Russian business visa multiple entry as a "tourist"
 

Hi,

as stated in some other threads most of the travellers going from Europe to Mongolia or somewhere else in the east use a business visa with multiple entries. This due the fact that the Russian Tourist Visa is only valid for 30 days and you can have at least 3 bordercrossings to Russia when doing a roundtrip (Georgia - Russia, Kazakhstan - Russia, Mongolia - Russia when you travel back).

Today I had a talk with some Russians and they stated that you will have "problems" (these "problems" not further outlined) when you cross the border (Especially the Georgian) and you are obviously not a business-guy (hard to believe with a fully packed motorcycle :innocent:).

Does anybody actually had some problems with a business visa at a bordercrossing into Russia? Have you even been asked what your "business" is?

Besides that they also stated that due the recent tensions between Russia and Turkey travellers coming from Turkey (non Turkey residents) will be screened more intensivly and a business visa might cause trouble.

Any experiences on this issue?

TIA

Stefan

Not sure if he is here but my friend David Pickering crossed in and out of Russia last May/June time a few times on a business visa. I think he had a year long one.


Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and India for Christina Noble Children's Foundation. Watch this space

I have a business visa, 2nd time now.

I did the Georgian/Russian border you mentioned.
No problem, in fact they were really friendly and helpful.

I also consider the Russians as very professional.

But I can imagine, if someone thinks he is the smart guy, that the find something.

Ans if you have business visa, why should you be not allowed to have some holyday in between with your bike :scooter:

Probably hundreds of people on this site have used business visas, and no reported problems. I used a business visa to exit/enter Russia to/from Latvia this summer without any problem, and last year exited Russia to Norway and entered from Estonia, also without any problem.

The only reported problem is third-hand and reported in Post #8 of this thread:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...n-i-keep-83459

In the case reported above, I suspect that the Russians are trying to deter Finns from crossing the border to buy cheap benzin (and maybe alcohol).

I am pretty sure it has been discussed to death. Here is an extract below of what "Business Visa" covers.

I went in and out of Russia 3 times summer 2014. I am now in the process of applying for another business visa. The agency dealing with this knows it is for an "extended holiday" and not for real business. The business visa is the only visa to get multi entry visa.

The purpose of visit requested for your visa should generally correspond with your initial visit intentions. The purpose of visit will be written on the visa support documents and encoded into your visa, however, this does not restrict you to this purpose and you may, for example, use a business visa to visit family or friends or use a cultural visa to subsequently visit Russia for business purposes.

You may select from the following options when ordering your visa support through Real Russia; please note that not all options are available for all visa support services:

BUSINESS - for people who are going to Russia for business including meetings, conferences, contract negotiations and such general business activities. When applying at the consulate you will require a letter from your company stating the purpose of your visit to Russia and who will finance the trip.

CULTURAL - for people who are going to Russia for cultural or extended tourism periods. No supporting letter from an organiser is required, however you may be asked to provide a letter explaining your purpose of visit and show recent bank statements to demonstrate that you can support yourself in Russia for the period of the visa.

DRIVER - for people who are going to be driving commercial or passenger vehicles in Russia. When applying at the consulate you will require a letter from your company stating the purpose of your visit to Russia.

FAMILY MEMBER - for children under the age of 18 who are going to be travelling with an adult family member. When applying at the consulate the parent will be required to provide a letter stating the purpose of your visit to Russian and proof that they either have a Russia visa or are applying for one at the same time.

SPORT - for people who are going to be taking part in an organised sporting event, either as a professional or amateur. When applying at the consulate you will require a letter from the event sponsor stating the purpose of your visit to Russia.

By default I am pretty sure you will be categorised as "Cultural" as else you need more docs to provide. But in any case it does not matter as stated above.

Wrong assumption and it was not question of visa type but stopping to border zone.

More likely it has been (as this happens only one border crossing that shop hasnt paid money to border guys or have had some other problems.

If you would come to any border crossing between Finland-Russia there is lot of shops on both sides of border. Finnish people go to buy petrol and alcohol from Russia side and russian people come even from Spb come to buy quality food and products from Finland. Actually one of my friend who lives next to Imatra border station has Russian side shops closer than finnish sides. So this case has nothing to do with that that Russian border guard is trying to stop finns to buy petrol or anything other.

I have had from year 2010 5 multientry visas to Russia, now 6th (2-year). One was 2012 business, all others cultural visas. I would recommend to use cultural visa (at least in office what i use prices are same) It is second option to have multientry visa.

Like it has been said sevaral times allready what was 5 years ago is not anymore same. Tention to some countries has risen in Russia, there has been cases where use of wrong visa type has led into problems. Those cases has been also here in newspapers and discussion groups in Finland.

Also i know for a fact that some years ago my friends were driving with enduro bikes and border guard stopped them. Those who were using business visa were fined for wrong visa type. Whole group was taken into border guard (or whetever official that was) office for questioning and they spend there several hours.

What I'm saying is that I doubt the Russians like the fact that Finns cross the border, stop in a border zone to purchase cheap Russian benzin, and then drive back. I suspect that to discourage that practice, they will raise various issues, including the types of visa. As far as I can tell, nothing in your post contradicts that?

Very true, but there have been basically zero cases reported here of people having trouble crossing a border with a business visa, other than the ones you've raised, so instances should be viewed in context. I've read a lot of reports about visa problems, but almost always in connection with people that come here to work in some capacity, or people engaged in politically-sensitive projects.

For instance, I recall an issue where some Americans were thrown out because they were holding some kind of seminar on democracy-building and they were accused of having the wrong kind of visa (business instead of cultural, or vice-versa). Same with a lot of foreign people who were working here as English teachers although they only had tourist visas--they were also deported. As a more recent example, I've heard that Turks are currently having all kinds of problems entering the country, regardless of what kind of visa they have.

OK, that seems to be a valid data point, but still it is one out of hundreds of other instances where people have had no problems. I also note that other issues could be at play--for instance, who issued the invitation letter for the business visa, how the application was filled out, etc.

If other HUBBers have had problem with business (or other visas), it would be interesting to hear from them.

Using business visa to travel with motorcycle most likely wont cause you any problem but if you live in Moscow you know that in Russia in bad day any goverment worker/organisation can use any possible reason to get you in shit if they feel like it or dont like you or dont happen to like your nationality or if they just have bad day.

One example: When coming back to Russia in Mongolia we were in Russia border station our passport and visa being checked. Very merry fellow checked our passports, look my passport and asked in russian:
"Finns, hmm i remember this one finnish actor Ville, Ville"
I added "Haapasalo"
"Da, Ville Haapasalo, good actor, you are good guys" Stamped our visa's and off we go. There was then rest of our groups coming but some germans or french (dont remember excactly) were before them.

Rest of our groups just seemed to stay in office and we waited probably 30 or 40 minutes before they came out.
Passport checker had started to check everything possible from those german guys passport and was as diffifucult as hell as he saw those guys nationality. Finnish guys were then again just handled in few minutes.

Like example for turkish citizens i am quite certain that if they would take business visa and go to Russia to motorcycle with that they would have problems in some border station thinking of current situation between Russia and Turkey.

It is up to everyone choose whatever visa they like and what is most convenient for them. Most likely with business visa no problems like you say motoreiter but noneless it is wrong visa type officially for motorcycle travelling and as it same price at least here in Finland as cultural visa i dont understand why people use business visa.

As others have said, no problems at all travelling on business visa for an extended tour involving multiple border crossings.

Only thing to be aware of is the application. Make use of personal recommendations when it comes to picking your visa agent (service level varies considerably between the good and the bad) and, if you're applying for a 'business' visa, don't list your occupation as 'retired' - as my husband did!

It caused an unnecessary delay, while the application was returned and we found him an alternative occupation. He now works for my dressmaking business! :rofl:

To some extent, yes--they might hassle you a little bit if they are having a bad day, but they will not refuse you entry for no valid reason. I have exited/entered Russia probably about twenty times now and the Russian borders guards have ALWAYS been very professional. And if what you say is true, it would be true regardless of what type of visa you have...

Maybe they guy was having a bad day, maybe there were issues with someone's visa. There does not seem to be any indication that the "problem" (if you can call it that) was cause by having the wrong kind of visa.

With Turkey, it is a different and far more serious matter, because of the recent breakdown in relations between Turkey and Russia; currently Turks are often not allowed into Russia regardless of the type of visa they have (previously they did not need a visa). But this is directed from the top, not at the whim of individual border agents. So if your country shoots down a Russian jet, etc., it is true that you could face problems entering Russia, even if you have a valid visa. But for instance, as a US citizen I've had no problem entering or exiting Russia many times over the last couple of years.

I disagree that it is the "wrong" type of visa for motorcycle travelling. I have a three year Russian business visa--are you suggesting that during that period I cannot come here on personal business? Frankly it does not make sense. Moreover, the website of the Russian embassy in the US does not say anything at all about business visas being solely for "business" purposes; the only difference between the visa types seems to be who does the invitation (a business, a private individual, a cultural institution, etc.).

While it is certainly possible in a theoretical sense that business visas might cause moto travellers problems at the borders, I think we should focus on whether anyone has had an actual problem rather than hypothesizing about what could happen.

And as mrsroynie points out, whatever kind of visa you get, you should be careful about choosing your visa agent and how you fill out the application.

This is a very important point !!!!

I found out that my agency had no problems getting me business visas all the time, and others have problems with that.

And who says that I am not doing business just because of riding motorcycles?

I am doing multimedia shows of my travel and I have negotiations with locals for further tours and I am preparing business for the future ( lets say for example guided tours or places to stay ....:innocent: )
So I am doing business on my motorcycle trip:Beach:

all OK
 

Aussie here. I got my dual entry business visa in Sweden at the Stockholm IFS agency. All good (date was wrong, they fixed it). I crossed into Russia at Narva (Estonia) no issues, on a motorcycle, with my partner (German) who is also on a motorcycle, both bikes are French, registered in my name. We expected some issues. Had none, all very easy.

Now I'm in Moscow. About to go to Vladivostok.

Of course, this is just my personal experience with a 1 year business visa.

I have had several 'official encounters' in Russia. Near the Finnish border I had to sit in a black sedan for an hour while they wrote out every country I had ever travelled in (all 50), durations, political affiliation, mother's maiden name, etc.... Later I was pulled from the house where I was staying in a village and taken to the police station to have every page in my passport photocopied and again a 1 hour interview. Finally, I was woken up in the middle of the night by the military when camped near a river because it was a 'forbidden zone' and again, supervisors called, documents checked and I was made to move. Not to mention two border crossings, with a German motorcycle that isn't in my name, American license and a British passport with a very bad photo to where it looks fake.

To date, nobody has mentioned my 'business' visa. When they ask me "What is the purpose of your travel?" I respond with "To discover Russia!" or "To lean Russian!" or some such thing. So in my experience, it's not an issue.

Gee, what could possibly go wrong there?? :2guns:

Getting a Russian visa from outside your own country?
 

We are travelling on Canadian passports. At the moment we are in Canada but want to get going on our travels in Dec. Does anyone know if we can send our passports in to get Russian visas from neighbouring counters like Poland for ex, when we are closer to understanding the dates we will need them? We won't even be near Russia until spring of 2017 but will be in Africa, and many parts of Europe beforehand. Or... we'll be sitting in Canada, waiting 8 weeks for visas we could have sent in while travelling. Thanks in advance for any insight. Heather