EFA 2005 in Moscow is an exciting conference location, but it needs a little bit more preparation than travelling to other places. To enter the Russian Federation, you will need a visa, and before this, an invitation. In any case the process should be initiated early, since visa arrangements take some time.
Making travel arrangements
There are basically two ways to make your travel arrangement. You may opt for a travel agency at your home location. This has the advantage that you can obtain all services from one hand. In this case you should try to obtain the visa (not just the invitation) through them as well and carefully compare prices.
Alternatively you may book flights, hotels and tours separately and take care of the visa yourself. In this case we can offer you some assistance with hotel and tour bookings and with visa invitations. It is somewhat more complicated but you probably end up paying less.
Flights & Airport pick-up
Being connected through direct flights to all big European capitals and major hubs in the United States, Moscow is easily accessible, at reasonable prices. Most of you will enter through one of the two main international airports Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo. We will try to meet you directly at the airport, in order to provide you with the latest conference updates and assist in organizing transportation to the city center. For this we kindly ask you to provide us with your travel schedule after having registered for the conference and having booked your flights. (Please log in at the 'Service Area')
Visa support
In general: Visas are issued by the embassies or consulates of the Russian Federation in your home country. In order to obtain a visa you will need an invitation.
- For citizens of EU, USA, Canada, Japan: As a rule this invitation can be issued by the hotel or the travel agency through which you make your booking. Our local partner in Moscow, travel agency 1pointMSC, provide this service when you book a hotel through them, but it takes about four business days to issue this invitation. From beginning of August we recommend to use the service of a professional visa agency.
- For citizens of other countries: Please check it out. Chinese citizens, for example, need a business visa in general. Here you may be required to provide an invitation letter from EFA 2005. In this case please send us an email, and we will issue this document immediately. If you need a business visa we strongly recommend to use the service of a professional visa agency.
In addition to the invitation you need a valid passport (valid for at least six more month), proof of health insurance, passport fotos and a signed application form to obtain the visa. As the details of the requirements may vary from country to country please make sure that you know all the requirements. Have a look at the embassy's web-page for up-to-date information, and forms for downloading (calling Russian consulates is a frustrating experience in some countries). The Russian embassy will charge you for the visa, and the faster you need it the more expensive it will be.
Unfortunately, the procedure itself may also be cumbersume. As a rule, you do not need to show up personally. If you have all the documents ready, you can send the papers by mail or send someone else for delivery and pick up. In some cities people form queues in front of the Russian embassy to hand in their documents, in which case it is advisable to be there well before the consulate opens.
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