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I consider traveling for Moscow this summer, but I would like to use AirBnB instead of a hotel. However, to visit Russia I must obtain a tourist visa, which is valid for up to 30 days of staying. But there are some problems here, which is the following:

  • I must get an invitation letter and voucher in advance to apply for a visa at the local consulate. However, while the hotel issues them, this may not be true in the case of AirBnB.

  • To stay more than 7 days, I must register my visa for immigration. However, while the staff would handle this if I stay in a hotel, this is not true if I use AirBnB.

So to travel for Russia, is it possible to use AirBnB (possibly all rooms, not just those rooms offered by business organizations, which is true these days around the world)? And for the latter problem, is it easy enough to register my visa by myself?

Or may I apply for another type of visa to stay in AirBnB if at all possible?

Unfortunately, I don't like to afford to booking a cheap, fake hotel for 29 days and switch to AirBnB once I arrive there (and I don't like to hack the system as well).

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I went to Moscow last summer for 10 days. I'm a student so I had to make sure it was the cheapest possible. I'm also from France so it wasn't entirely difficult to go (may be different for your situation).

You want to stay for an entire month is kind of a stretch, seeing that you are not "rich" (very vague, what's your budget btw?).

Getting an invitation to Russia requires having a hotel specified, but once you're in Russia you can choose anything you like, as long as the Russian governement knows where you are (if 7+ business days)

I must get an invitation letter and voucher in advance to apply for a visa at the local consulate. However, while the hotel issues them, this may not be true in the case of AirBnB.

This is entirely dependent on the place you wish to stay, you need to contact them and see if they offer invitations, which is highly unlikely. Invitations are usually done by Russian touristic companies. There are different kinds. I went through VisaToRussia.

The only downside is that they make you pay 40$ for the invitation, but at least you won't have to break your head open trying to find a fake hotel and then switching once you're in Moscow.

So to travel for Russia, is it possible to use AirBnB (possibly all rooms, not just those rooms offered by business organizations, which is true these days around the world)?

Yes.

is it easy enough to register my visa by myself?

I don't think this is possible.

register my visa for immigration

Most services like VisaToRussia do offer the possibility to register your visa but for additional fees.

If that is not an option for you, you need to contact the place you wish to stay at to see if they do know how to register your visa.

Or may I apply for another type of visa to stay in AirBnB if at all possible?

You could come to Russia via another type of Visa, do you have a contact in Russia that could invite you to the territory? (However, they would be entirely responsible for you.)

While this may not completely answer your question, I felt the need to point out certain information. Cheers.

Redacted invitation and voucher from VisaToRussia redacted redacted visa invitation and voucher

Redacted invitation and voucher from VisaToRussia

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  • Thanks. So do you mean you can write in a fake hotel name to get an invitation, and then use AirBnB? Also, how about the voucher? Did VisaToRussia get it to you as well?
    – Blaszard
    Commented Mar 25, 2017 at 16:24
  • And I'm now confused. Is VisaToRussia an agent that issues a invitation to you? Do they also have the right to register the visa for 7+ days of staying, which I thought is a job by the host (or hotel)?
    – Blaszard
    Commented Mar 25, 2017 at 16:26
  • @Blaszard VisaToRussia fills in a hotel name for you, if you don't specify one and once you're in Moscow.. chose wherever you want to stay. Yes, the voucher is included. VisaToRussia is a Russian Touristic Company that doesn't do tours. They pretty much just give out invitations (easy way to make money). If they have the right, is a very good question. I was also confused when they told me they could register the visa for me depending on where I decided to stay. They said that if I payed another 50$ (lolz...) they could do it for me. I didn't have to since I stayed exactly 7 business days.
    – kockburn
    Commented Mar 25, 2017 at 16:30
  • @Blaszard they sent me the invitation and voucher by email. I'm adding the redacted image of it to my post.
    – kockburn
    Commented Mar 25, 2017 at 16:40
  • @Blaszard as you can see they said I was staying at some hotel called "Holiday Inn Sokolniki", but I never went there.
    – kockburn
    Commented Mar 25, 2017 at 16:45

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