The problem with visa's is that you need what is commonly known as an 'invitation' from someone in Russia before you can apply for a visa. Invitations come in a number of forms. Firstly there is the 'private invitation', which can be provided by a friend or relative in Russia. It is probably the most time consuming of invitations to arrange. Your friend/relative will need to visit their local police office department called OVIR. Here they will apply for an invitation for you. They fill out a couple of forms and these forms are then sent to the OVIR headquarters. They check everything, send the forms back to the local OVIR office and notify your friend/relative that the invitation is ready to be collected. Once your friend/relative has collected the invitation they will need to post it to you by FedEx or UPS to make sure it arrives safely to you. It is possible to have a scanned copy of the original sent to you. Or the invite could be faxed to the relevant embassy. Check with the embassy first. This process can take up to 6 weeks so plan ahead!
The next option is provided by hotels if you book accommodation through them. The hotel will provide a voucher once your booking is confirmed. You then include this voucher with your visa application.
The final option is to obtain an invitation from a registered company that is authorized to issue invitations. All our agents are registered business' in their countries and thus are able to provide invitations. However they will only provide invitations to individuals who have booked a personal tour through our service.
One other thing to mention. And this is very important! You must have your visa registered within 3 working days of your arrival in Russia, Ukraine or Belarus. You will have to visit the office of the company who issued your invitation and have them stamp your visa in your passport. Faliure to do this will mean that you will not be able to leave these countries without paying a fine. If you received a private invitation through your friend you will need to visit the local OVIR office to register. Hotels that issued your voucher will also register your visa as will the private company that issued your invitation.
Here are links to 2 websites specializing in visa's to Russia for French citizens:
Action Visa's
Visa Consult
