Italian Consulate in Moscow opens new visa office

Moscow - The Italian Ambassador to Russia, Cesare Maria Ravaglini, cut the ribbon for the new visa office of the Consulate General of Italy in Moscow, which is located at the Kievskiy shopping mall. The new visa office is dedicated mainly to applications and the processing of visas from tourist agencies and tour operators. It is the second centre set up by Visa Management Service (VMS) in Moscow and the 30th in Russia. The premises, spanning over 1000 square meters, will be made available to tour operators in order to organise workshops, seminars and presentations promoting Italian destinations. The release of visas in Russia has remained stable compared to 2015 and, according to forecasts, should reach 500,000 by the end of the year. Ninety-five percent of these are long stays and multiple entries. In the past year, there has been an increase in individual applications for private travel, namely 271,000. This is evidence of the interest Russian tourists have for Italy. "The opening of the new office will welcome Russians in a modern space, where they will be granted their visas even more expeditiously," said Ambassador Ragaglini. "The new visa centre will also expedite the great amount of work carried out by agencies and tour operators, whom I wish to invite to utilise the premises to promote Italy as a tourist destination," added the ambassador.