Quote Originally Posted by shackleford View Post
For the European countries that require a visa for Russians to visit, which are the "easiest" to acquire?
What do you want to do in Europe, and what country is it that you *really* want to go to? The answer varies depending on what you want to do!

In general, I have heard that Finland is the easiest country for Russians to get a visa to. But do you want to go to Finland?

Schengen visa application in Russian: http://formin.finland.fi/public/download.aspx?ID=54711&GUID={B2909728-B55E-4BF4-96A9-75F3ABF5E2D8}

Finland wants tourism from Russia quite badly - that is the reason! They probably make it just about as easy as they can, within the legislation of the EU and Schengen. Check to confirm this on the Russian speaking internet - no doubt others will have had the same question.

But I have read that many Russians in places like Karelia go to Finland regularly because the shopping is a bit better and sometimes cheaper than in Russia. And this is dependant on visas being easily available.

Once you are in Finland, you can travel anywhere else in Europe without showing your passport, particularly if you do not fly.

You are SUPPOSED to go to the actual EU country that you applied for a visa to, but I don't think very much happens if you do not. But for example, if your Schengen visa was for Spain, and you fly to Sweden, then they will ask about it at airport immigration.

The British Isles, Switzerland and Romania are not in Schengen. For these countries you have to show passport, and you have to have a relevant visa for that country.

I think you can fly freely within Schengen if you have a visa, but you might get some questions at the national border.

On trains, ferries and buses they will not ask and there are not any border controls. There is never any passport control if you travel by train within the EU and Schengen.

The UK always checks everyones passport upon entry. If you want to go to the UK you have to get a UK visa, there is no other way. The UK visa does not work for the rest of Europe, so you could only fly to the UK and back. If you go by train to Switzerland it is about 50% chance of a passport check. I went to Romania once by train, and then there was a check.

When you apply for a Schengen visa, be careful to give the impression that you are only wanting to be a tourist or visit friends. Be very careful so that they don't get the impression that you are interested in working illegally. If they suspect that this is your motivation, then the visa could be declined. I think you need to have a hotel reservation, or an invitation by a resident or company. Same as when Europeans visit Russia.

A guy from Belarus wrote here on this forum a while ago and explained how he went about getting a Schengen visa without having any cash or any relatives or friends to visit. He made a hotel reservation in Spain, but never used it. He went to the Alps and Southern Europe.