Peter
We will certanly let you know how we get on in Moscow. We have been going through the VISA process over the last couple of days and there are some changes that have taken place this month. I have listed them below plus added the difficulty we encountered yesterday when submitting them to the embassies new subcontractor VFS Global.
From the 1st September 2011 the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Great Britain and Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Edinburgh will only be accepting visa application forms completed online on the special website of Consular Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
http://evisa.kdmid.ru. This form is longer and more detailed than the previous manual form.
From September 2011 visa application forms from other Internet sources as well as hand-written visa application forms will not be accepted.
Along with the £50 visa fee, there is a service charge of - Normal applications (7 calendar days): £26.40 (inclusive of VAT)applicable per visa application plus a postage charge of £7.40 if you would like it returned by post.
You need to submit the form with a 'Tourist voucher' and a 'Tourist confirmation' document
stamped and signed by an authorized person. They can be obtained through your hotel or an approved travel agent who deals with trips to Russia, and should be valid for the entire duration of your trip. The stamp and all details should be clearly readable.
The VFS application centre in London advised us on presentation of the documents that the stamp used on the 'Tourist voucher' and the 'Tourist confirmation' document provided by the Hilton in Moscow was not clear enough and rejected the form meaning I would have to get new documents from Hilton. As this was done in person there was no charge but if the embassy turned down the documents the fee would be forfeited and you would be charged the full fees again on reapplication.
I will let you know Hiltons response and if we have any further problems.
Daffodil
