Q&A with Sergey Gubenko, the Consular Officer of the
Embassy of Russia in Uzbekistan

Sergey Gubenko, the Consular Officer of the Embassy of Russia in Uzbekistan, has been working in Uzbekistan for 3 years. The Consular Department is located in Tashkent, at the territory of the Embassy. It is provided with a separate entrance, and visitors are admitted according to the "first come first served" principle.

Q.: What are the different types of visa required for entry to Russia by foreign (non-Uzbek) citizens?

A.: In compliance with the law "On Procedure of Entry to and Exit from the Russian Federation", there are several types of visa required for entry to the Russian Federation, i.e. single, double and multiple entry visas, transit and double transit visas, entry and tourist visas and business and diplomatic ones.

Q.: What documents must the applicant submit when applying for a Russian business, tourist or transit visa?

A.: To obtain a one-entry business visa, the applicant should submit the letter of invitation executed either by the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation (FMC RF) or by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA RF). Also, residents of the Schengen Zone, Latvia and Israel should submit the health insurance valid in the territory of the Russian Federation. In the case of obtaining the visa for more than 90 days, the AIDS certificate issued in compliance with the internationally acknowledged standards is required. The below documents are necessary for the tourist visa issuance:
• Voucher and a tourist receipt confirmation issued by a Russian tourist firm
• Ticket or ticket reservation
• Passport
• 1 photo
• For citizens of the Schengen Zone, Latvia and Israel - health insurance valid in the territory of the Russian Federation. To obtain a transit visa, the applicant should submit his/her passport, one photo and ticket or ticket reservation, and the visa for the destination country.
Citizens of Algeria, Angola, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Somali, PRC, DPRK, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, SAR, Somali, Turkey, Chad, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Georgia may receive their visas, except for the transit ones, in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan only if the due residence permit or accreditation is available with them.

Q.: What is the content and form of the invitation required for a Russian business visa?

A.: Invitation required to obtain a Russian visa should be executed by the FMS RF or MFA RF, on the special headed paper. It should state a type of visa, multiplicity of the trip, entry purpose, information about the applicant: citizenship, surname, name, patronymic, date and place of birth, passport number; the name of an inviting company and its address or the name of an inviting person and his/her address should be indicated, as well as the applicant's route. If the applicant goes to Russia together with his/her underage children, the invitation should indicate their surnames, names, patronymics, dates and places of their birth.

Q.: What is required to support an application for a long term (6 month or one year) multiple entry business visa?

A.: To obtain a multiple entry visa, the applicant should submit the documents as below:
• Invitation
• AIDS Certificate
• 1 photo
• Passport
• For citizens of the Schengen Zone, Latvia and Israel - health insurance valid in the territory of the Russian Federation.

Q.: Where and when does the applicant go to apply for a visa?

A.: To apply for an entry visa for the Russian Federation, the applicant should go to the Consular Department of the Embassy of the
Russian Federation in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Reception days and hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9.00 a.m. to 13.00

Q.: Do bilateral visa agreements between the Russian Federation and foreign governments apply to visas issued in Uzbekistan?

A.: There are a number of bilateral agreements between the Russian Federation and foreign governments including some countries of the European Union, Asia, Africa and South America. Issuance of visas and cross-entry to the territories of participating countries is in compliance with these agreements.

Translation to English: Lyubov Belokon