Everything you need to know from applying to registering a Russian Travel Visa

Getting a Visa for Russia is NOT a straightforward process.

1. Get an invitation

First, you must have an invitation (visa support letter) to visit Russia. This invitation must be from an authorised tourist agent (for travel visa) or a private individual. Private invitations take weeks and will require loads of paperwork for your friend. Messing with the government is something that we (people from erstwhile Socialist states) hesitate to do, so the best way to go is have a tourist agency invite you. Search for invitation agencies on google since I don’t have any recommendations.

First whiff of corruption. The ‘invitation’ will be a fake document. It will basically say that “Priyank will be staying at hotel blah blah from this date until that date. He will travel to these places… Everything has been paid.” There are several websites that will send you an invitation, so will most hostels or hotels that you want to stay with. They will send you an invitation for a fee (upto $60) regardless of whether you are actually staying with them or not. I was baffled at the systematization of this underground market of issuing fake documents.

2. Make documents ready

Surprisingly, they don’t ask you for more than your passport, 3 photographs, the invitation letter and the Visa fee. No flights booking, no bank statement, etc. It is likely that rules at different embassies differ. I applied at the Russian embassy in Toronto.

3. Apply for the Visa

It cost me CAD 75 to process my visa. The website and instructions at the embassy says 10 days, but the guy at the counter told me to come back in 3 weeks. The actual visa application day was very funny actually which I will blog about next.

When I got my Visa, about four weeks before my departure, I heaved a sigh of relief. I my excitement knew no bounds. The Russian visa was a shiny pinkish orange card that said my name: “ПРИЙAНК ТАТТ”

I was going to Russia after all!

4. Register your Visa – once in Russia

This is an archaic law dating back to the Soviet times. It is designed to cause maximum discomfort to the foreigners and a way for the government to track their movements. Thankfully now the purpose is limited to notifying the authorities about the place of your stay in Russia.

1. Every foreigner who comes to Russia must have his/her visa registered within 72 hours upon arrival (excluding holidays and weekends).
2. If the foreign citizen changes the place of stay, s/he must register in the new place within the first 3 working days of arrival. What this means is, if you registered your visa in Moscow, and then traveled to St. Petersburg for over 3 working days, you must register over there too.

The interesting thing is that it is not the foreigner’s obligation to register – the accommodating party must do it. However, I stayed in people’s homes most of the time, and asking them to do this would have been a bureaucratic hassle. So I simply did not register until the last week.

Even nicer thing is that the police who randomly check your passport and migration card on the street are in no position to find if you have registered or not, because there is no stamp or a receipt. I was asked about the registration twice, and I lied both times saying it was done at hotel blah blah.

What if you don’t register? Some people mentioned that acting the dumb foreigner “Я не понимаю порусский” (I don’t understand Russian, या नी पनीमायू पारुस्की) helps – and it helped me indeed. But potentially they could throw you out of the country, penalize you and/or black list you for few years.

More corruption: Since I read many stories online about people taking a chance and not registering, I decided to go ahead and continue unregistered too. However, as my departure neared, I was getting restless and I even had a dream where I was put in a Russian prison. So during my last week in Russia, a hostel in St. Petersburg registered me for RUR 300 (~USD 15), for 21 days straight. I stayed there only for 1 night. Good deal!

So there you go, Russian tourist visa process, complicated as hell. Good luck!

Links
Waytorussia.net
Thorn Tree forum (Lonely Planet)

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Some notes on entry / visa procedures for visiting Bhutan as a tourist.

Bhutan is one of those countries that places some justified restrictions on foreign tourists. Getting into Bhutan as a tourist can be tricky for people of all nationalities except India. That’s the reason this country is not greatly conducive for backpackers and independent travelers. This post is intended to serve as a guide for those who are seriously interested in Bhutan Tourism. Like always, you can rely on the information here.

Bhutan Gate border crossing at Phuentsholing, Bhutan. On the other side is Jaigaon, India.

Entering Bhutan

1. Land: Border crossings at Phuentsholing-Jaigaon (West Bengal) and Samdrup Jonkhar (Assam) with India. The Indian border cities are well connected to Silliguri and Guwahati respectively. There is no border crossing with Tibet (which is currently under Chinese occupation.)
2. Air: Druk Air, the national carrier of Bhutan, operates flights from Delhi (India), Kolkata (India), Kathmandu (Nepal), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Bangkok (Thailand). I am told that the flying the airline is an experience in itself.
3. Legends also mention mythological creatures that will fly you straight to monasteries hidden in the Himalayas. I wish I knew more.

The border cities

Jaigaon (on the Indian side) and Phuentsholing (on Bhutanese side) are separated by the Bhutan gate and a border on paper. People (Bhutanese, Indians, foreigners) can freely cross back and forth until 22:00 (vehicles until 21:00.) After that (unofficially), if you are Indian, they will let you to enter India and if you are Bhutanese, they will let you enter Bhutan but no free wandering is allowed. (PS: If you are sitting in a bar in Bhutan, they will politely ask you to leave by 22:00 unless you have a permit!) Bhutanese nationals can go anywhere in India but Indian nationals need a permit in order to stay in Bhutan. Foreigners obviously need a visa in either countries.

A bridge draped with prayer flags in Phuentsholing

Indian Nationals

Bhutan has a special relation with India and this is very evident once you enter the country. In order to visit Bhutan, Indian citizens need one of these documents. The procedure may slightly differ.

• Indian Passport makes it easiest to enter Bhutan. Armed with the passport, you may simply board the bus/taxi to either Thimpu or Paro (only these 2 places) from the border. At the border post Rinchending (about 5km from Phuentsholing), you will be asked to fill a form and your passport will be stamped with a 7 or 14 day permit (depends on the guy’s mood.) You can always get this extended in Thimpu. Carry a photograph and a copy of your passport.
   
• Voter registration card is the second most preferred document. With a copy of your Voter ID (provided by the Election Commission of India) and a photograph, go to the immigration office¹ and fill a form². You will be photographed and asked to return after few hours. You may then collect an entry permit which must be retained at all times.
   
• Driver’s License: (From secondary research) You will have to go to the Indian Embassy in Phuentsholing with 2 photographs and copy of your driver’s license. The officer who works at his own speed will issue a ‘request for permit.’ This ‘request’ from Indian embassy must then be taken to the immigration office in Bhutan and further steps are same as that for Voter ID. Note: The guy in immigration office said that this process is discouraged (and might be terminated soon.)
   
• Any other document such as PAN card, Ration card etc. will not be accepted.

Arranging a permit at the border is the safest way although passport holders can go straight to the checkpost as mentioned above. Indian (non commercial) vehicles can enter Bhutan easily. However, an entry permit is required and can be arranged at the immigration office in Phuentsholing.

Buses parked as the sun sets across the bus station at Phuentsholing

Foreign Nationals

Foreign (excluding Indian) nationals have the following rules:

• You must use Druk Air, the official airline of Bhutan, atleast once – either enter or exit (or both.)
• Visas will be issued on arrival (at the airport in Paro or Indian border) and cannot be obtained in advance
• Visa applications must be initiated by authorised tour operators (check the official website.) The tour operator submits the application to the Ministry of Tourism which then issues an approval letter. This approval letter is the basis of final visa application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which takes upto 2 weeks to process it.
• Airline ticket cannot be purchased until you have a visa confirmation number
• For every day you spend in Bhutan, you are charged $200-$250. This includes accommodation, food, transport and a tour guide only.

I can see your eyes popping out as you read this list (conservatively written) to the last bullet. But all this work is efficiently done by tour agents. However, you will have to travel on a pre-defined itinerary which can be customised as per your need. Making last minute changes is a bureaucratic nightmare (as you can imagine.)

Btw, I never saw any foreign national who was under 40 years old. But thats pretty obvious considering the cost and constraints…. hehehe!

Bhutan Gate. On the other side is India

More bureaucracy

Bhutanese bureaucracy is a topic of discussion in itself. My friend Odzer had warned me, but I had no idea that I would need so much patience³.

1. Entry Permit (described above): This is the document that a tourist will obtain at the border. It is single entry only and will be checked and rechecked along the numerous checkposts. Entry permits can be extended in Thimpu (takes about a day.)
2. Restricted-Area Permit: To go beyond Paro and Thimpu (Dochu La), you need a special entry permit. This can be obtained at Thimpu. When we asked for it at the border, we were asked to apply for it only in Thimpu. To make this permit, you need a copy of the Entry Permit and one day.
3. Temple Permit: Bhutan’s spiritual and cultural wealth is preserved in their monasteries and cultural centers. Therefore, you will need this permit from the National Commission for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Culture) which is located at a distance from the immigration office in Thimpu. The temple permit is required only for the few notable monasteries and you will need to produce copies of your Entry Permit and Restricted-Area Permit (if applicable.) The application form for Temple permit is completely in Dzonkha language, and requires endorsement from a hotel/tour agent, so be prepared to ask for local assistance!

Good luck negotiating all that – but only Indian nationals need to do this on their own. For foreigners, the tourist companies will have everything ready!

And if you miss mentioning a destination in one of those forms,…. ! LOL

Footnotes:
1. The Bhutanese Immigration office at Phuentsholing is located about fifty meters from the Bhutan gate inside Bhutan. It is the building after the fuel station and also houses customs.
2. The form will ask you to specify all the places you want to visit in Bhutan. However in order to visit any place beyond Thimpu or Paro, you need a ‘restricted-area permit’ as described above.
3. Bhutanese take pride in preserving their traditions. Make sure that you are dressed conservatively and neatly. It is important to be patient and polite with the officials.
- Picture of Indian passports taken from Ministry of External Affairs website.

Now that you have read this, pack your bags and go have fun!

© RSS feed from Final Transit - Priyank's notes from the road.. If you are viewing this content on a website instead of your RSS feed reader, then the website you are on is guilty of stealing my content without permission. Please visit my blog (Final Transit) and let me know so that I can take action against this spam website. Thanks!