hi VJ members, i am citizen of Kazakhstan and i lived in Russia for 5 years
end of october i applied for russian police record at the russian consulate in my country ,still waiting, no answer,just praying to get it
dear members,could you please help me with any advice / someone with similar experiences /dealing with russian consulates in other countries
thanks
Alma from Almaty

I have never requested a police certificate from a Russian consulate, but I have dealt with one many times. Here is the information provided by the Russian consulate in San Francisco concerning this exact issue:

"To request documents from Russian archives, it is necessary to fill out two copies of the application on each document and to attach $50 money order (addressed to the Russian Consulate) for each requested document that does not exceed more than five pages (if it does – plus $15 for each additional page).
To request information about the absence of convictions in Russia, please fill out the application and enclose a money order of $50 (if Russian citizen) and $110 (if foreign citizen)."
http://www.consulrussia.org/Protocol/main_eng.htm

It does not say how long this process will take but a hint is given at a different portion of the website:
"You can send a special request for confirmation of the absence of Russian citizenship to the Russian authorities through the Consulate. It takes time (approximately 1-6 month), so, please apply in advance."
http://www.consulrussia.org/visa_frame.fil...KED%20QUESTIONS

I understand Kazakhstan is a lot closer to Russia then the US. But you could be in for a long wait. However, the cost should be a lot less than the fees that are charged in the US. Russian authorities must think we USCs grow money on trees. So look into the cost and wait time, as it might turn out that it will be cheaper for you to either make two trips or one long out to Russia yourself, or have someone on your behalf get the police certificate. There is some kind of power of attorney document you can put together for this as well, but I do not know the details, but the Russian authorities at the consulate and especially at the police center will know.

you may have to pay extra to speed things up

My girl ordered her police record on Monday and, with the help of a little extra money, was told it would be ready on Wednesday. I hope this will be a valid document!

i am not a russian citizen and it seems takes long wait to get any responce from russian consulate ,i believe it would be easier for natives to get police record in their home country , they have all rights to get it.. i am kazakhstan citizen and i got police record from my country(kazakhstan) very easy,quick and for free ( no charge)
the question my is may i get russian police record as a foreigner??
should i need go to russia to find police department or keep waiting at the russian consulate in kazakhstan ??

You should address your first question to the Russian Consulate or Embassy in Kazakhstan. We here at VJ cannot speak on their behalf.
Whether to wait or go to Russia should be your decision. Once again you should try to find out how long you have to wait for the Russian embassy to issue you a police certificate.
Police certificates are free of charge for Russian citizens living in Russia. Because the visa process takes so long, there is really no need to pay a "bribe" or for express service.

Try asking here:
http://forum.privet.com/viewforum.php?f=1

Good luck!

We had a similar problem my fiancee lived in Kazakhstan almost 15 years ago. She also lives in Siberia. The cost for the flight would have been $500 for the flight to make the trip to Moscow. Our attorney somehow got the police certificate for us for $400. Try k1-fiancee-attorey.com they helped us a lot and had a russian speaking attorney on staff. Good Luck!!!!

Oh NO 400$?? pOLICE certificate? this is nonsense! It's FREE for everyone, kazak, Russian, usc… etc.!! But it takes one month in St-Petersburg and Moscow. If You ask a Consulate make a certificate for u, it cost 30$...

I couldn't agree more. It sounds like the lawyer simply went to the embassy paid the $30 and got the certificate and ran off with a $370 profit.
But as I learned on here, sometimes it is worth to pay an extra $370 because it is the cost of "service" so you don't have to do it yourself.
Even slim who I figured is closests to me in terms of lack of cash says:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...807&#entry83807
So that conclusively makes me the poorest on here

I am not in expert here, I didn't have to get these certificates. But maybe it's possible to ask some friends or relatives who are still in Russia to get the certificate? Maybe the relatives at whose place you had your registration could do that (if it's applicable)? It would be less expensive, I guess.

hello all, i got Russian police certificate through russian consulate in Almaty,Kazakhstan paying $15 after 4 months of official filing with russian embassy..it was so long stressful wait and i was scared to miss this document for the interview because they did not promise do it in time..and also we tried get russian police certificate through american lawyer in Russia,paying him $500 (waiting time is one month) in case if russian consulate wont give us police certificate..i think $500 is cheaper than travel for me to Russia from Kazakhstan(airplane tickets,hotel,food,taxi-$1.400 one trip ),i would need travel two times may be and i had nobody in russia to help me to file directly with main information center MVD(they do not accept any fax or emails,you have to file in person or have someone to file for you with power of attorney) in moscow therefore we dealt through russian consulate in kazakhstan and american lawyer(with power of attorney i sent )..this is my personal experience and it worth to pay 500 in place of 1.400

wish you all good visa journey!
thank you for replies

Alma

I Guess that’s exactly what American lawyer did.
…‘400$’ for “service”, when the procedure are so simple?!
U can make a letter of attorney for “” and wait for one month, coz in (Russian) MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS it’s absolutely free.. they won’t make certificate for u faster doesn’t matter pays u or not. I’ve been there one month ago… they don’t even talk to u … U have to fill in a form ( Name, passport number and address (2 min)) and simply get a certificate in one month.
I would never pay for this ‘Half’ piece of paper “XXX”$ and few words on it.
Perhaps, I’m too poor for that… or stingy.

Sorry, guys..

Paying that extra money for a lawyer will get the job done, but looking back, you'll probably just discover that like T&N said, you paid a lot of extra money for "services" that you might have been able to do yourself.

However, when you're on a deadline, you MUST get that paperwork done, and a lawyer is probably the best bet to assure that it is taken care of.

Elena was waiting for her police check prior to her interview and was told by the embassy that she could complete the interview without the police check and fax it it later. Her visa would not be granted until proof of a completed check was received by the embassy, but she could go ahead and do the interview. That may be an option for you too, even if you don't get the police check in time.

Good luck!