New Russian Visa Regulations, Part 2

Here is the promised 2nd article regarding new Russian visa regulations. This article is from the October 29 issue of The Moscow Times, Moscow's daily English language newspaper. Please continue to pray for us and the future of our work here.

Patrick

Foreigners Face a 10-Day Wait for New Visas

By Alexander Osipovich and Svetlana Osadchuk
Staff Writers

The minimum wait time for a new Russian visa has risen to 10 days at many embassies in Europe where expatriates previously could get them in just a day.

The consulates in Tallinn and Riga, once popular destinations for expats on visa runs, said Friday that U.S. and British citizens must now wait 10 days to receive any kind of visa.

"I'm in shock," said Paul Goncharoff, a Moscow-based U.S. businessman who learned of the change last week as he prepared to make what had become his annual trip to the Latvian capital for a new visa.

The consulates in Paris and Berlin have also slowed down processing to 10 days, according to visa agencies and foreign businessmen familiar with the situation. Repeated phone calls to the consulates were not answered Friday.

But the consulates in Madrid and London are apparently still offering one-day turnaround.

"Unfortunately, different consulates are doing it differently," said Tatyana Bondareva, general director of the Visa Delight agency.

The longer waiting times stem from an agreement between Russia and the European Union that was meant to simplify visa procedures and went into effect in June. "The agreement says consulates have up to 10 days to issue the visa," Bondareva said. "But some consulates have taken that to mean a set period of 10 days."

The agreement also has lengthened waits because of a provision that has changed the process for issuing invitations, Bondareva said. According to that provision, any Russian company can now write a letter of invitation, a document that has always been required for a foreigner to obtain a visa. Previously, such invitations could only be issued by the Federal Migration Service after the service got a request from an organization authorized to invite foreigners.

The problem, Bondareva said, is that consulates now have to do the work of verifying the facts on the letter of invitation, a task that was previously done by the migration service.

London and Madrid may be among the bright spots for expatriates in Europe. An employee who answered the phone at the Russian Embassy in Madrid said the consulate was still offering 24-hour and three-day processing there. At the London embassy, a man who answered the phone said most visas were taking about a week to process and asked a reporter to call back for more information. Nobody answered repeated phone calls afterward. But visitors to the expat web site RedTape.ru said the embassy was still offering expedited processing.

Repeated phone calls were not answered Friday at the consulates in Berlin, Paris, Rome, Prague, Warsaw, New York and Washington. The consulates in Kiev, Vilnius and Brussels were closed Friday afternoon. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said requests for comment had to be submitted in writing. Questions sent by fax were not answered as of Sunday.

The EU-Russia visa agreement is the reason behind another change that has caused anxiety in the expat community: a new requirement that foreigners who enter Russia on multiple-entry business visas stay for no longer than 90 days at a time, and for no more than 180 days out of one year. In the past, such visas could be used to stay in Russia year-round.

Bondareva said the EU-Russia agreement had made things easier despite the longer waiting times.

"It has become simpler," she said. "The inviting party just writes a letter, in a certain format, saying that some person needs a visa, and he will get that visa. But maybe not as fast as he wants it."

© Copyright 2007 The Moscow Times . All rights reserved.

New Russian Visa Regulations, Part 1

This is an article from the October 22 issue of The Moscow Times, an English language newspaper in Moscow. I share it with you so you can be praying for our future ministry here. I know that no laws can keep God's will from happening, but we can be praying for His direction as we consider the implications of these new regulations. A 2nd related article will follow.

Patrick

New, Tougher Rules for Business Visas

By Alexander Osipovich
Staff Writer

The government is tightening the screws on foreigners who want to work here full time without a work visa -- and itinerant English teachers look likely to be the first to feel the squeeze.

Multiple-entry business visas, which used to let foreigners stay in Russia for up to one year, will now only allow stays of up to 90 days at a time, according to a decree signed by Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov on Oct. 4.

Under the new rules, such visas will still last one year. But they will only let people stay in Russia for up to 180 days of that year, and for no longer than 90 days at a time. Moreover, if a foreigner stays in Russia for 90 days straight, he or she is then required to leave and not come back until another 90 days have passed.

Zubkov's decree also says foreigners might have to obtain the visas in their native countries -- which implies that U.S. and British expatriates could no longer hop on the train to Kiev for a visa run. But representatives of visa agencies and foreign business lobbies were unsure how that rule would be implemented, and some said it might not apply to Westerners.

What is clear, however, is that expats can no longer stay in Russia endlessly by obtaining multiple-entry business visas and renewing them each year, said Alexei Filippenkov, director of the Visa Delight agency.

"Now, any foreigner who wants to come live here has to either go through the immigration process, and eventually obtain a residence permit, or else find an employer who will prepare a work visa for them," Filippenkov said.

Foreigners with work visas are not affected by the change.

It is unclear whether the new rules will affect foreigners with multiple-entry business visas issued before Zubkov's decree. But Filippenkov said it was unlikely.

Spokespeople for the Foreign Ministry and the Federal Migration Service declined to comment by telephone Friday, saying that all questions had to be submitted in writing. E-mails sent to the agencies were not answered as of Sunday.

The new rules could complicate life for expat English teachers, many of whom have multiple-entry business visas.

"If people have to come for 90 days and then leave, this will be very disruptive for the teaching process," said Helen Panovich, academic director of ITC, a company that hires English-language native speakers to give lessons to Russian businessmen.

Amy Cartwright, a spokeswoman for the Association of European Businesses, said most of AEB's member companies would not be affected because their foreign employees had work visas.

But she singled out expat English teachers as a potential trouble spot. "It's very worrying because it means that if you're a teacher, for example, and if you're on a business visa, you can't stay here," Cartwright said.

AEB has met with representatives of the Federal Migration Service to find out how the rules will be implemented, and one of the open questions is whether expats will have to return to their home country to obtain a business visa, she said.

"We don't have an answer yet, but we have asked them," Cartwright said.

Representatives of visa agencies had different takes on the provision in Zubkov's decree about returning to one's home country for a visa.

Timur Beslangurov, managing director of Vista Foreign Business Support, said foreigners would be able to obtain visas in the Russian embassy of any country as long as they could present a residence permit for that country, or at least some document proving that they had the right to live there for 90 days.

Filippenkov, of Visa Delight, said the provision about returning to one's home country did not apply to Westerners and was instead directed at countries like China, Turkey and India.

Russian embassies are notoriously inconsistent in their approach to issuing visas. In the past, it has often taken several months to see how rule changes are implemented.

Zubkov's decree puts Russia on the same footing as many Western countries, which also draw a distinction between visas designed for short visits and visas that grant one the right to work.

U.S. citizens who visit Britain, for example, are allowed to stay for up to six months, but they get a stamp in their passport stating they are prohibited from working there.

"The government is making things work the same way as they do in America and Europe," Filippenkov said. Russian citizens face the exact same 90- and 180-day restrictions in Germany, he added.

Still, such comparisons have not reassured expats accustomed to the ease of obtaining multiple-entry business visas and daunted by the obstacles of getting Russian work permits.

"What will they think of next?" asked one visitor at RedTape.ru. "Shooting all foreigners? Might be quicker to get rid of us that way!"

© Copyright 2007 The Moscow Times . All rights reserved.

Great Scot!!

We had a great weekend with an old friend from Scotland who also lived in Oradea, Romania while we were there several years ago. As we have done so many times before with other visitors, we played tour guide to Kirsteen and took her to the main sites in Moscow and still managed to get some souvenir shopping done at the big Izmailovsky market. It was fun catching up on the news and activities of many of our mutual friends still in Romania. It was as if we hadn't been separated these past 5 years. Aren't those kinds of friendships wonderful?!

God bless,

Patrick

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Yep, a couple days ago, we received our first snowfall. All that fell that day quickly melted away when it hit the warm earth. However, it's been snowing pretty much ever since and is now accumulating nicely. The first snow always brings about a final resignation that we're about to face another 5-6 month cold spell. Before then, I am in complete denial. It also serves as a wake-up call to get our the winter clothes to see what we lack for the season. This year brings another costly reality as well. Now that we have a car, we're going to have to go out and buy studded snow tires, rubber floor mats and ice scrapers and snow brushes. At least I don't have to shovel snow. It also means the house is quieter because the kids are outside more. Peace is good.

Anyone for a visit now?

Patrick

Picture - This is a view from our apartment balcony. Our team car is the 3rd car from the bottom right, the van.

Chore Wars

In the latest issue of Macworld magazine, I learned about Chore Wars, a way to encourage willing participation in performing household chores. Soon after reading about it, I logged on to the website and began creating "adventures" (i.e. "making your bed," "washing the dishes" etc.). I even created the possibility of finding treasure or facing monsters of various strengths.

From the start, the kids eagerly dove into the same chores that before we sometimes had to twist their arms to get them to do. Ethan and Megan have both progressed from a mere peasant to a level 2 ranger. Who knows where they'll stop.

One of the "adventures" I created is called "Preparing a meal." This is the one that kind of backfired on me last night. Christy and I left the kids at home for an hour or two yesterday evening to do some grocery shopping (visiting 2-3 stores to get all that we needed). It's good for 40 gold pieces.

While we were gone, our closet restaurateurs came out and prepared a full meal for us to enjoy upon our return. It was even candlelit, quite romantic. ; ) We started with a salad, prepared Japanese style right in front of our eyes by the great chef Ethan. We were left alone in the dimly lit restaurant (Ethan and Megan's room) to enjoy quiet conversation (interrupted only occasionally by the lovely waitress Megan). The main course came next and what followed is pictured here. Ethan, being the great showman he is, decided he needed to spice up the evening a little and attempted a knife flipping trick like something you'd see at Benihana (not something I would condone or even knew was going to happen). In the low light, he didn't catch the knife and its heavy handle landed in the candle, spraying hot wax droplets everywhere. I say everywhere, but I think the majority of them landed on me. You may have to click on the picture to see a bigger version of it to really see the red spots all over me, including on my head.

We finished the meal with a nice plate of strawberries and chocolate. Delicious! The evening was great fun in spite of the accident, and the kids got their 40 gold pieces.

Patrick