This time due to changes in how I am getting a temporary Residency in Russia. I went and got a 3yr multi-entry Tourist visa. It was the easiest to get for me. No business visa this time, business invite is expensive (9000 to 12000 rubles) and tourist invite is around 1200 rubles…
Russian Visa for American living out of the USA…
(As per this very moment in the ever changing times.) First off you must spend 10 “working days” in Armenia from moment they accept your paperwork. No exceptions! You must appear in person! No expediting any visa! Check Holidays for Russia and Armenia! Do not try to get visa from any other country except USA and or Armenia. Example. – Greece as I used last time will not do it anymore and or just a 30 days tourist visa. Russia has obviously designated Armenia as the new Consulate to get visa, as it use to do in Ukraine, before the SMO…
Read complete link below and USAians make sure to click expand for them only, near bottom…
https://armenia.mid.ru/en/consular-services/consulate-ru/notary-office/
Fill out application, link below. Do not use any old forms and leftover thing’s from older times…
Below blockquote has all you need as an American, no more and no less…
Mine looked just like this, Invitation. But many more styles…
– One photo, size 3,5 x 4,5 cm.
– Your Valid passport and its copy.
– An approved Invitation for tourist (Only comes as a one month invite! Consul uses it for whole length of visa…)
Now that said above:
Americans do not need anything extra that is stated about the rest of the world getting a visa for Russia. You will see many different things, but what I listed is all you need as an American. No more and no less… (Right this moment.) Please use the expanding section near the bottom of the Embassy website, marked for USA…
https://armenia.mid.ru/en/consular-services/consulate-ru/notary-office/
JavaScript drop down for USA…
Now that said, even more: Read the Embassy link in full as posted above. Important to catch anything new to do…
Get to the consulate at 9 am and be prepared to wait and wait. You will stand amongst maybe hundreds of people (Russians, Armenians, Chinese, Indians, tons of children and grouchy women, Etc.) and all of them are going to push and push and try to cheat the system. The man at the gate is very good and smart and if you push him? You will be forgotten for an appropriate time. So be smart…
The cost was 74,000 AMD (180 to 190 USD $) and you must have exact cash. Not Euro, not USD, not and not and not, but Armenian AMD. A young lady feeds the exact cash into a money machine and it does not take anything but exact cash. They will send you to a bank to get cash and that can be a long issue also…
You must appear in person, they will interview you in detail if they want, they will tell you at that very moment if you get the visa or not and they take your passport (make sure you have copies for local police!), give you a receipt and it is marked when you come back. Be very polite and do not make waves…
10 work days, no more and no less… (I got to Armenia on the 19th of February, on the 20th applied for visa and received visa the 5th of march and came home on the 6th of March. Total 16 days in all.) You cannot get visa before 3 pm (don’t be late) the day they tell you and they will be near the second internal gate handing them out, as they smoke cigarettes…
Rehash:
Be smart, be on time, have exact cash, be patient, have paper work in order, have a passport out of your holder, have passport that has 6 months beyond visa ending date and always help elderly and mothers with children and put them ahead of you every time…
Visa is easy to get and they will do you right at the Russian Consulate in Armenia…
WtR