egur

Hello.
We just got our NVC number today (Nov 23) for Warsaw for K1 fiancé visa directly from NVC, bypassing the Moscow Embassy.  I have a few questions.
 
1) How did people get the Schengen visa? I saw 2 posts for tours to Hungary and Greece. I am checking those out. My fiancé is in Sankt Petersburg. Anyone used any particular travel agency there to book the tour and apply for the Schengen visa? Or did people apply directly at the Hungarian or Greek Visa Center and just booked tickets and hotels themselves? Were those tickets and hotels refundable or non-refundable (i.e. prepaid)?
2) How did people get their COVID vaccines approved for EU? My fiancé has Sputnik-V vaccine which is not EU approved. Did Poland or Hungary ask anyone for any COVID vaccine records and was anyone not let into either country without them?
3) During the medical exam in Poland did the doctor require the applicant get more vaccines for other diseases on the spot? How long and difficult was the medical interview? My finance has some vaccines on the CDC list, but not all of them. And some of them are not available in Russia.
4) How many days in advance did the medical exam had to be scheduled in Poland, before the doctor appointment? Did you use the doctor in Warsaw or Krakow? How long was the line?
5) Did anyone fly to the US already after November 8 (when new rule about COVID vaccines with both doses went into effect) after getting the Visa in Poland? Did anyone require having 2 US approved doses of COVID vaccine? Or was a PCR test enough? 
6) Did anyone get rejected anywhere (US visa, or entry to Poland or Schengen Visa) for any reasons, like lack of vaccines, COVID, not letting Russians into Poland?
 
Any info is greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks
Eli
 

Yes we received the invitation finally. It took 76 day from the date of NVC approval letter to the day the Warsaw embassy emailed us the invitation for the interview. Calling the call center does not do much for speeding up the process. You just have to keep waiting. The best thing is for you to register on ustraveldocs.com website and keep sending messages through it every few days. Only send 1 message at a time and then wait for response to that message (responses have been taking between 1-10 business days depending on question type). If you send more than one message at once before you receive the response to the first message, the subsequent messages just get deleted by the system and the call center does not even have a record of them when you call. Just keep waiting.

Try getting Schengen visa from Greece or Hungary. They seem to be working. But they issue single entry visas unless you have prior expired Schengen visas within the last 2 years. So if this is your first visa first get the Warsaw invitation and interview date and only then apply for the Schengen visa for the correct dates. Also at the visa center pay extra for full VIP processing. If you don't pay for VIP it may take a long time for them to issue the visa and you may miss the dates. With VIP it takes from 4-10 business days. Without VIP the sky is the limit.

You MUST have a COVID test when crossing border into Poland. The airline will not even let you board the plane without it. But you don't have to have PCR. A Rapid Antigen test done within 24 hours of departure is good enough. They did check ours when you get off the plane in Poland (this includes kids). I am not sure if you have to have a vaccine. They did not check our vaccines when we arrived. If they decide you are missing some COVID stuff they may put you into Quarantine somewhere, you will have to pay for it, and do more tests. I think they will still let you into the country though, per their website (gov.pl). It's much easier to arrive from another Schengen country like Greece or Hungary. Then the checks are minimal. If you arrive to Poland from Russia or US directly the checks are much more. But I did not do that, so I don't have personal experience. We arrived from Greece into Poland. All of them change rules all the time, so make sure you check their govt websites the day before you fly.

You MUST have a COVID test when crossing border into Poland. The airline will not even let you board the plane without it. But you don't have to have PCR. A Rapid Antigen test done within 24 hours of departure is good enough. They did check ours when you get off the plane in Poland (this includes kids). I am not sure if you have to have a vaccine. They did not check our vaccines when we arrived. If they decide you are missing some COVID stuff they may put you into Quarantine somewhere, you will have to pay for it, and do more tests. I think they will still let you into the country though, per their website (gov.pl). It's much easier to arrive from another Schengen country like Greece or Hungary. Then the checks are minimal. If you arrive to Poland from Russia or US directly the checks are much more. But I did not do that, so I don't have personal experience. We arrived from Greece into Poland. All of them change rules all the time, so make sure you check their govt websites the day before you fly.

You MUST have a COVID test when crossing border into Poland. The airline will not even let you board the plane without it. But you don't have to have PCR. A Rapid Antigen test done within 24 hours of departure is good enough. They did check ours when you get off the plane in Poland (this includes kids). I am not sure if you have to have a vaccine. They did not check our vaccines when we arrived. If they decide you are missing some COVID stuff they may put you into Quarantine somewhere, you will have to pay for it, and do more tests. I think they will still let you into the country though, per their website (gov.pl). It's much easier to arrive from another Schengen country like Greece or Hungary. Then the checks are minimal. If you arrive to Poland from Russia or US directly the checks are much more. But I did not do that, so I don't have personal experience. We arrived from Greece into Poland. All of them change rules all the time, so make sure you check their govt websites the day before you fly.

Try getting Schengen visa from Greece or Hungary. They seem to be working. But they issue single entry visas unless you have prior expired Schengen visas within the last 2 years. So if this is your first visa first get the Warsaw invitation and interview date and only then apply for the Schengen visa for the correct dates. Also at the visa center pay extra for full VIP processing. If you don't pay for VIP it may take a long time for them to issue the visa and you may miss the dates. With VIP it takes from 4-10 business days. Without VIP the sky is the limit.

100% positive. We have been waiting since November. I am in Warsaw right now. Have been here for 3 weeks already. All of this happened to me and others. Saw it with my own eyes. There are hundreds of families from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Afganistan here and people from war zones get 1st priority, because their lives are at stake. The embassy told us it will take at least 2 more weeks, but probably longer. So it's taking right now about 3 months from NVC approval with WRW number until invitation from Warsaw embassy. And time is only increasing. Just keep waiting.