For Australian passport-holders, a visa is mandatory. To get a visa
one must have an invitation or letter from a travel agency confirming
that you are travelling as part of a tour. I have read of some
people taking their chances and applying for visas without such
letters, but your chances of success are slim and it seams to me a
pointless exercise when it is so easy to get the necessary letter.
I travelled to the Ukraine as part of a tour initially, then left the
tour and continued on privately (with my two Polish-residant
cousins). The Polish travel company that organised the tour gave me
a letter to cover me for the entire period of anticipated stay plus 6
days. This cost me nothing, of course, as it was part of the tour
package. I also had the option of arranging an invitation via a
Ukrainian agency here in Melbourne (for a fee of course). (I would
have taken this option if I had chosen to travel privately the whole
time.) I'm sure that there are similar agencies in other countries.
Incidentally, the period of stay outlined in my letter was 13 days
however the visa was approved for 1 month. This is different to the
Russian visa procedures where the visa is granted for the exact
period specified in the letter. This is where the travel
agencies/tour groups can make life difficult for you because they can
elect to not give you any extra days unless you pay for accommodation
(that they arrange, of course) up front. This is what I came up
against when I wanted to have a couple of optional days added to my
stay in Russia in case I like St Petersburg enough to want to stay
longer (grrr Sundowners).
For Belarus visas, a letter of invitation is mandatory also. I don't
know how particular they are, but I know that three people on my
trans-Siberia tour had the tour guide arrange the visas for them in
Moscow. She lined up at the consulate to get the paperwork, brought
it back to them at the hotel to fill in and sign, then took the
documents to the consulate herself - all while the guys were enjoying
the sights of Moscow. I don't expect that all Belarus consulates
would be so easygoing.
By the way, when applying for both the Russain and Ukrainian visas, I
chose the "express" options. It cost me a lot more (in the case of
the Ukraine visa it was twice the normal price) but guaranteed a visa
without any hassles. (I hate to be supporting corrupt practices, but
I was pressed for time and could not afford to be stuffed-around).
For Lithuania, Australian passport-holders do not need a visa.
Maria
--- In Kresy-Siberia@..., "Helena Danielczuk"
<helena52@m...> wrote:
Hello
yes visas are required. If traveling as a tourist such
documentation is
obtained with the help of the company which is organising the
visits. If
traveling to family I have a feeling it could be a little more
difficult and
a letter of invitation would be needed. >
