Monday, October 29, 2007. Page 1.
Foreigners Face a 10-Day Wait for New Visas
....The minimum wait time for a new Russian visa has risen to 10 days at many embassies in Europe where expatriates previously could get them in just a day.
The consulates in Tallinn and Riga, once popular destinations for expats on visa runs, said Friday that U.S. and British citizens must now wait 10 days to receive any kind of visa.
"I'm in shock," said Paul Goncharoff, a Moscow-based U.S. businessman who learned of the change last week as he prepared to make what had become his annual trip to the Latvian capital for a new visa.
The consulates in Paris and Berlin have also slowed down processing to 10 days, according to visa agencies and foreign businessmen familiar with the situation. Repeated phone calls to the consulates were not answered Friday.
But the consulates in Madrid and London are apparently still offering one-day turnaround.
