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Getting my Russian visa in Yerevan, Armenia

And how you can do it too

Are you an expat in Russia who needs to renew your visa? Officially, you can process a visa through any Russian embassy, but in practice, it's not always practical. Armenia is a friend of Russia and the Russian embassy in their capital, Yerevan, has the capacity to process visas for foreigners. Learn from my experience below. 

 

 

 

My family and I are in an unusual situation that requires us to be in Russia for an indefinite amount of time. I am in the country on a travel visa. That means, when I want to renew, I need to leave the country for 10 business days. That time is now and I decided to do the processing in Yerevan, Armenia. That's faster and cheaper than doing it back home. I will go over the process with you, tell you about the problems I encountered and offer some tips to help you avoid the same issues. If you want to learn more, join the Friends of Russia telegram channel and ask for advice there. I put these tips in order of importance but also tried to keep it chronological to present it in the most understandable and helpful way possible 

 

Issue 1: Getting a Visa

Prepare your visa documents in advance

 

Before even boarding the plane, you need to make sure you have a visa photo and letter of invitation. What you need beyond that depends on your circumstances but you will need to provide all the information requested on the visa application form. If you are processing the visa yourself, which is simple and straightforward. Follow the directions on the website. If you want assistance, I have worked with multiple agencies and never really had any problems. For those of you who are in Russia, I highly recommend using this agency. They are knowledgeable, honest, and reliable. They will tell you the option that is best for you, even if you don't need their services.   

 

Too long, didn't read; 
Visa requirements link
Types of visas
Reliable agency liga link
photo size 
US visa agencies

 

Issue 2: Paying (Bring Cash)

 

When I arrived I only had my Mir debit card and US Mastercard. I though this would be good enough but I was caught off guard when I tried to use them.Mir didn't work at all, which I'll go into detail about later. My US cards were hit or miss. It worked at the airport but not at multiple shops and my hotel. Eventually, I realized that the chip worked consistently, where mastercard was accepted. 

Regarding Mir, it is not accepted everywhere but that was not my problem. I am not a resident of Russia, and therefore, I am not allowed to use my Russian bankcard outside of RF. At the time of my visit, that law had only recently been passed. 

While preparing for the trip I grabbed some dollars I had on hand and put some rubles on my bank card. Those dollars ended up getting me out of the airport. 

Once I was out of the airport, I still needed cash. My US card worked in locals ATMs but if you only have a Russian card, there's still hope. VTB Bank allows you to withdraw dram from your Russian ruble account.

 

TLDR;
Contact your bank in advance to notify them of your travel
Mir cards are not accepted everywhere in Armenia
Non-residents are restricted from using their Russian Mir cards abroad
Use VTB Bank to withdraw dram from your Mir card. 
 

Issue 3: Getting a Taxi

 

When I exited arrivals I was swarmed by taxi drivers. One offered me a ride for 5,000 dram. I didn't know for sure that he was trying to rip me off but I suspected so much because he didn't even know where I was going. Another driver starred at me as I was trying to get my taxi app to work. But why wasn't Yandex Go working? Well, it definitely works in Armenia and I have used it a lot but I can't use my Russian bank card to pay for rides in Armenia, that's something I mentioned in tip 1, but Yandex doesn't work with western credit card processors due to the sanctions. So, I was chatting with my Russian bank and Yandex to figure out what the problem was. I finally worked around that problem by using the "Cash" payment method. Another solution, is using local car sharing apps such as GG. This one has worked for me and it accepts my US cards but there are not as many cars. That means, longer wait time on average.  

 

TLDR;
Taxi drivers at the airport overcharge. 
Yandex Go and GG are ridesharing apps that work in Yerevan 

Issue 5: Communicate with the travel agency

I had two problems that stemmed from bad communication. The first, my letter of invitation was delayed by a day because the agency in Moscow was not aware of my exact arrival date. I provided this info late and via whatsapp. I should have asked for confirmation that my LoI would be ready but I just assumed everything would be fine. 

 

Next, I was notified at 10:30 AM that I needed to be at the Russian embassy for an interview at 11. I knew that I had to do an interview and I knew that the embassy only accepts applications until 12:00PM so I was ready but my hotel is about 30 minutes from the embassy. I was a few minutes late but it wasn't a problem. 

 

TLDR; 
Tell the agency your exact arrival date and verify costs and meeting time in advance. 

 

Tip 1: Buy a local sim 

When traveling for a day or a weekend, I can add international roaming for about 550 rubles right through the providers app. That's convenient but for a long trip that is expensive. As soon as I entered the arrivals hall I saw a few places to buy sim cards. I went with Viva. It was less than $8 for a month of unlimited internet and 200 minutes. That is less thanthe cost of two days on my Russian plan. This is the option I went with but you can also contact your service provider or buy an e-sim online.

Tip 2: Plan and prepare in advance

Once you have sorted out your visa preparation, consider doing the following: 
Download local ridesharing apps such as GG
Contact your bank: Notify them of your trip to avoid getting flagged for fraud, find out about currency conversion fees. 
Contact your mobile service provider or buy an E-sim online if you do not plan to buy a local sim. 
Plan how you are going to spend your time. Here is an article with the most recommended places in Armenia.