Russian Business Visa Rules for Japanese Relaxed

January 24, 2012 | Filed under: Japan,Russia | Posted by: Alizah

The Russian immigration ministry has announced to soften its business visa rule for the Japanese in a bid to boost up the business ties between the two former World War II allies. This move is a result of the Japanese government’s hard-pressed demands over the past many years.

According to the revised rules, the Japanese no more need to wait for the letter of invitation from Russia’s interior ministry before getting their business visa applications reviewed. Now, they will simply forward their applications to the Russian embassy and get visas within a few days.

As per the old system, the business visa applicants had to wait for at least five weeks for obtaining travel authorisations. It was a source of sheer nuisance for the businessmen who often need urgent visits.

It is hoped that the Japanese companies will be able to expand their business ventures across Russia with the implementation of new visa statute. This will be helpful for the economies of both the nations which have strong historical, cultural, economic and diplomatic relations, spanning over years.

The Russian foreign minister, Koichiro Gemba and his Japanese counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, are likely to ink a deal over the visa reforms by the end of this week. This deal will be a landmark development in the arena of the two nations’ age-old bond.

With the rapid formation of a globalised world, the business tours have gained momentum. Every day, hundreds of thousands of businessmen travel across border. Still there are a number of hiccups in this regard in some countries.

The international economists have long been urging the world comity of nations to simplify the business visa procedures so that the dream of a global village may turn into reality. With the rise of the second decade of 21st century, some protectionist nations like Russia, Japan, Germany and China have realised the importance of this thing and resorted to reforms.