The Post about the Russian Visa

I am in the process of applying for a Russian visa for my Trans-Siberian vacation. If all goes as planned, the journey will commence in Hong Kong on August 4th and end in Moscow on August 30th with detours in Beijing, Ulan Bataar, Lake Baikal, and St. Petersburg. I am excited about the whole trip, but maybe most excited about Mongolia and St. Petersburg. I was slightly obsessed with the Romanovs when I was a child. And who goes to Mongolia?

This has been a planning intensive vacation. With most places I have traveled- India being the only exception- I have been able to show up without needing a visa or purchase one at the airport/border. Not so with this trip! I need pre-arranged visas for China and Russia.

The Chinese visa was fairly straightforward...one page front and back, one standard passport photo, the usual questions, an hour spent waiting in line at the consulate, got the visa 4 days later. No mess.

The Russian visa: had heard nightmares about the process to procure the Russian visa. One guy I know was denied three times. Other people waited eight weeks. I knew I had my work cut out for me! But, my oh my! I had no idea it would be more intense than applying to graduate school.

For one, my packet of information was 15 pages!! It must be completed with specific margins (7mm), font color, printed front to back. I had to include my completed application, a signed statement, copies of my passport and insurance, itinerary on official company letterhead, an official invitation letter (yes, you have to actually be invited to Russia!) and a cover letter. I had to submit a passport photo that met official specs, which incidentally do not meet standard U.S. passport photo specs. Of course!

Now, all of the documentation must be printed on two sides. The problem is, the application is internet based, must be filled in online, but CANNOT be saved. You have to sit at a printer that is capable of printing two sides. Never mind that after 45 minutes of work I opened another window and my entire application cleared! I had to produce two packets of documents. If anything is the slightest bit wrong, then my visa might be denied. All of my paperwork took six hours to complete over two days.
The company who arranged my invitation to Russia closed their letter to me with a "Good luck at the embassy".

Favorite items from the Russian visa application:

Do you have any specialized skills, training or experience related to fire-arms and explosives or to nuclear matters, biological or chemical substance? Cooking skills which have been known to produce an explosive or biologically hazard result.

Have you ever been involved in an armed conflicts, either as a member of the military service or a victim? Yes, bus hostage in Cairo traffic everyday.

List all countries you have visited in the last ten years and indicate the year of visit. Really?

Rather than deal with the persnickety Russian embassy folk myself, I decided to hire a company to handle it for me. BEST. DECISION. EVER. A day after I turned in my paperwork, Yana, my visa agent emailed me to inform me that the Russians didn't approve of the invitation and itinerary I submitted. They thought it was too "dark" and wanted a different copy. A day after I submitted a new copy of the invitation and itinerary, Yana emailed me again: "The embassy doesn't like the stamp on the documents. They think it is too 'blurry'. They won't accept your documents." I then had to contact the company that had arranged the documents for me and ask them to re-create documents that were "lighter" with a stamp that was "less blurry".

I dunno.

TO BE CONTINUED...