apartment stays in Moscow / Visa registration

[Josh Wilson]

Actually, not "any hostel." Sweet Moscow and Sukharevskaya in Moscow, for
instance, refused to do so last I checked (about a year ago). It is
technically illegal to register someone where they aren't staying or at an
entity that is not sponsoring the visa (although this is commonly done). 

Godzilla's Hostel would still register a tourist visa (as of about a year
ago), but they asked lots of questions about how I knew that they might be
willing to do this, etc. They were obviously a bit cautious, but were
willing to do it. Cost for a thirty-day registration was 600 rubles - the
lowest price for one night's stay at the hostel. I would not recommend this
option if you can avoid it. 

Several tourist/visa agencies, as Mr. Hosseini points out, will register you
(legally, as the visa sponsor), at their offices, so that is another option.


These rules and regulations change all the time, and accepted practice can
waver a bit depending on how well they are enforcing regulations. 

In general, best to plan to do things legally. 

Either: 

1) Check in advance if the serviced apartment provider will provide the
service and, if not, go elsewhere. Any hostel or hotel that you are actually
staying in is legally bound to register your visa, by the way. 

Or

2) If staying with a private family / friends, make sure the registered
owner of the apartment is available to register you and that they know how
to.

Or 

3) Check with the visa provider to see if they will be able to register you
at their offices as the official visa sponsor. 

Hope this is clear, 


Josh Wilson
Assistant Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor in Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
SRAS.org 
jwilson at sras.org 



-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Dustin Hosseini
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 2:05 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] apartment stays in Moscow / Visa registration

Dear all concerned: 

I would like to take the time to allay any fears or concerns about visas and
renting apartments privately.  

Anyone who enters on a Tourist Visa can get registered in any hostel, as
long as they pay for that registration; this is especially useful for those
staying for less than or up to a month on a Tourist Visa.  The fee ranges
from about 20 to 40 dollars I believe.  

In addition, sometimes visa companies that do visa invitations, such as Visa
to Russia, can also register you in their offices.  The fee ranges from
about 30 to 60 dollars.  

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Dustin Hosseini

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