66 Fife Avenue, P.O.Box 4250, Harare
tel.: 720349 facsimile: 700534
HOW TO GET A VISA TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Please, read carefully!
When applying, please, be advised that the permission to enter Russia is a courtesy of the State.
In accordance with the International Law, the Consular Section in certain cases reserves the right to consider your visa applications for as long as it feels necessary.
Visa can be denied if the Consular Section has serious reasons to believe that the Applicant's visit to Russia is not desirable, and the disclosure of the reason for the denial can be withheld.
Visa processing fees received from the applicants are not subject to reimbursement in case of subsequent refusal.
GENERAL INFO
Every foreign citizen (except citizens of the CIS states*) needs a visa to go to Russia.
*Citizens of Turkmenistan going to Russia are advised to contact the Consular Section in advance. Because of the recent decision of Turkmenistan to abrogate the Agreement on Visa-free Travel for the Citizens of CIS States, certain categories of the citizens of Turkmenistan will have to obtain Russian visa first.
(!)
Applicants who used to be citizens of the USSR or of the Russian Federation and then emigrated from the USSR or from Russia MUST submit one of the documents which confirms that they are no longer citizens of the Russian Federation (so called "Visa to Israel" or stamp in their passport saying that they left for "permanent residence abroad" before the 6th of February, 1992 or official document certifying that their Russian citizenship was abrogated).Children apply for separate visas if they travel on their own passports. Non-traveling parents must confirm in an affidavit their consent for their children's travel. If the child's surname differs from that of his (her) parents, a copy of the child's birth certificate must be enclosed.
Entry-Exit Visa
is valid for one visit to Russia with the specified dates of arrival and departure.
All invitations issued by representations of foreign companies or other foreign institutions in Russia or by Foreign Diplomatic and Consular Corps in Russia must be processed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which issues a letter of invitation or sends a visa support cable directly to the Consular Section.
The Consular Section does not issue visas to any other CIS countries but Tajikistan. Invitations for those who travel to Tajikistan must be confirmed by the Tajikistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Travelers (excluding applicants for a multiple visa) planning to stay in Russia for a period of more than 90 days must attach a copy of an
HIV test certificate to their application papers. No medical insurance is officially required, unless you stay in Russia for 6 months or more. Prior to your visit, consult your medical insurance issuer for details.
On the basis of reciprocity mandatory medical insurance is required , starting June 1, 1999, for the citizens of Estonia; starting July 1, 1999, for the citizens of Israel and Finland, as well as for the citizens of Schengen Agreement Member States (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain)
VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Please, note that
drop-off day is not included in the processing period. Visa processing period begins only after we collected all the documents required.You can
apply personally at our Office at 66 Fife Avenue, Harare, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon) except Russian National Holidays or by mail.If applying personally, have all the documents handy. We cannot provide copy, photo or other services.
When mailing, a
self-addressed pre-paid envelope should be enclosed. Otherwise, your visa will not be processed.To avoid your correspondence being lost in mail we recommend to use USPS Registered, USPS Certified, USPS Express or FedEx, DHL, Airborne and similar services (so, that
the envelopes bear a tracking number). Visa Desk will not be responsible for any loss or mishandling of the mail by the Postal Service or any other delivery agent.All visa documents must be accompanied with a
cover letter specifying dates of arrival and departure, cities to be visited in Russia and telephone or facsimile number to reach you at.Since we process your visa by computer, please follow a specific pattern when submitting your papers. The copy of the passport page should be trimmed to the size of the original and stapled to the upper left-hand corner of application form. Two pictures should be stapled to the copy of the passport page and one to the marked space in the upper right-hand corner of the application form.
Your visa processing speed depends on it!Please, note that Consular Officer reserves the right to invite the Applicant to be interviewed in person.
For a Tourist Visa, please, submit:
1. A letter of confirmation and a tourist voucher from the Russian travel agency, Russian hotel or Russia-based joint venture must be submitted. Receiving organization should be duly registered as a tourist company with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and assigned a special reference number. This reference number should be indicated on the confirmation form (*Please, note that according to the Russian Consular regulations hotel reservation alone is not sufficient to obtain a tourist visa. **Russian tourist visa cannot be issued for a period longer than one month, however it can be extended later, when you are in Russia, through your travel agency or your hotel. ***Upon arrival, foreign tourists should register their visas through hotel administration).
2. Original or copy of your valid passport or other travel document (however, we reserve the right to request the original). Applicants with
diplomatic passports should submit both copy and the original.3. Signed and dated
Visa Application Form # 95 filled out in English or Russian.4. Three identical passport size photos signed on the back.
5. Visa processing fee made payable to the Russian Embassy by
money order, cashier's check or company check only. Please do not send cash or personal checks.6.Pre-paid self-addressed envelope (as described above).
For a Business Visa, please submit:
1.
A letter of invitation from the Russian Foreign Ministry or its Regional Representative Offices, or from the Ministry of the Interior or its local offices or from a Russian host company (the latter must be printed on the company letterhead and must contain official round seal and legal address of the agency, invitation letter registration number, date of the letter registration, signature and the name of the official authorized to invite foreign citizens on behalf of the company, travel itinerary, dates of stay, full names and dates of birth of the persons invited).See positions 2 to 6 in Tourist Visa Paragraph.
All invitations to Russia issued by Russian organizations located in:
Moscow and Moscow Region;
Arkhangelsk and Arkhangelsk Region;
Barnaul and Altay Region as well as Republic of Altay;
Chita and Chita Region as well as Aginsko-Buryatskiy Autonomous District;
Republic of Chuvashiya;
Ekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region;
Izhevsk and Republic of Udmurtiya;
Khabarovsk and Khabarovsk Region;
Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad Region;
Krasnodar and Krasnodar Region, as well as the City of Sochi;
Krasnoyarsk and Krasnoyarsk Region;
Maykop and Republic of Adygeya;
Murmansk and Murmansk Region;
Nizhny Novgorod and Nizhegorodskaya Region;
Penza and Penza Region;
Samara and Samara Region;
Petrozavodsk and Republic of Karelia;
Pskov and Pskov Region;
Saransk and Republic of Mordovia;
Voronezh and Voronezh Region;
Yoshkar-Ola and Republic of Mariy El;
Ulan-Ude and Republic of Buryatia
must be processed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation or through its Regional Representative Office (Please, note that invitations from Republic of Chuvashiya are processed through Yoshkar-Ola Office and those from Penza and Penza Region - through Samara Office).
For a Private Visa:
1. The
original invitation called "Izveschenie" (notification), which can be obtained by any Russian citizen from a local OVIR (Russian Immigration Service) office.See positions 2 to 6 in Tourist Visa Paragraph.
A private visa is granted only for a single trip to Russia.
For a Transit Visa:
1. The visa of the country of destination and a copy of the air, railway or other ticket with "OK" status (required).
See positions 2 to 6 in Tourist Visa Paragraph.
The Consular Section will not bear any responsibility for the errors in visas, which were not brought to our attention before departure from Zimbabwe
All regulations are subject to change without notice
