APPLYING FOR YOUR RUSSIA VISA

APPLYING FOR YOUR VISA

You will need a Russian entry Visa in order to be permitted in the country. Visa Application forms were sent with the initial paperwork and should have already been sent with your passport to the St. Louis office by this time. If you have not already done so, please send us your original U.S. passport, two (2) passport-sized photos, and two (2) completed Visa application forms for each person who will be traveling, to the St. Louis Children?s Hope International office after your dossier has been sent to Russia. Please fill out all boxes except the ones listed above the sample that we will complete. Please send these to the St. Louis office by traceable mail. The CHI St. Louis office will process the applications for you. The Visa will be stamped in your Passport. Please check the validity dates, which are listed as a series of numbers such as: 12.03.03 to 12.04.03 (see illustration below). The Visa stamp and information, which is in Russian, is directly in your Passport and not on a separate paper. You should always make copies of your Passport with the Russia Visa Stamp page and keep them in a safe place within your luggage. Always keep your Passports in a safe place when not on your person.

This is an example of a Visa stamped in the Passport page.

Z Notice the numbers here?10.01.03/08.02.03. These are the allowed entry and exit dates. This Visa is valid to travel in Russia from January 10, 2003 until February 8, 2003. This is where you should look and double check when you receive your Visa from the Embassy. Please make sure that these dates are within the time frame of your upcoming trip. You will more than likely have to get two Visas, as the visas issued are usually good for only one month (unless you have a double-entry visa). If your Visa is incorrect as far as your entrance and exit dates, you will not be able to enter Russia or could be deported before your trip is complete. It is very important that you check these dates and contact the St. Louis CHI office about any mistakes.

1. Make sure your passport is in order and the expiration date on the passport is at least 6 months beyond your visit and with two blank visa pages left.

2. We will process the paperwork for your visa in our office and send it to the Russian Embassy. The reason for this is if any changes are needed on the visa, it is easier and more expedient to do this through our agency, rather than through a travel agency.

3. An application for the visa should have been received in your initial Application Approval Packet. Please make a copy for each person traveling, sign without a date, and send to our office along with two (2) passport-sized pictures and your original U.S. passport. You will receive your Visa directly from the Russian Embassy in the FedEx envelope that was pre-addressed to you from our office. We always try to allow adequate time prior to travel for you to receive your visa, so if you do not receive your Visa within a few days of travel, please call our office or your branch to have us check on the status at the Russian Embassy. When your visa arrives from the Russian Embassy, it is written in the Russian language. Please check the time frame given on the visa to make sure it corresponds with the travel dates you will be in Russia. The dates in Russia are written in the European format (day, month, then year). For example if you are traveling in December, your visa time frame may look like this: 01/12/02 ? 31/12/02. You need to check this information before traveling. Should you have any questions on this, please contact the St. Louis office.

Embassy of the Russian Federation in USA

VISA APPLICATION IMPORTANT! Please type or print using ballpoint pen

I declare that to the best of my knowledge all particulars supplied by me are correct and complete. I am aware that any false statements will lead to my application being rejected or to the annulment of a visa already granted and may also render me liable to prosecution under the legislation of the Russian Federation. I undertake to leave the territory of the Russian Federation upon the expiry of the visa, if granted/ I am aware that the fact that a visa has been granted to me does not mean that I will be entitled to enter the territory of the Russian Federation, if any reasons are appear. In a case of refusal of entry I do not have a right to compensation of damage.

1. Present citizenship (if you formerly had USSR or Russian

citizenship, please indicate when and why you lost it)

2. Last name (as in passport, in capital letters)

3. First and middle names (as in passport)

4. Other names ever used (maiden name, pen-name, holy orders, etc.)

5. Place of birth (if born in Russia, please indicate when and to

what country you emigrated)

6. Date of birth (DD/MM/YY)

7. Sex

8. Purpose of visit

official

tourism

medical

business

private

cultural

sports

other, please specify

9. Russian institution or organization to be visited (name and address,

phone, fax number, E-mail, name of contact person)