help with visa

[soidisantfille.livejournal.com]

I realize this is not specifically-related to language study, but I figured you're all very knowledgeable about these things.

I'm going to Moscow in August to study at CIE. Problem is, the school says they can't issue me my invitation until the end of June, when I will have already left Canada (where I am from) for the Czech Republic. My question is: if I have them send my invitation to the Russian embassy of the Czech Republic, can I apply for my visa there?

If anyone else has had a similar experience, please do share. I'm not sure what to do, and I can't find any straightforward information on the internet.

Comments

[crculver.livejournal.com]

The general rules about a Russian visa is that you can only request it in a country where you have a residency permit. So, if you can't show you have residency in the Czech Republic, they may say that you have to go back to your home country. Many nations have these sort of rules, not just Russia. For example, when I, an American, wished to study in Spain, I was living informally in Kiev. The Spanish embassy in Kiev said I would have to fly all the way back to America to request my student visa there.

That said, often embassies don't really care about the rule. I got a Russian visa when I was vacationing in Serbia (and they even gave me faster processing and a lower fee than Americans usually get). Still, you're risking it.

[svyatogor.livejournal.com]

I guess the best you can do is just call the Russian embasy (or should it be counsulate?) and ask them.

[coldmacana.livejournal.com]

Embassies are diplomatic missions located in capitals; Consulates are other missions located in a country's prominent non-capital city. Thus, the Russian Embassy is located in Washington, while Russian consulates are located in Seattle and New York, for example.

[crculver.livejournal.com]

No, that's not how it works at all. Embassies and consulates can both be in capital cities, and are often in the same building. "Embassy" refers to the organization that communicates between its government and the local foreign government. "Consulate" (often referred to as "consular section") provides services to individuals such as immigration, replacement of documents, and recognition of marriage, etc.

[maisondetranger.livejournal.com]

I've had many many visas done for me in Switzerland although I then lived in France. Last November, I got my visa in Seoul although I do not reside there. I have other examples, including some of American citizens getting Russian visas in countries they are visiting.
Basically, it's not a problem.

[colonelrabin.livejournal.com]

I would say the best way could be to call the Russian embassy (consular section, visa department) in Praha, Czech Republic, and ask them directly.

The information in Russian (unfortunately, very little of it) is provided here:

http://www.czech.mid.ru/rus/emb_inf.html

Good luck!

[colonelrabin.livejournal.com]

And please please remember that only the appropriate authority itself can provide you with more or less reliable information (if any). Neither anyone's personal experience, nor analogy considerations are sure.

[bolnaia-sobaka.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the information I give you is worth, since it's second hand info found on the net.
But.
From what I know, you can request a visa from any Russian consulate in the world, except Germany (where you need to have a residency permit that is valid longer than the Russian visa you would be requesting). That is, unless you are a German citizen, in which case you can only apply in Germany. (Diplomatic reciprocity, because Germany has imposed such weird requirements on Russian nationals.)
I believe I got that information somewhere here (http://www.waytorussia.net/TalkLounge/). It seems that people regularly go to one of the Baltic states to renew their visas.