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Japan to Vladivostock and then Trans-siberian railway to Europe Japan to Vladivostock and then Trans-siberian railway to Europe
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  • 1 Post By pkay5413
  • 1 Post By Chris of Japan

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  #1  
Old 26 Apr 2016
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Japan to Vladivostock and then Trans-siberian railway to Europe
Hi - has anyone experience of going from Japan on the DBS Ferry then onto the Trans-siberian for a drop-off in Moscow. Visa's, general problems or things I should know.

Thx very much in advance
Paul
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  #2  
Old 28 Apr 2016
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You might want to contact Yuri Melnikov in Vladivostok regarding customs in Vladivostok and shipping to Moscow. (search the HUBB for his contact info)
Russian visas you usually need to get in your home country, you you will need your Russian visa before going to Japan unless you live there.
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  #3  
Old 28 Apr 2016
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+1 to Chris's comment about getting the Russian visa in your home country.

It is an expensive, time-consuming, and complex process to get a Russian visa - you need to start the process about 6 weeks before your planned departure.

I have had several Russian visas in the past 5 years, the fastest I ever got one (in Canada, my home country) was 29 days, the slowest took 37 days. That was from the time I sent in the very first piece of paperwork until the time I got my passport back with the visa in it.

You don't have to surrender your passport for that entire period of time, but be aware that there is no way - for love or money - to speed the process up.

Michael
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  #4  
Old 28 Apr 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanEuropean View Post
...but be aware that there is no way - for love or money - to speed the process up.
Not true in all countries. I've received a Russian business visa on a "next business day" basis in Washington, DC, for an extra charge, although that was some time ago.
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  #5  
Old 28 Apr 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motoreiter View Post
...although that was some time ago.
All of my experience has been recent, from 2011 to 2014 inclusive. I'm pretty sure that the rules have tightened up, because in my case, my employer was paying all the fees, and delays getting Russian visas for fellow employees were costing us tens of thousands of dollars in additional expenses due to the length of time needed to process the visa requests. If we could have paid (for example) $10K to get a visa tomorrow, that would have been done without a second thought.

Not to mention that we had a well-connected Russian industrial partner at the other end trying to do their best for us.

Hence my comment "you can't speed the process up for love or money".

Michael
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  #6  
Old 29 Apr 2016
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But what is your citizenship? It certainly varies across countries.

Also, look at the web page for the Russian embassy in DC:
http://www.russianembassy.org/page/visa-processing-fees

It specifically lists fees for getting a visa in three business days, but "strictly in an emergency", which I think would be liberally interpreted if you have a good agent/connections.

I also know people that got Russian visas in the last year or so in the Baltics on an overnight basis, but you have to use the right visa agent for that.

In any event, my last Russian visa was issued in Milan in 2014 and took exactly two weeks from start to finish, and that was the longest I ever had to wait.
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