Q1. I want to travel to Russia. Every time I ask someone they tell me that I have to book and pay for everything in advance for horrendous prices in order to get a visa, which then only allows me to go where I've already specified. How do I get round this?
A. For a tourist visa this is true; but you can get round it by getting a business visa. One location (a hostel in St Petersberg) which provides this service does it via email and fax, and will fax you an official invitatation in order for you to be able to gain a visa from your local embassy. Prices are about $40 the last time I looked. Go to www.ryh.ru for more information: also try www.hostels.com. These hostels will then need to register your visa within three days of entry with the relevant authorities, so if you are entering Russia from Asia, you might want to see if you can find another organisation that could do this; try in the relevant newsgroups like rec.travel.asia.
Q2. I want to travel to Mongolia and/or China. Again the embassies say I must book everything in advance; what's the truth here?
A. That really is a load of cobblers. Neither country specifies anything of the sort! However, you might want to get your visa via a travel agency to avoid the embassy staff by getting a short tour with them. China visas usually last 30 days and Mongolian visas three weeks. The latest (unconfirmed) on Mongolian visas is that they may have gone to "get on border" status which would be fantastic!
Q3. How do I extend a visa in these three countries?
A. Russia I don't know, but Mongolia is usually OK for a series of three week extensions, with the only problem being that
you must go back to UB for each one; again latest information says otherwise! For China, you can usually get a thirty
day extension, but another one can be difficult. This rule does not apply
to Tibet, where they will usually only give you enough time to get out;
Shigatse PSB were supposed to be friendlier, but this was being cracked
down on as of June 97.
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