Two questions - Russia and China visa application concerns

[Jvita]

Hello everyone!

Brief summary:
1. Russia visa: Is it potentially a problem if the entry and exit countries are Uzbekistan and Estonia, i.e. adjacent countries?
2. China visa: Is a cheapo exit ticket to a country near China sufficient for the visa, or is it suspicious?


I'm planning to travel by train from China through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and into Russia, then through the Baltic states. I'm on a British passport, and the entry requirements don't seem to be a problem for any of the destinations except China and Russia which require visas. I'm sorting out the visa applications for these and I have a couple of questions:

1. The Russia visa requires entry and exit dates along with entry origin and exit destination (I'm using the the Real Russia visa service) - is it potentially a problem if the entry and exit countries are Uzbekistan and Estonia, i.e. adjacent countries? I've heard that specifying exit and entry by train is a problem for the Chinese visa and can get the application rejected, so booked flights are necessary. For the Russia visa, will they guess I'm travelling by train and reject the visa? The form doesn't specify the mode of transport or ask for flight numbers though, am I worrying too much?

2. The China visa requires details of exit and entry flights - the time from completing the online application form to the appointment for submitting the application is minimum 1 week, and I haven't found any ticket services that offer more than 1 week refundable tickets. I have a relatively cheap entry ticket already which I'll actually be using, but not sure what to do about the exit ticket. I've found a cheap exit ticket to a country close to China, is a cheapo exit ticket to a country near China sufficient for the visa, or is it suspicious? I've heard general advice for visa applications being to have a route that completes the journey back to the home country, but not sure how much this reflects the reality of applications. How have other people taking trains out of China booked flights for their visa?


Thanks a lot for any help

J

[Chuvash]

Hi,

I can’t comment on Chinese visas but I’m fairly knowledgable about Russian visas.

For atypical itineraries, i.e. not just Moscow and St Petersburg the best option is to get a Business visa because you don’t have to provide detailed itineraries. For that you need to buy a business invitation, which many agencies will provide for a fee (~£30-50). You do not have to be on business to get this visa.

Then in terms of entry/exits I think the only issue with a train entry is that tickets are typically only sold up to 45 days before the departure date so depending on when your trip is they might not be available yet. An alternative is to book fully refundable flights to Moscow and back get the visa and cancel everything afterward. With a business visa you dont have a entry/exit point.

As far as I know if you travel on a UK passport there are other formalities but I don’t think they matter in terms of entry/exit points

[Jvita]

Thanks for the response - in terms of itinerary what I have planned is pretty standard, just Moscow and St Petersburg. I suppose the only difference from the most typical visit would be the fact I'll be arriving by train from Tashkent and leaving by train from Moscow or St Petersburg, rather than flying in/out. The visa application form hasn't requested transport details, just the origin and destination countries around the Russia visit. Do you think it's better to book a return London/Moscow flight so I can put UK for both entry and exit country, or is train travel (as implied by Kazakhstan/Estonia) not a red flag for the visa application? I've read that for visa applications for some countries (e.g. China), it's very inadvisable to put trains as inward and outward travel and instead have flights bookings for the application.

[Chuvash]

What I meant by atypical was more in terms of not flying in and staying in a single hotel for the duration of the trip. With the business visa you don’t have to justify each and every night.

I don’t see why a land border would be an issue, as a matter of fact I used a return flight from Helsinki 2 years ago as a proof of travel without any issue (London visa center). Also a bunch of people do the trans Mongolian which implies a land border entry

Russia is surprisingly chill about the regions you can list I put Crimea on my visa application right after the annexation and there was no issue or pushback

[steven]

1. Not a problem - why would it be? I have never flown into or out of Russia, only traveled overland. It is a normal country.
2. Not a problem either. You are flying out and that is all they want.