Planning to Stay with my Russian fianc茅' in Perm, Russia

Member since 04 March 2024

boxxk13Member04 March 2024 06:34:17

I don't want to sound like the same question over and over...but I think the information is needing an update for 2024. I am currently planning to go to Russia and stay with my girl and from there we will decide the permanent goals for our home. She is an attorney and must stay there until her contract ends and so would like to know is a thing that a multiple entry visa would be a good fit for? Katya says the private visa is actually less beneficial for staying for longer periods in Russia, since you can get multiple entries as a tourist, but I will try to formulate my question hoping the background info gives context...I am an American from Texas, and wanting to travel to Perm, Russia. I wan to stay with the love of my life...that is the honest reason, but it seems that tourist visas, in fact most of the visas I read about seem to demand that there be a schedule of things being done and when...like an itinerary. Perm is in the center of Russia, and the only direct flights that I see are either Moscow or St Pete's, so this would mean I will need to take a train from Moscow....but I have heard the trains are also stopped, or is it only聽 from outside Russia? Do any of you folks know what the best course of action for getting to Perm would be? And should I be worried about the possibility of the train causing my arrival to be late and then find issues as a result ?

ajlc Member

Member since 26 June 2024

ajlcMember26 June 2024 23:13:35

Hey,

Registered specifically because of this post lol. I'm in the process of doing exactly this- moving from Texas to Perm to be with my girl.

I have a tourist visa, 3 year multi entry, which allows me to stay in the country for 6 months at a time. My understanding is that to reset the timer, you just need to leave the country for a day, and return.

I would start with a tourist visa. My understanding is that technically, if you're visiting and staying with people, they need to register you at their home. If she's inviting you, then technically you should be on a tourist visa. I've only visited so far with hotels booked. It's something you'll want to look into further.

There is a Russian consulate in Houston, the paperwork is all very simple and the people there are very nice and helpful. I'd recommend going personally, if you can, to avoid paying someone. Everything you need is online and it shouldn't cost more than $220.

You'll want to fly to Perm, it's pretty straightforward. You can buy tickets from aviasales using a russian card. Until you have your own bank account (which is easy to set up) I would just send her money and use her card. I did this using a service called Avanchange.

When arriving at the border, they only asked me if I was visiting for "purely tourism" to which I replied "yes"

They held onto my passport for an extra 20 minutes or so, but after that, I was free to enter the country.

If you speak russian, great. If you don't speak russian, I highly advise you to start learning.

Safe travels!