Where is the Spanish visa issued in St. Petersburg? How to get a visa yourself in St. Petersburg

Spain attracts different categories of travelers with its festivity, wealth, beauty, diversity. It is difficult to name one specific reason why this little cute piece of land is so interesting for tourists. Spain is not unfounded proud of the rich cultural heritage. For many centuries the state in the territory of the Iberian peninsula has moved European and world history. The temperamental Spaniards became so crowded on their pretty territory that they began the era of the Great Discoveries. Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Cervantes, Banderas, Gaudi, Iglesias - all of them were born in Spain. The museum program of this country is recognized as one of the most interesting in the world.

Also, Spain is the world capital of football, bullfighting, flamenco, delicious ham of prosciutto and breathtaking wines. The Spanish Canary Islands and Tenerife are the leading beach tourist destinations in Europe. Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are striking with a cultural and architectural heritage. Everyone knows Ibiza - the main tusovka European Mecca.

Spain knows what to offer to shopping lovers. This is the world capital of the most popular brands of mass-market segment: Pull & Bear, Zara, Stradivarius, MANGO, Oysho, Massimo Dutti. And the biggest and cheapest Spanish shopping villages are turning heads of women from all over the world.

What visa is required for entry to Spain?

To enter the territory of Spain requires a general visa for the visa, which allows tourists to look at the sunny Pyrenees within the framework of a tour of Europe. The Spanish visa in St. Petersburg is formalized according to a standard protocol common to all states of the Schengen area.

It is important to understand that the entry document is not a sophisticated way of torturing tourists, it is not the new method of Europeans to protect themselves from unwanted guests from the "third world" countries. Most European countries are more than hospitable to tourists or guests who come to their territory, integrate into their culture and generously replenish their GDP by buying goods and services. But Europe is very appealing to crowds of emigrants and illegal workers. Therefore, the Spanish visa in St. Petersburg is not a documentary quirk of the western country, but an enforced need, which is created in order to suspend and refine a huge flow of travelers.

Ways to get a visa to Spain

To receive the long-awaited print allowing to travel unlimitedly across Europe, it is possible in several ways: independently in consulate or the visa center, in tourist agency or having taken advantage of services of the specialized firms.

There is no one right way. For weekly trips with the purpose of beach recreation with the purchase of a standard tour package in the agency where the tour is bought, a Spanish visa (SPb) is also issued. Independently, however, this document is more expensive in time. But in this case the traveler gets the opportunity to make a multiple visa for a more flexible and long period. For residents of large cities, such as St. Petersburg, where there are embassies or consulates of most Schengen countries, this is the most correct option.

Registration of a visa to Spain through intermediaries

Specialized intermediary firms often provide such services. However, in this case, the Spanish visa in St. Petersburg will be much more expensive. This option is suitable only for very busy individuals. It should also be noted that tour operators basically do not take a commission for issuing a visa from customers who buy from them the entire tour package. But in this case the document is drawn up exclusively for the period of the tour itself, not a day more. But if the client appeals to the travel agency for the purpose of obtaining consulting or intermediary services in obtaining a visa, without buying a tour, the company has every right to take its modest (or indiscreet) commission.

Nowadays practically in any small town there are travel agencies, but consulates or embassies are available only in large ones. So to use the services of intermediaries should be, if they have an authoritative reputation and provide an opportunity to issue a visa without the obligatory submission of the package of the document by the applicant. In this case it will be much more expedient to pay the commission to the intermediary firm than to spend time and money on the trip to the embassy and back. In addition, it needs to be done twice: the first time to file documents, and the second - to take away a passport with a visa stamp.

Which embassy should I apply for a Spanish visa?

It should be noted that only officially registered residents of St. Petersburg and the nearest districts can obtain a Spanish visa (SPb). This rule is valid throughout the country for all types of Schengen visas. It matters only the citizen's registration, and not his actual place of residence. There is a zoning map, where each region of Russia is attached to an embassy, consulate or visa center. It is impossible to choose the place of submission of documents independently.

For residents of St. Petersburg and the district should remember that in this city there is a consulate general at the address: 191028, ul. Furshtatskaya, 9. Also there is a visa center in Spain: st. The Great Raznochinnaya, 16/7.

How to get a Spanish visa yourself in St. Petersburg?

What do you need to get admission to this state? For residents of large cities such as St. Petersburg, where there are embassies of almost all countries, the easiest and most useful way to get a long-awaited pass to the territory of the Schengen paradise is to make a Spanish visa to St. Petersburg on your own.

It is worth noting that the rumors about the mythical obstacles in the preparation of a visa to Spain are very carefully supported by agencies, travel agencies and other offices that offer assistance services to settle all formalities. For their services, such organizations take an indiscreet commission (from 50 to 700 €).

In reality, the entire package of mandatory documents should be collected by the traveler himself, and the above-mentioned intermediaries provide more consulting services, point out some shortcomings in the execution of documents, fill out a visa application form and, in some cases, file a package that, in a living situation in a city where there is an embassy, And useful. All ghostly reinforced concrete guarantees for obtaining a visa based on fairy-tale connections or other garters in embassies are a fiction. There are not so powerful intermediaries that can influence the consul's decision. If the applicant has collected the correct package of documents, and there are no problems with the law in the Schengen area, he has all the chances to get independently long-awaited permission.

And if the documents for the Spanish visa (SPb) are properly issued, but contain fictitious, untruthful information, then the advice of the most authoritative firms will not help their author. The fact is that embassies are real islands of a foreign state with its norms, laws and legal rules, and within the limits of foreign missions a purely Russian tradition to solve problems using powerful communications is not practiced.

Therefore, the applicant should find the official website of the embassy and draw on this resource all the necessary information. There you can register for an interview and filing documents, read all the requirements for collecting a package of documents.

Package of documents for obtaining a visa to Spain

To all tourists who need Spanish visa (St. Petersburg), the consulate puts forward mandatory requirements for the recruitment of the necessary documents:

• A visa application form filled in and signed by the applicant personally.
• Original of the passport. The document must be valid for at least three months after returning home, to have at least two blank pages for pasting a visa. Plus there must be photocopies of all pages of the passport.
• Color photo size 3,5 x 4,5 cm not older than 1 year. The picture should be taken on a light background in business clothes.
• Copies of all pages of the civil internal passport (including empty ones!).
• Photocopies of all pages of previous passports, where there are visas and seals of countries visited before.

Documents confirming the applicant's solvency

• For private entrepreneurs - a copy of the certificate of registration of the company and its statement on tax accounting.
• For all workers - a certificate from the place of work, in which the amount of wages must be specified, broken down by month. The document should state that during the trip the employee is granted paid leave, and his position is retained after his return.
• For housewives, students, unemployed - a notarized agreement on the financing of travel by a spouse or relative, plus a certificate from the sponsor's place of work.
• Extract from the bank account of the presence on it of the sum necessary for the trip: a minimum of 65 euros (you can provide statements from several bank accounts). Traveler's checks and currency cards are also taken into account.

Documents confirming the purpose of the trip

• For tourists - confirmation of the reservation of the hotel or apartments, copies of air tickets in both directions.
• For guest travelers - the invitation of a relative or an official call.
• Copy of the invitation to study, medical examination, etc.
• A copy of the medstakh insurance policy with a coverage of at least 30 thousand euros. The insurance company must operate throughout the Schengen area.
• A signed agreement on consent to the processing of personal data.

How much does a Spanish visa cost?

The Shengen visa costs 35 euros, regardless of the category. This is a compulsory consular fee. Planning the cost of issuing a visa to Spain, you should take into account many nuances.

Firstly, if a visa is issued through a firm, then this organization takes a certain sum for its services (from 10% to infinity).

Secondly, with those tourists who need a Spanish visa for the first time in St. Petersburg, the visa center takes 20 euros for their services. Such branches were opened at the embassies rather recently. Almost all of them exist as an accredited intermediary between the consul and the applicant, such a kind of buffer. But seasoned tourists for repeated visas mostly appeal directly to the secretaries at the embassy, avoiding spending on the services of the visa center.

Thirdly, the collection of documents itself requires some expenses, mostly rather modest.

What categories of travelers are exempt from paying a consular fee?

Under the rules of the Schengen Agreement, the following categories of travelers are kindly exempted from paying a visa fee:

• Children under 18 years.
• Students in a fixed form of education up to 21 years of age. They should provide a certificate from the university and a copy of the student's card.
• Pensioners. They need to provide a copy of the pension certificate.

These categories of travelers can apply for a visa without a visa fee of 35 euros, but they also have to pay for the services of the visa center or intermediary firms. Preferential travelers should, among other things, submit documents on the financing of the trip on general terms.

How long is a Spanish visa issued in St. Petersburg?

The standard period from the interview at the embassy to obtaining a visa stamp is 7 working days. It should be noted that in some cases (in the summer season, the New Year period), this period can be extended to 10-14 days. Please note that the embassy does not work on official holidays of Russia and Spain. And finally, it should be noted that there is an urgent visa, which is issued within three or four working days and costs 70 euros.