Hosting Russian guests, they are asking for letter

[Amanda58]

I am in Australia and have had request from Russian couple asking if I would write a letter confirming they would be staying with me to enable them to get visa. I said I am not willing to do that as I think or would have thought the airbnb receipt/booking confirmation would be adequate??? They have not booked as seem very concerned about getting visa without letter. Anyone know what to do?

[Marzena4]

@Amanda58 Until the recent changes in our Polish regulations, we had a similar problem with the citizens of Ukraine. I am also on booking.com and it was really a plague of reservations for 3-4 people which were cancelled within a few days (they could use the voucher from that site to apply for a visa). Sometimes they asked for a letter of invitation. And from legal point of you the inviting person was the initiator of the stay, which was not the fact. So hoteliers refused to send any extra document. And I would advise you to do the same.

[Elena87]

@Amanda58

Hello Amanda

For Russians visiting Australia they need a valid tourist visa. Some documentation is requested during the application but there is certainly no need for a tourist visa applicant to provide either evidence of where they will stay or supply receipts for hotel bookings.

One of the requirements to apply for the visa is that IF you are visiting a friend or relative in Australia, this person can act as a sponsor for the trip, and if that is the case then the sponsor should write a formal letter and give details about income and so on.

I'm taking a guess that this is what they might think they should include in their application.

It clearly doesn't apply in your case here, so what to do?  I would explain that you cannot supply a letter, suggest that your potential guests should re-examine the visa documentation checklist more carefully, and perhaps they should consider hiring the services of an agency which specializes in visa support.

However there are several types of visa offered so there can be various nuances as well.

I have to say I've became quite interested in the process of visitors asking for advice on applying for a Russian visa as it is fairly common for me but I would say for the majority of hosts the best bet is to steer clear, keep out of giving visa advice and let it be the responsibility of the guest to navigate the process.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Amanda58

I don't know for Russian guests but I had a case with guest from Singapore. In order to get a visa he had to state where he will be staying and he gave our apartment address and our names. Then we have got calls from our police ( twice ) to confirm he will stay at our apartment and they said if he cancels we should inform them. We confirmed on the phone that he booked and didn't cancel and that was it. Our guest was surprised when we told him about those calls. He was our guest for just 2 days of his few week long trip but obviously our confirmation was enough.

When I went to Canada to visit my friend he had to write "invitation letter" and based on it I have got a visa. But with this letter he basicly confirmed he will take care of me during my stay, it is something completely different.

In your case , to help them, I would just write a simple fact statement : They booked our short term rental apartment for the period from xxx to xxx through Airbnb.