RLUS Ltd Frequently Asked Questions

RLUS Ltd

Russian Language Undergraduate Studies Ltd

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I get a visa for Russia?

First you will need an official invitation from the institution in Russia where you will be studying. RLUS will arrange this and send it to you 3-8 weeks before departure. We can’t be any more specific than this, as Russian bureaucracy is unpredictable. You then send this off with your passport and required documents. There are full details in the “How to apply for a visa” document on the website or click here to go directly to the document.

Passport validity

1) If your passport expires less than six months after the end of your course, you will have to renew your passport before applying for your RLUS course. Do not send in an application with a passport that expires less than six months after the end of the course.

2) If your passport expires less than 21 months after the end of your course, you should also renew your passport. You will be issued with a visa in UK with your current passport, but as visas are only issued for a maximum of 90 days, they may have to be extended in Russia. Even if you are going on a three month course, I would advise renewing your passport, as your visa may need to be extended and you will have problems if you want to leave Russia in the middle of your course. If you apply with a passport that expires earlier, you may not be able to extend your visa. If you insist on using your current passport, this may mean you will have to leave before the end of your course, or obtain a new visa for the remainder of your course. This will be very expensive and involve leaving Russia to obtain it, thus missing part of your course. In these circumstances RLUS cannot be held responsible for the curtailment of your course and no refund will be given. RLUS will also not be responsible for any extra costs involved in obtaining a new visa.

Lost visa invitation

If you have lost your visa invitation, or it gets lost in the post, contact Dr Bivon immediately. Dr Bivon can send you by e-mail a scan of your invitation and sometimes this will be accepted. However, there is no guarantee. If all else fails, you can obtain a tourist or business visa. Tourist visas last for a maximum of one month and cannot be extended. At the end of the month, your student visa invitation should be ready. You will have to return to the UK, apply for a student visa and return to Russia with your new visa. Business visas are multi-entry and last for a year. However you can only stay for a maximum of 3 months in a six month period. This type of visa will allow you to attend a 13 week course, but not a longer one. You can get tourist and business visas from a number of organisations in the UK. A Google search will provide a list. Students have used Real Russia (www.realrussia.co.uk) or Scotts Tours (www.scottstours.co.uk).

Air tickets

Flights are provided by Study in Russia, a company run by the Operations Consultant. Current prices are in the Final Briefing Document. We are aware that cheaper tickets are available. However, Study in Russia cannot use them, as there are unlikely to be sufficient tickets for the whole group. Furthermore, such tickets have to be purchased immediately and refunds are rarely possible. Bear in mind that a number of students change courses or withdraw altogether. Such students would not be willing to pay for unused air tickets. The return date of cheaper tickets cannot normally be changed. With the group ticket you can change the return date once only (for a fee of £50-55), subject to availability. You cannot change the departure airport in Russia. In other words, if you are booked on a St Petersburg course, you cannot return from Moscow and vice versa. The Final Briefing Document gives you full details of how to change your ticket.

Tickets are booked for the whole group well in advance. Tickets are issued 8 weeks before departure. All tickets are e-tickets and will be e-mailed to you as soon as they are issued. Once issued (whether they have been sent to you or not), no cancellation is possible. If you cancel your air ticket before then, you will lose your deposit. These are conditions imposed by the airlines, and not by Study in Russia..

We have tried to obtain cheaper tickets from a number of airlines, but none are willing to offer these terms. Before deciding to book your own ticket, you are advised to read the relevant section of the Booking Form Notes.

If you are booking your own ticket, please note that you are unlikely to be able to arrive in Russia even one day before the course starts, as the dates on your visa invitation are normally the course dates.

Accommodation costs

Students frequently ask why accommodation costs more than stated in the initial documents sent out by RLUS. The answer is that inflation is much higher in Russia than in UK. The latest prices are in the Accommodation document. This will be updated regularly and the aim is to provide final prices for autumn courses by June and |November for spring term courses.

Where can I get my visa from?

If you are a UK citizen, you can only obtain your visa in the UK. However, if you are a UK citizen studying in another country, you should be able to obtain a visa either in the country where you are studying, or in the UK. If you are citizen of another country, but studying in the UK you should be able to obtain a visa either in the UK or in your home country. you should check the rules for obtaining a visa, as they can differ in different countries. RLUS can only advise on the rules in the UK.

When you apply for your course, you should let RLUS know if you plan to apply for a visa outside the UK. However, experience has shown that this will not prevent you applying for a visa in a different country, subject to the rules in the preceding paragraph.

Can I change the course I have enrolled for?

If you wish to change the course you have enrolled for, you must inform Dr Bivon and also get the approval from your university. There will be a £25 change of course fee. There are deadlines:

To change an AUTUMN term course, you must inform RLUS and RLUS must have written confirmation that your university approves by 1^ST MAY

To change a SPRING term course, you must inform RLUS and RLUS must have written confirmation that your university approves by 1^ST NOVEMBER

No changes can be made if RLUS has not received your request for a change and your university’s confirmation by the due date.

Can I enter Russia before the official course start date?

Most of our partner institutions will provide a visa invitation that starts on the day the group is due to arrive in Russia. You will therefore not be able to enter Russia even one day before the start of the course. The final course dates will be published on the website, once the group tickets have been booked. This will be by the beginning of May for autumn term courses and by the beginning of November for spring term courses.

In a few cases the visa invitation may start earlier. However, you should not enter the country before the official course start date as there may be problems with registration. Any official fines levied on course providers due to students not heeding this advice will be borne by the students themselves. You cannot get a visa that starts even one day before the start date on the visa invitation.

Can I extend my visa to stay on in Russia after the course?

It is very unlikely that you will be able to stay on in Russia for any significant length of time by extending your RLUS visa. It is essential that you ask about this immediately on arrival in Russia, before your visa is registered.

Do I need an HIV test?

Currently an HIV certificate is required – but check the RLUS website and read your e-mail, as things can change without warning.

Can I get a multi-entry visa in the UK?

No, students are issued with single entry visas only. However, all of our centres can currently convert your single entry visa to a multi-entry one when you register your visa in Russia. Warning: the rules can change without warning and RLUS cannot guarantee that you will get a multi-entry visa or how long it will take to get one.

What are migration cards and do I need to fill one in?

Migration cards must be filled in by all foreigners when entering Russia. You can see a sample by clicking here. You should be given a migration card on the plane. If they run out, they are available at the airport before immigration control. The card is in two identical parts, "A" and "B". Fill in both parts and hand it to the immigration officer. S/he will keep part A and return part B to you stamped. There have been cases of students being allowed through immigration control without filling one in. If you do not have with you a stamped migration card, you will not be allowed to register and this will cause serious problems for yourself and the institution you are studying at. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Do I need insurance to attend a RLUS course?

Yes, it is a condition of attending a RLUS course, that you are fully insured. Your university may do it for you. Please check with your Liaison Officer. You will not be provided with a visa invitation if you or your university have not produced proof that you are insured and without the invitation you will not be able to get a visa and attend the course. There are full details in the Insurance document.

I am studying Russian outside of UK. Can you still join a RLUS course?

Yes, provided you are at approximately the same level as British students.

How much money shall I take with me?

The cost of living in Russia is rising all the time. Moscow is the most expensive place followed by St Petersburg. Petrozavodsk, Tver, Volgograd and Yaroslavl are cheaper. There is detailed advice in briefing documents on the web.

How shall I take my money?

Take debit or credit cards with you. The easiest way to get money is from cash machines. You can also take some cash: either US dollars or Euros (make sure the notes are clean and not torn). You can also take American Express dollar travellers' cheques, but be warned, they are expensive: you have to pay commission to purchase them and to cash them in Russia. Furthermore, it is getting increasingly difficult to cash them in Russia. Further information has been sent to you -- or you can find it on the web pages – look at the Briefing Document and the individual briefing document for the course you are going on.

I need to go on a RLUS course, but it is way past the deadline for applying. What do I do?

RLUS will try its best to get you on a course at the last moment. There will be extra costs involved, but if it is possible we will do it. Ring Dr Roy Bivon, (01366 501445) the Operations Consultant to check if it is possible to get you on the course you want. You will then be told what to do next.

I need to contact a student in Russia urgently. What do I do?

Contact Dr Bivon, Operations Consultant, RLUS Ltd or e-mail the appropriate student representative in Russia. Full details are on the “How to contact RLUS” page.

I can't read a lot of the documents on the website.

Many of the documents are in acrobat reader format. (.pdf). You need to download Acrobat Reader on your computer. It costs nothing. You can do it by clicking on this icon: Most are in Word format too.

If you can’t read the Cyrillic characters, go to the Control Panel/Regional and Language Options. Select the Language tab and click on Details. Add Russian from the drop down box. You may also need to set the Explorer web browser to read Cyrillic. You can do this from the View/Encoding menu. Set it to Cyrillic (Windows).

Last updated by Dr Roy Bivon on 14 April 2010