Regards

Caroline

Great review. I'm with Kezzer in that I don't know if I can be bothered with the visa process. No doubt that feeling will change once I've exhuasted all my other destinations !!!

Regards

Sylvia

Was is a problem?

Is trying to obtain a visa a nightmare?

Thank you

I am off to Moscow next month. The visa process is only complicated by the fact that you need to visit one of the centres in London, Edinburgh or Manchester to provide your fingerprints.  This only took 10 minutes when I visited.

The forms are quite lengthy but JY offer an independent checking service for £20 which I used and they are very helpful if you phone them for advice.

Best wishes

I have to admit that the visa process is a bit of a pain because so much of your life history needs to be entered on the application form. This includes listing all educational institutions (except high schools) you ever attended (including address & phone nos). together with your last two places of work. Then you need to list all countries you have visited in the last ten years, including dates of entry. If you've visited the same country more than once then you need to quote each separate date of entry. I would suggest that you gather all this information together before completing the online application form. At this point I should say that JY provide some very useful guidance notes to help along the way.

Russia House also provide a visa application checking service (£20 from memory) which I found very useful. Finally you have to present yourself, together with your application form, visa fee and passport, at a Russian Visa Application Centre (NOT the Russian Embassy) so that your fingerprints can be taken. These are in London (Gee Street, Barbican) Manchester or Edinburgh. That process takes less than 30 minutes depending on the queue.

If all that sounds a bit daunting, it's really not too bad once you've got your head around all the information they require. And if you don't live in London, Manchester or Edinburgh (I don't!) you'll need a day out to provide fingerprints and payment. They keep your passport on the day to enter your visa (2 clear, unstamped pages are required) but it's returned by registered post in 7 days. You can pay extra to have it returned sooner. Unlike ESTA's for the USA, or Canadian visas, which are valid for any number of visits within a specified period, the Russian visa is only valid for a single visit.

So, I hope that all that doesn't deter you from booking this tour because I'm so glad that I took the time and effort to get my visa. It really is a fantastic tour and I'm sure that you'll enjoy it. I've kept a copy of my own application form on my computer so that, if JY created a different Russian itinerary at some point in the future, I have all the information I previously supplied to hand. My advice is to go for it!

If you have any other questions, then please ask.

Cheers

Mike

I didn't have to list any educational establishments and Russia House said to only enter countries that have entries in your passport because they can't check anything else. It sounds as if the form has become a bit more user friendly since your trip tho I admit it is still a long form!!

You are correct in saying that you need to enter all visited countries that are shown in your passport. However if you have a relatively new passport, I'm not sure how it would be recieved if you entered just two or three destinations and entry dates. For myself, I ended up with a list of 25 countries and an application form that was four pages long! Of course this is where Russia House, and their visa application checking service, are so very useful. They will confirm whether the details that you've provided are sufficient, and it's well worth £20 to ensure that your application form won't be refused when you arrive at the visa application centre.

Anyway, have a wonderful holiday next month and please write a review when you get home. I'll be very interested to read another person's perspective on this tour.

All the best

Mike

Will do.  Just need to order my roubles.