Russian business visa in Beijing...

[dorearendil]

Hi everyone,

I'm a French & British citizen, currently living in Beijing (no residence permit though).

Considering 2 trips to Russia within a 90-day period, so applying for a business visa seems like a reasonable option.

A few questions for Those Who Know:

• Any idea of the normal consular fees for a business visa here? Both for a French and a British passport.

(I've found that page , but I'm not sure whether the prices quoted are also valid for biz visas)

• My current Chinese visa is on my UK passport. Would it be a problem if my Russian visa is on my French passport?

• The embassy's website clearly states that the consular fees will not be refunded in case my application is rejected. Given that should be a lot of money, does everyone confirm it's OK to apply here despite the fact that I don't have a residence permit?

Cheers,

Dorian

[zhouhaochen]

I do not know about the exact fees and would not worry too much about those, thats the easy part. The problem is whether they will allow you to apply in Beijing without being a resident. A friend of mine (UK citizen) was not allowed to apply and had to fly to London to hand in his application. That was a few years back, but when I applied for a tourist visa last year I think it was the same. Go to the consulate, their is usually not too much of a queue and ask.

[dorearendil]

Thanks for your reply.

Actually since I posted my message things have got a little clearer -- it's indeed impossible as of now to apply for a Russian biz visa in Beijing without a residence permit, and the same goes for a tourist visa.

However, I spoke to someone from the Russian consulate in Shanghai, and it turns out it's possible to process a tourist visa over there, despite the residence thing. So I just need to make a little train trip, and hopefully everything should be fine...

Cheers,

Dorian