What is a Russian Private (Guest) Visa Invitation?
Private (guest) invitation to Russia is a document required to obtain a private visa to Russia. If you bear a guest invitation you can apply for a private visa to visit your friends or relatives living in Russia. Such a visa allows you to stay in Russia up to 90 days. If you are a citizen of the EU country, it isn’t profitable to obtain a guest invitation, it is better to use a tourist invitation.
Table of contents:
Key information
Guest invitation to Russia: the rules and prices
| Period of validity | Up to 90 days |
|---|---|
| Visa multiplicity | Single or double-entry |
| Processing terms | 20 days |
| Cost of an invitation | 13$ |
Attention! Many people confuse private visa with tourist one and don’t understand “private” term. Private person in this case is a person who invites you. In most cases tourists need a tourist visa not a private. Moreover a private visa creates difficulties for an inviting party.
How does an invitation look like and consist of?
There are 2 types of invitation
- On the MIA letterhead
- Electronic from the MIA
Indicated information in each of these invitations is pretty similar: name, surname, invitation serial number, data of responsible inviting person. You could see the sample in the beginning of this article.
Where to get a private (guest) invitation?
It is possible to obtain a private invitation only on the Public Services Portal of the Russian Federation. Beware of fakes!
Processing term of such invitation is 20 days. That’s why I don’t recommend to use this invitation type.
Read more: Why it is not profitable to use a private visa
If you still want to get a private visa, a person who invites you should do the following steps:
- Print out guarantee letter with an current account statement
- Take a photo of your passport
- Pay the state fee in amount of 13$ (2020 price)
- Order an invitation on the Public Services Portal of the Russian Federation.
- Wait 20 days (REMEMBER! If you order a tourist invitation from a tour agency you receive it instantly online at the same cost)
Attention! In order to proceed with issuing a private invitation make sure that a person who invites you is a citizen of Russia!
Go to the Public Services Portal of the Russian Federation to issue an invitation
What to do after getting your invitation
After you get an invitation it’s easy. Here is a short list of actions.
- Bear a valid passport
- Get invitation to Russia
- Get medical insurance
- Complete a visa application form on visa.kdmid.ru and print it
- Glue a picture 3,5х4,5 cm of you on a form
- Pay a consular (visa) fee
- Submit or send documents to the Russian diplomatic authority (passport, invitation, insurance, application form, receipt)
- Wait from 20 calendar days and get a passport with a visa inside
Additional information
- How to get a guest invitation?
- Cost of the guest invitation
- Processing terms
- Categories of recipients
- Grounds for the provision of services and refusalдля оказания услуги и для отказа
- The result of the service
- Legislation
- Q&A
How to get an invitation?
In order to obtain a guest invitation to Russia you need to complete an application form in which you must enter your and a inviting person’s personal data. After submission of the application it is needed to wait for the period allotted by the law while the entered data will be checked.
Attention! RuVisa authors don’t recommend to use the homestayinmg visa!
Read: Why it is not profitable to issue a private visa?
How to make a request to issue a guest invitation?
Russian citizen can make a request to issue a guest invitation in person or through his legal representative.
How to pick up a guest invitation?
Citizen of Russia can pick up your invitation (or get a refusal) in person or via legal representative.
Cost and payment procedure
It is necessary to pay the state fee (13$) while applying for the guest invitation.
What to do after obtaining the invitation?
After an inviting party will issue guest invitation and send the original, you need to collect a pack of documents and submit them along with a completed application form to a Russian Consulate. It includes passport, medical insurance policy and some other documents (you can find the full list of documents on the website of a Consulate).
State processing terms
You need to wait the issue of guest invitation within 20 business days.
Categories of recipients
List of those who can issue a guest invitation for you:
- Legal entities (operating in the Russian Federation);
- Russian citizens;
- Foreign citizens legally residing in the Russian Federation.
Grounds for issuing or refusing an invitation
Guest invitation is issued under a request from an inviting party along with the full package of documents. The grounds for refusal to issue a guest invitation may be:
- non-payment of the state fee for the service of consideration of the application for the guest invitation;
- lack of state registration of the legal entity requesting this service;
- absence of accreditation on the territory of the Russian Federation from a branch of a foreign legal entity requesting a guest invitation;
- lack of permission from the FSS of Russia or its territorial authority for the entry of a foreign citizen to a certain territory, for which a special permission is required;
- the earlier decision regarding the foreigner to ban him from entering the territory of the Russian Federation.
Result of the service
Result of the service is the issuance of guest invitation to enter Russia for a foreign cizien or stateless person.
Read: Why it is not profitable to use a private visa
Legislation
The following legal acts were used to write this article:
- Federal law N 114-ФЗ от 15.08.1996 – О порядке выезда из Российской Федерации и въезда в Российскую Федерацию
- Russian government decree N 335 от 09.06.2003 – Положение об установлении формы визы, порядка и условий ее оформления и выдачи, продления срока ее действия, восстановления ее в случае утраты, а также порядка аннулирования визы
Q&A
If you have any questions ask them in the comments to this article. I will try to answer them all.