Due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia, it is best for those who live on the Georgian side to cross the border legally through the mediation of other countries.
Instructions
Step 1
Contact the Section of Interests of the Russian Federation at the Swiss Embassy (Tbilisi, I. Chavchavadze Avenue, 51, phones: 8-10- (99532) 91-24-06, 91-26-45) and find out the copies of which documents you need to send it to your relatives living in Russia. so that they can send you an invitation.
Step 2
Make copies of documents. Usually this:
- passport;
- certificates confirming relationship (may be available both from you and from the inviting party);
- information about your income;
- passports and birth certificates of other members of your family (if they wish to travel with you).
If you need any additional documents (for example, in order to ensure your timely return to Georgia), be sure to find out about it right there.
Step 3
Ask a notary to certify them. Hand them over to the translators from Georgian into Russian, and then take them back to the notary to collate the documents and their copies, and then certify the translation.
Step 4
Submit them again to the Russian Federation Interests Section for apostille affixing. Send them by regular mail or courier services. If possible, send them to your relatives by e-mail (it may happen that you need the original apostille, and not its scan).
Step 5
Get an invitation and a letter of guarantee from your relatives. Contact the Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy again and apply for a visitor visa (or several, according to the number of persons invited). By this time, everyone must have a passport, which will need to be handed over to the Russian Federation Interests Section.
Step 6
Be prepared for the fact that you may be refused. But if everything is in order, then within a week from the date of application you will receive a visa valid only for 30 days. So you will need to decide all the travel issues in advance. You have several options for travel, despite all the difficulties:
- by car through the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint;
- by plane (the flight to Moscow can be canceled at any time, but air traffic has been partially restored);
- by plane through Ukraine, Latvia, Azerbaijan;
- by train through Armenia or Azerbaijan;
- By "Kometa" from Batumi to Sochi or by ferry from Batumi to Ilyichevsk (Ukraine) or Burgas (Bulgaria), and then by any transport to the desired city of Russia.
