How do you get a permit to visit the Altai Republic in Russia?

September 30, 2008 9:27 PM

Me and my gf want to visit the Altai Republic in Russia. However a friend of ours wanted to visit the place, but weren't allowed to enter because he didn't have a permit. So where does one get a permit to enter the Altai Republic and why is it necessary to get one? I mean, a tourist-visa should be able to give you access to most of the country as long as the cities you want to visit is stated on the visa.
posted by madcow20 to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

Here's a thread from Lonely Planet on getting into the Altai Republic and doing the required visa registration in Gorno-Altaisk.

The Altai Republic is a semi-autonomous region; its rules are a little different from the rest of Russia, as I understand it.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 10:02 PM on September 30, 2008

Post 3 here has a report from August discussing registering their visa in Gorno-Altaysk. You'll likely need some kind of letter of introduction/support from a visa support company providing a basic itinerary, ideally faxed in advance to the OVIR where you're planning to enter the Altai. Basically, you're going to need a visa support company to get the tourist visa, so go with people who have familiarity with the requirements of the Altai.
posted by holgate at 10:02 PM on September 30, 2008

You can find a list of prices and all the contact information you may need in the official Altai Republic portal. Scroll down to the paragraph beginning with "If you have come to the Altai Republic from a foreign country, you should keep to some formalities."
posted by halogen at 10:07 PM on September 30, 2008