April 2006

Visa Free Travel to Russia for Chinese Tourists

About 200 000 Chinese tourists come to Russia annually. To attract even more visitors from China, visa free travel to Russia has been arranged for its citizens.

A tourist must have a valid passport and register at a travel agency approved by the Russian Tourism Bureau. This will save him $50 of visa application fee and 7 days of visa processing. The average tour cost has also gone down to approximately $1000.

It is advised though to be careful with choosing a travel agency. “Before registering for a tour to Russia without a visa, travellers should make sure that the agency is qualified to offer this kind of tour. This is very important,” said Zhao Dexiang, China International Travel Service.

Source: http://english.cctv.com/

Related: http://www.russia.com/ , http://www.direct-visas.co.uk/

British Embassy Will Open Visa Application Centres throughout Russia

The British embassy in Russia is planning to open visa application centres in 11 Russian cities. These centres will accept visa fees and check the correctness of visa application forms. All visa decisions will be made in the embassy in Moscow and in its consulates in St.Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

Such measures aim to simplify visa issue process and bring it closer to those Russians, who live far from Moscow.

The British embassy in Russia issued 108 000 visas last year. Visa application services working in different parts of the country, further growth can be expected in the nearest future.

Source: http://www.tass.ru/