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2nd step Business visa |
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You have decided to go on a business trip to Russia. The next step is to get a valid invitation from a company or organisation which is accepted by the Russian authorities, like FLAIT in Murmansk. There are to variants of invitations and visa:
- Business visa for 1 or 2 trips
- Business visa for multiple trips (”multiple entry visa”)
An invitation for a business visa (all types) will be produced by FLAIT usually with 2 working days after all necessary information has been received. For new clients it can take a bit longer because we have to sign a co-operation contract (by e-mail).
The invitation has to be presented to a Russian consulate either in original format (we can organize this from almost daily from Kirkenes / Norway) or as a good color copy (we send the invitation by email and you print it out with a good color printer).
When the invitation, the original passport and the application form for a visa is delivered to the consulate and the consulate fee is paid it takes them usually 4 to 10 working days to prepare your visa. In urgent cases it can be possible to agree on express treatment (100 percent surcharge) – but this differs from country to country and depends also on your nationality.
To process a multiple entry visa takes usually 10 working days for Schengen-citizens. Express treatment is not possible. For some nationalities and in the case you apply for such a visa not in your home country it might take more time.
Schengen-citizens can get a normal business visa for a stay of maximum 90 days with 1 or 2 entries.
A multiple entry visa is for Schengen-citizens available for maximum 5 years. The usual duration time is 1 year. You can get a multiple entry visa if you have had visas to Russia in the year before and not violated the rules. If you have had a multiple entry visa for 1 year earlier you can get a visa which is valid for 2 years – but also here: there is no guarantee.
A multiple entry visa is valid for a stay of maximum 90 days within a period of 180 days. That meens that you can stay not more than 180 days per year in the Russian Federation.
Important: It is important to have a correct visa for a trip to Russia. Shall you take part in a conference or exhibition you can apply for a target tourism visa. But if you have to go on a regular business trip you need a business visa. It is illegal to use tourist visas in such cases. The Russian migration service FMS controls it strictly, and people with a wrong visa may be arrested and/or fined, their visa may be cancelled and they may be departed from the country immediately. They also may have problems when they apply for a new visa. Moreover, the inviting organization also risks to be fined and/or lose its license.
When you apply for a visa it is required that your passport is valid at least 6 month after the visa expires. We also like to remind you that your passport needs to have at least 2 empty pages for processing the visa.
How to order a business invitation?
If you want to order a business invitation from us we need the following information from you:
• The name of your company or organisation with postal address and telephone number
• Your position in the company
• The purpose of your business travel(s): f ex meetings, training etc.
• Your full name
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Sex
• Passport number
• The expiry date of your passport
• Your travel destination
• The period of your stay(s) in Russia
• What kind of visa you want: 1 or 2 trips, multiple entry
- A good scan of the main page (with picture) of your passport
We recommend you to state add 2 days to the planned period of stay to avoid any problems on the way back in case of any delay.
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After you have sent your order you will receive an invoice by e-mail. The invoice is also a confirmation of your order. If you also book overnight or a package tour in FLAIT the invitation for a normal tourist trip is free of charge (for the period covered by your order with FLAIT plus two extra days).
You have to pay the sum stated in the invoice to our account in Norway or Russia.
After the payment has been registered (we have an Internet bank account and check the account several times a day), we will immediately begin to process your application.
When the invitation is ready you will immediately receive it by e-mail. It will be accepted by the two Russian Consulates in Norway and all Russian Consulates in any country. Please check that all the information in the invitation is correct.
Price-list for business invitations:
All prices in Euro
Business invitation 1 month (1 entry); 35 Euro
Business invitation 3 months (2 entries) ; 50 Euro
Multiple entry invitation (for 1 year); 200 Euro
At request: sending of the invitation by regular mail / postal service (enveloped letter) via Kirkenes to any destination world wide: 10 Euro
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WARNING!
It is important to have a correct visa for a trip to Russia. Shall you take part in a seminar, conference etc. you should have a visa for target tourism (and an invitation according to that). If you are going on a business trip you a business visa. It is illegal to use tourist visas in such cases. The Russian migration service FMS controls it strictly, and people with a wrong visa may be arrested and/or fined, their visa may be cancelled and they may be departed from the country immediately. They also may have problems when they apply for a new visa. Moreover, the inviting organization also risks to be fined and/or lose its license if any of its clients is violating the rules.
People that are not staying at a hotel have to register their stay at the migration authorities (FMS). If it is not done it can lead to serious consequences, both for the traveler and the inviting side. The failure to register may be revealed after a longer time. In principle, one has to stay at a hotel which settles the registration automatically, book a hotel room and get an invitation at the same time. The most hotels cannot make invitations themselves (e.g. no hotel in Murmansk), so one has to address a tour operator to get an invitation.
The Russian Embassy also warns against ordering of fake invitations via internet. It states: “Warning! There are several web-sites in the internet which offer to buy “invitations” to the Russian Federation, both tourist and business. Be informed, that according to the Russian legislation selling and purchasing of such documents via internet is illegal, “invitations” obtained via Internet cannot be the reason to get a Russian visa and will not be accepted by the Consular Section of the Embassy” (Russian Embassy in Oslo).
People that want to work in Russia - which means not only participate in seminars, conferences, meetings, training, control and maintenance – need a working permit and a working visa (a special kind of visa which is not the same as a business visa).
Also foreign guides are not allowed to work in Russia without working permit, a business visa is not enough.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- You cannot send your visa application directly to the consulate by mail, you have to appear their personally or give this authority to any other person or our visa service (exemptions might be possible in some countries)
- Pay attention to the fact that processing of your application will not start until all the necessary documents are in the consulate
- Remember that your passport must be valid at least 6 month after the expiry date of your visa. You need to have at least 2 empty pages in your passport when you apply for a Russian visa.
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