From now on, it will be more difficult for foreigners to get a Russian visa
On the official legal information portal of the Russian government, an order was published according to which, as of January 26, the rules for obtaining a Russian visa by foreigners are being tightened. A citizen of another state who decides to visit Russia is now obliged to inform the FMS about the populated places he intends to visit. The document was signed by the head of the migration service Konstantin Romodanovsky, the head of the FSB Alexander Bortnikov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov.
According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the new application form is mandatory for all applicants, regardless of the category and type of visa requested and its validity period. In addition, to obtain the desired document, it will be necessary to provide information about the inviting and receiving party (including passport details, address, phone number and e-mail), as well as the address for migration registration.
It is worth noting that only one and a half columns are allocated for the intended route, so apparently, in the case of a long trip, it is expected to indicate only the main cities. At the same time, the foreigner undertakes to provide only accurate information in the document, otherwise he may be denied a visa.
“I declare that the information provided in the visa application is accurate. I have been informed that providing incorrect information may result in the refusal of a visa,” states the official wording of the document. “I consent to the automated processing, transmission, and storage of the information provided in the visa application for the purposes of issuance, processing, and control of the visa.”
Representatives of ATOR are convinced: the innovations in the application will not add to Russia's popularity among foreign tourists, but on the contrary, will strengthen their belief, especially among those who plan to travel independently, that getting a visa to Russia is difficult and time-consuming.
ATOR Vice President Vladimir Kantorovich believes that the changes will affect only a small portion of those arriving in Russia. “These rule changes will not directly affect foreign tourists. Specifically those traditional tourists that traditional tour operators deal with. Because their routes are known in advance,” Kantorovich believes. “But there are also rare tourists who travel around the world on bicycles or motorcycles. And they do not have a preliminary plan of which city they will be in and when, they do not even know our roads. But these are isolated cases. And these isolated cases obviously will not get a Russian visa.”
It is also important that due to the complex foreign policy situation, the number of travelers wishing to visit the Russian Federation significantly decreased last year. According to the association's data, the flow of tourists from European countries, which accounts for 60% of the total number of travelers arriving in the country, decreased by 20–30%. The number of arrivals from the United States, in turn, also decreased by 17%.
It should be noted that, according to the FMS, a total of 14.8 million people visited Russia last year, of which 82% were citizens of CIS countries, 8% from EU countries.
Ivan KOMAROV.
“Gazeta.ru”