Moscow from July 25-30 <\/strong>in Cosmos Hotel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nStep 3. Get a letter of invitation or visa support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The letter of invitation <\/strong>(also known as the visa support letter or tourist confirmation letter<\/em>) is the most important document but also the most controversial. The letter of invitation should not be confused for a hotel reservation. They are not the same. It is not necessary to have a hotel reservation in order to get a visa. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis document is needed to apply for a visa and must be issued by a Russian person, institution, hotel, or business who has invited you to visit them. A Russian family member, university you’ll be attending, a business or a hotel where you will be staying can provide you with the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visa support<\/strong> is the most common support received when getting a tourist visa. <\/strong>This document is issued by the hotel in which you’ll be staying and is printed on an A4 page. It is divided in two separate but similar parts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nThe Tourist Services Contract<\/strong> (tourist voucher) is the document that states that you have hired a Russian hotel service. This part will show your personal information, the cities you will be visiting, as well as the services you will receive from the hotel and the proof that you have paid for a reservation.<\/li>\n\n\n\nThe Foreign Tourist Reception Confirmation<\/strong> (confirmation letter), as the name indicates, confirms you will use the hotel during your visit. It also includes personal information and the accommodations you’ll be provided with during your stay. The visa support includes 4 things that you will need when filling out your visa application form. Take a look at the example of the real visa support shown below to see the 4 things which are marked in red:\n\nName of organization<\/strong>: Visa Centre, LLC<\/li>\n\n\n\nAddress<\/strong>: 10, Bolshaya Konyushennaya st, 4th floor, St. Petersburg<\/li>\n\n\n\nReference number<\/strong>: 007612<\/li>\n\n\n\nConfirmation number<\/strong>: 3856<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nI included this screenshot of an actual letter of invitation but blurred the personal information so that you can see the important pieces more easily:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow do you get visa support for a tourist trip? <\/strong>There are two options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nOPTION 1. Ask for it directly from the HOTEL, <\/strong>they can either fax or email it to you. While the document should be free in theory, the hotels usually charge a fee (between AUD$30 and AUD$60). If you stay in two or more hotels, you will need an invitation letter from each hotel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nPlease note<\/strong>: if the hotel makes you a free invitation letter you must stay at the hotel since if you cancel the reservation after obtaining the free invitation, the hotel can invalidate it or charge you a supplement in your credit card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nOPTION 2. Getting a letter of invitation on your own through an authorized RUSSIAN TOUR OPERATOR. <\/strong>If you simply want to do things more quickly without having to call or email each individual hotel, there are different travel agencies that can quickly provide the visa support online in 5 minutes for about AUD$25. With this option you can include the hotels or apartments in which you are going to stay, but with the advantage that later you can change the hotels after obtaining your visa (you may find a cheaper hotel, or Airbnb apartment or one that you simply like better than the original hotel or apartment). You can get an invitation in 5 minutes in PDF format and you should print it in color. The three best options that I used to get an invitation letter are:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\niVisa<\/a> (20,50 USD)<\/li>\n\n\n\nRussia Support<\/a> (19.90 USD)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nIf you have booked your accommodation through Airbnb (or platforms such as Wimdu, Tripping, CouchSurfing, Interhome, HomeAway, VRBO, HomeStay, etc.), you can get an invitation through iVisa or Russia Support. In these cases, in the invitation request forms (Hotel section) specify \u201capartment + address\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s see how to obtain an invitation letter with these Russian tour operators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
iVisa<\/h4>\n\n\n\n iVisa<\/a> is one of the best systems currently available to obtain an invitation letter to travel to Russia. The system of issuing visa support is fully automated. You receive the invitation letter immediately after paying (in PDF format ready to print). You can pay by credit card or Paypal. Currently, the price is about 20,50 USD each visa support.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe automated process of purchasing visa support<\/strong> can be done through this link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n