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UK citizen living privately in Russia, how do family get invitations to visit without staying in a hotel?

+1 vote
I am a UK citizen living in a private residence in Moscow, but want to organise family to come and visit me, and stay with me where I am living. Where should they apply for their invitation from, as they won't be staying in a hotel while they're here. Can they get an invitation from a hotel, even if they won't be staying there? Or do invitations from travel agencies allow the visitors to stay in an unspecified place?
asked Oct 17, 2016 in Russian Visa by Isobel Allen (130 points)

1 Answer

0 votes
Well, basically if you were a permanent resident of Russia you could make a personal invitation for them (but in this case you'd need a permanent registration = "propiska" at the apartment you're hosting them). Otherwise, they can simply get tourist visas and stay with you, this is not against the law. If you make the invitation through a hotel technically it locks you into staying at the hotel (because you made a paid booking there). If you make an invitation through an agency you have hotels listed on the invitation, but the visa itself does not list any hotels, so it's possible to stay where you want.
answered Nov 8, 2016 by Ivan Stepanenko (2,730 points)
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