living in
Russia, he/she could make a private invitation for you. That type of
visa is as flexible as the business visa (no accomodation bookings
required). Takes a couple of months to arrange, though.

Concerning language: I only speak a little Russian but the two guys
travelling with me are very good Russian speakers.

That makes all the difference.

Björn