Hi,
At the risk of asking something already covered somewhere in this huge Forum, cause I don`t have time to browse through all these topics and read all the answers .. could someone with real good knowledge of this issue please give me a step by step on what I should do to get Olga here as soon as possible ?
The are different types of VISAs, I know .. but I wonder, which do I choose ? Which are easiest and quickest to get ? Which can more easily translate into something permanent, cause she will be staying here, for certain !
Do I begin by calling the US Embassy in Washington, DC ?
or the Moldovian embassy ?
first step, go to visajourney.com and look at the K1 visa, look at the area you live in and see what area you file your paperwork. Typically, you are looking at 4-7 months for visa processing. Best of luck.
About ten minutes - once you make it to the front of the line anyway - at the airport in Chisinau.
Bring your passport (of course) TWO passport type pictures, and the proper fee (the exact amount eludes me right now, but is available via Moldova's official website, and depend on which option you choose, single or double entry).
Its that quick and that easy.
Of course, if you desire the extra security of having your Moldovan Tourist Visa in hand before you get there - there are numerous services available and it will take a few weeks and an extra service fee (again of course).
In my own case, I have been to Moldova twice, the first time I used a service and paid the extra money for "security" only to have my completed passport/visa mailed back to me just A FEW DAYS before I was scheduled to DEPART! THAT was nerve-wracking. I watched other at the airport waltz up to the counter (okay, they didn't actually waltz) in Chisinau and have their visa in minutes.
On my second trip I sort of foxtrotted to the counter and did the same.
With reference to Moldova, a double entry visa allows you to leave the country and to return, once. I have not actually done that however so I do not know exactly how easy it is.
Be advised, however, that going from Moldova into Romania, and back, might be easier than going from Moldova into Ukraine and back. The reason is that there is a territory on the East side of Moldova, beyond the Dniester River, but before you actually get into Ukraine, called Transneistria. It is a self-proclaimed seperate republic, though not recognized by any other authority or country (therefore, the US of course has no diplomatic relations, of course, with the established government). If you go through that area you will be checked at the border, both entering that territory and when entering Ukraine.
I have been advised that it is not a good idea for an American to pass through that way. It might be better to fly from say Chisinau to Odessa or Kyev.
I believe I read somewhere that there ARE alternative routes by road, where you can avoid Transneistria altogether but that these roads are not available to eveyone. It seems that Anmericans are directed to use the border crossing that goes through this seperatist area.
the only difference in crossing the border from ukraina to moldova is, that there you cannot buy a visa as it is possible on the romanian-moldovan border.
it may happen from time to time, that on the ukrainian-moldovan border on the transnistrian side the transnistrian militia asks for another paper for driving through that funny separatist country, but it costs only few moldovan lei.
several foreign government pages warn their own citizens to go or cross transnistria. but i never heard about any incidents there. if there are hassles, some lei will solve any problem :-)
a ride from chisinau to odessa, for example, by car takes normally 2-2,5 hours. there is not any sense to take a plane from chisinau to odessa. would be a waste of money and takes all in all much longer time.
me personally i never had any problems in transnistria. but be careful in making photos there - all things there are considered to be military secrets :-)